Nicholas Brezzi: the cyclor's career at his second America's Cup

«The moment of the dock-out before the regatta, when you walk out to reach the boat in front of your family, friends and fans to reach the boat is all applause, the sound of trumpets, the waving of flags, and yet I don't remember any noise, I don't remember a single one of these moments. In that moment my thoughts were only focused on the fact that I had to do something great». A cyclor in Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's Power Team, number 9 Nicholas Brezzi Villi is deeply attached to the sea and has always practiced water sports, first sailing and then rowing. In the latter discipline he won a European Championship with the Italian Maglia Azzurra and then won a gold, a silver and two bronze World Championships.

«Sailing is my first great passion», says the athlete, who boasts victories in an ORC Italian Championship, a Giraglia regatta and three editions of the Barcolana. «Rowing takes a lot from you on a physical level, it completely drains you, whereas sailing is something deeper, it also includes a passion for the boat as an object with all of the technology behind it. I am from Trieste and for me sailing is everything».

In view of the 2021 edition, Nicholas had been one of the last athletes to take the qualifying test at the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli base in Cagliari and thus very uncertain of the outcome. A few hours later however, before returning to Trieste, he received the surprise call: «Shannon Falcone asked me if I had time to take the grinder test again because he was convinced that I could do better than the first time. I decided to try and give it a go. When I left, Max Sirena (Skipper and Team Director) told me that I did well and that if I wanted to there was a place for me in the team».

A former grinder on the AC75 in the 36th America's Cup - presented by Prada, today Brezzi Villi is one of the cyclors on board Luna Rossa. He has an unforgettable memory of the Auckland edition: «On that occasion I discovered that sport in general and the America's Cup are on two different levels. When you win a world championship or an Olympic medal, in rowing as in any other discipline, people congratulate you, they applaud you, they shake your hand. When we won the PRADA Cup with Luna Rossa instead, people would come up to you and say “thank you” ».