Catalunya, Costa Brava (Spain) Jun 08 - Jun 13 World Cup

[R.S]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yYDK4bG ... r_embedded#!

Ook live te volgen.
http://www.mygeolive.com/geoPortal.aspx ... 01&lang=en

[Rudie]

JA die Severne Flex blijkt het toch wel goed te doen! Ben benieuwd of Bjorn deze winning streak vast kan houden en dus zijn bewering over dit zeil echt klopt (zie kort interviewtje hieronder met Bjorn en Antoine).



Er was geen wind, dus dan mogen mensen vragen mailen aan de PRO's. Ow ja, het is tijdgebonden, dus dit moet je van onder naar boven lezen.

Uit de LIVE event ticker:

16:50 Lastly, so that you guys can get back to the waiting game, Duncan from England would like to know which of you two would win in an arm wrestle?

Antoine: Bjorn would win I think. I'm not so strong anymore. But, I'd rather he won the arm wrestle if it meant I could win on the water!

Bjorn: I'm not sure. I tend not to arm wrestle too much these days because I pull a muscle every time I do!

16:45 Marc from Holland would like to ask Bjorn: What did you do differently this year in your training or development to get you back on top?

Bjorn: The training part was pretty much the same with a lot of biking, windsurfing, and stand up paddling. But, the biggest difference has been with the sail, which is the engine of the windsurfer. The new Reflex has made a huge difference.

16:40 Patrice from France would like to know how you stay focused when the racing is put on hold for such long periods?

Antoine: It's really hard, but we've done so many events over the years that we get used to it. You just have to be patient. But, sometimes it really is difficult even with all of the experience because we hang around all day long from 10:00 until 18:00 and then suddenly the wind kicks in and we have to go, and we have to focus 100% again, but that's just part of the the sport I think.

Bjorn: Experience tends to take over. I've been competing for pretty much 25 years on the circuit now, and I know it's not going to be windy everyday. If the wind was guaranteed, we could probably get a full competition done in 2 days, but seeing as it's not, there's bound to be days spent sitting on the beach. I'm here in my wetsuit because my heat could be up at any moment, but from all of my years of doing the tour, I know how to deal with these situations.

16:30 He would also like to ask Antoine: Are you more motivated this year with Bjorn breathing down your neck?

Antoine: Yeah I'm honoured. It looks like Bjorn is in really good shape this year. Every year that you finish in first place, you really want to hold onto it the next. I heard people say: 'oh this guy Antoine is finished', but I've demonstrated already this year that I've still got it. I won the Formula Worlds, and I won in Korea. And, now we're here in Costa Brava and I'm battling with Bjorn, but a lot can happen, there's still a long way to go in this competition. However, it's not just this year that there's been a battle, there have been many people throughout the years that have pushed me. It wasn't easy to win any of the World titles that I have.

16:20 Sven from Germany would like to ask Bjorn: Why do you think strong winds are better for you when you've performed so well in light winds before?

Bjorn: First of all it's more fun! But it also means the entire race doesn't come down to the start. Once you get down to 8.6 or 7.8 weather you don't have to risk everything at the start, and the race becomes just as important. You can actually start behind everyone, and if you've got good speed, you can still win the heat.

16:15 Also, Fred would like to know if Bjorn's sails now have a wider wind band than previous years, because he thought they previously had quite narrow ones. And how you addressed this change.

Bjorn: It's not just the wind range which is better, the acceleration has also improved. It's a completely new concept developed by myself, Steve Allen, and Ben Severne. The sails are now some of the fastest out there, and this is proven because all of the Severne team riders are doing better than they did last year. Anyone that owns a Code Red should try a Reflex because they'll be really impressed with the difference. You'd improve just by changing the rig.

16:00 Fred from the UK would like to know how your sails have improved this year Antoine, and the reasoning behind joining the extended batten above the boom up with the foot.

Antoine: This was part of the development we started last year with Micah and Robby. We wanted a short mast and short boom, but with a squat outline you would normally have to have a long boom, so we decided to put the boom inside the outline so that we could keep the short boom length. The boom is basically the same length as the EVO II, but the luff is shorter and the outline wider in the head. This is much better for gusty conditions, light winds, and also better round the buoys.

15:50 Next Q. Charlie from the UK would like to know how you determine the best angle of approach for the start line.

Antoine: It really depends, if you have very constant wind then you have nothing to be scared of, and you just go for it. But if the wind is quite gusty, you have to be very careful to make sure you're in the right place in those gusts. You can't just decide to start at the pin in those conditions because if there's no gust there when you're going towards the line everyone will sail over the top of you. The start is very important though, and in yesterday's races was probably 80% of the race.

Bjorn: Well the start line is fairly tricky because the scenario is different every single time. It all depends on how many guys are going for the pin, how many are going for the boat, and how much you want to risk it. It's actually very difficult to go in with a plan, instead you have to adapt for every situation.

15:35 OK, first question. Rafa would like to know how much physical preparation you do for slalom. And more specifically how much strength training you do.

Antoine: It depends what i'm doing really. If i'm travelling a lot during the winter then I can't do too much. But, I have a personal trainer who has worked with me since I was 18, so he prepares plans for me, and when i'm at home I head to the gym to do weights or go biking for cardio work. We try to focus the training around the type of sailing i'm about to do because it's different for speed and slalom. It's really difficult during the competition season though because we're never in the same place for long.

Bjorn: I actually do a lot of mountain biking and some stand up paddleboarding too. I don't do too much weight training because i'm already 103.5 kgs, and if I go down the gym I shoot up to 107 kgs pretty quickly!

15:25 I finally tracked down both Antoine and Bjorn. They were both sitting in a quiet spot on the beach ready to race at a moment's notice! Stay tuned for the answers. The sailors are still on standby.

[Niels]

JA die Severne Flex blijkt het toch wel goed te doen! Ben benieuwd of Bjorn deze winning streak vast kan houden en dus zijn bewering over dit zeil echt klopt (zie kort interviewtje hieronder met Bjorn en Antoine).

Severne REFLEX toch?