Mutua Madrileña ready to fight for MedCup leadership, studying all options

[Source: Mutua Madrileña Sailing Team] Tomorrow Monday starts the Athens Trophy, the fifth event of the 2006 Breitling MedCup off the coast of Athens, in which Mutua Madrileña will have a tough battle against Warpath to hold on to its overall leadership.

The Trohpy organized by the Hellenic Offshore Yacht Club will see 16 TP52 boats racing, including top teams such as Mutua Madrileña, Warpath and Caixa Galicia, -first, second and third respectively in the overall leaderboard-, two windward-leeward race on Monday and a long-distance race on Tuesday, totalling close to 90 miles. In addition to these three races, the race committee has scheduled a coastal race, in which Mutua Madrileña has been successful in the previous four events.

The Mutua Madrileña team has been carrying out intensive training sessions during the last three day in order to get familiar with the local wind and sea conditions that turned out to be highly unstable.

The TP52 fleet ready to race. Athens, 20 August 2006. Photo copyright Richard Page / Breitling MedCup

The team headed by Peter de Ridder will go out on Athens waters with two key goals: Hold on to its Breitling MedCup leadership and win the Athens trophy, aiming at a second victorious event after the Breitling Regatta in Puerto Portals. In order to achieve these two goals, the team has been reinforced with the presence of Tony RaePitman/Runner of Emirates Team New Zealand

Click for more info whose experience in the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race will complement that of veterans Peter de Ridder as well as Ray DaviesAfterguard of Emirates Team New Zealand

Click for more info, Tom Dodson or Joe Allen. Finally, the team will be counting on various sail improvements.

According to Ray Davies, tactician of Mutua Madrileña, the strategy to follow will depend on the outcome of the Athens event. "We are the leaders of the Breitling MedCup so far, with a one-point advantage over second-placed Warpath, another team that counts with various members from Emirates Team New Zealand. Nevertheless, we still have two events to race, this one and one in Ibiza", stated the New Zealander.

"As far as we are concerned we are not going to match race against Warpath, weather conditions in Athens are not sufficiently stable to allow us such an option, as they could lead to both of us scoring very badly in the regatta, jeopardizing our position. The Mutua team will go out on Athens waters to sail in a fleet race and we will fight for the leadership taking into account each and every of the other 15 boats, but if we get to Ibiza with still a mere point separating the two teams, then it will obviously be a match race between Mutua Madrileña and Warpath whose outcome will show who is the best match racer: Peter de Ridder or Dean Barker".

"We are lucky because our Emirates Team New Zealand meteorologist, Roger "Clouds" Badham, held the same position with the New Zealand sailing team two years ago in the Athens Olympics and knows the area really well. Before coming here we had been studying the conditions on the race course and I believe this will be of great help. In any case, we have been training these last days with land breeze and the weather forecasts call for thermal breeze. We hope conditions will stabilize soon."