Chris Dickson wins Trieste Challenge in a difficult final against Sébastien Col

Chris Dickson, the New Zealander skipper of BMW Oracle, is the final winner of the Rieste Challenge, the match race regatta the Italian city of Trieste organizes solely for America's Cup teams.

All five scheduled matches were necessary to decide the winner and BMW Oracle beat Areva Challenge, with Sébastien Col on the helm and Thierry Peponnet calling tactics. Third on the leaderboard was Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team, helmed by Jes Gram Hansen, who beat Luna Rossa, helmed by Francesco de Angelis, in the petite final.

The final between BMW Oracle and Areva was hard-fought till the last leg: the first of the five matches, sailed on Saturday, saw an easy a victory for BMW Oracle, that after winning the semifinals against Luna Rossa appeared as if it would promptly conclude there series against the French skipper. On the contrary! Sébastien Col, who since August 24 is leading the ISAF world match racing rankings, tied on Sunday morning during the the first match of the day. After that, Chris Dickson gave BMW Oracle the advantage, turning the tables to 2-1 for the Americans. Once again, Areva was not intimidated and responded, tying with the Americans in a race that was characterized by very light winds.

Tied at two wins each, the decisive match saw the French team leading after the start and managing to stay ahead during the first two legs, with over 2 boatlenghts of advantage over the Americans. During the third leg, Areva takes a major gamble and tacks right without waiting for Dickson to round the mark and cover him: Chris Dickson immediately decyphers the move and the opportunity it gives him and opts for a left turn that gives him an advantage of one boatlength at the mark and the favored position. During the last leg BMW Oracle controlled their adversary and won the Trieste Challenge, under the applause of local spectators that flocked to the harbor piers: in fact, all races took place inside the city harbor and the top mark was a mere 10 meters from the shore.

"A great setting - declared Chris Dickson at the end of the match - for a hard-fought event that gave me a lot of satisfaction. Today was a very difficult day because of the light winds: we knew the left side of the course was the best one for us, some times it worked out fine for us, some times it didn't. We grabbed the opportunity Areva gave us in the decisive match and we won".

Final Classification of Trieste Challenge - La Sfida
1. BMW Oracle Racing (Chris Dickson)
2. Areva (Sébastian Col)
3. Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team (Jes Gram Hansen)
4. Luna Rossa (Francesco de Angelis)
5. China Team (Pierre Mas)

Chris Dickson and Sébastien Col racing at the Trieste Challenge final. Trieste, 3 September 2006. Photo copyright: Massimo Silvano / Trieste Challenge

Chris Dickson and Sébastien Col racing at the Trieste Challenge final. Trieste, 3 September 2006. Photo copyright: Massimo Silvano / Trieste Challenge

Chris Dickson and Sébastien Col racing at the Trieste Challenge final. Trieste, 3 September 2006. Photo copyright: Massimo Silvano / Trieste Challenge

Chris Dickson and Sébastien Col racing at the Trieste Challenge final. Trieste, 3 September 2006. Photo copyright: Massimo Silvano / Trieste Challenge

Chris Dickson and Sébastien Col racing at the Trieste Challenge final. Trieste, 3 September 2006. Photo copyright: Massimo Silvano / Trieste Challenge

Chris Dickson and Sébastien Col racing at the Trieste Challenge final. Trieste, 3 September 2006. Photo copyright: Massimo Silvano / Trieste Challenge

Chris Dickson and his crew, winners of the 2006 Trieste Challenge. Trieste, 3 September 2006. Photo copyright: Massimo Silvano / Trieste Challenge

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