Majorcan Pep Cazador and Javier Seguí, going for the ILCA 7 European champs

The Royal Spanish Sailing Federation has moved a team of 8 athletes to Europe’s ILCA 6 and 7 Championship, of which Majorcans Pep Cazador, from Club Nàutic s'Arenal, and Javier Seguí, from Reial Club Nàutic del Port de Pollença, form part of.

The Swedish locality of Marstrand and Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club host this date in which 246 sailors of the two olympic classes will take part in.

The championship, which develops from August 11th to 16th, puts the European ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 titles into play, in absolute category as well as Under23 category, which is an innovation of this edition. 

A total of 93 women gather in the ILCA European champs, of which 79 will be able to compete for the continental crown due to being European countries. Hungarian Maria Erdi will defend the European gold she won last year before hard rivals such as French Louise Cervera, Polish Agata Barwinska and Belgium Emma Plasschaert.

The Grand Canary Isabel Hernández and Alicantin Lara Himmes will sail in Swedish waters as part of the preolympic team with Ramiro Foguet as the coach. Under23 Claudia Adán, third component of the preolympic team, will also participate in the European champs.

In ILCA 7, up to 153 athletes have subscribed, of which 130 will go for the European podium. Cypriot Pavlos Kontides, two-times World and Europe’s champion and twice olympic winner, and British Michael Beckett, with four European medals, are among the favorites in Marstrand, alongside German Philipp Buhl and Hungarian Jonatan Vadnai.

RFEV’s team is formed by five sailors of the preolympic team: Leo Barreto, from Tenerife, Gonzalo Suárez, from Alicante, Grand Canary Samu Beneyto and Majorcans Pep Cazador, from Club Nàutic s’Arenal, and Javier Seguí, from Reial Club Nàutic del Port de Pollença (who is Under23).

The coach of the preolympic ILCA 7 team, Gustavo Lima, has explained his impressions: “It’s a complex place, logistically, and the climate is really fresh. The forecast of the two first days shows winds, which is positive for our interests, which are entering the gold fleet. It’s a very young team and the goals are long-term. The training is going well and we are very motivated to represent Spain with honor in such a complex and competitive class.”

The European ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 championship has three journeys of qualifying series programmed, from Monday 11th to Wednesday 13th of August, with two tests programmed per day. From Thursday 14th, and if the four qualifying races have been completed, the male and female fleets will dispute the final series. On Saturday 16th, the names of the new European champions will be known.