Seb Col on His Summer's Racing

by Stephanie Nadin

This summer will be intense for Seb Col!

One week after the Portugal Match Cup, Seb Col is about to compete again in Match Cup Sweden, stage number 4 of the World Match Racing Tour, straight away after Germany, Korea and Portugal. The rhythm is tough and very demanding for all the teams taking part to the competition, where Seb and his team did a serious preparation through several specific trainings at the beginning of the season. But they didn't manage to reach satisfying results yet, and their goal is now to continue to improve following what they started during the Portugal Match Cup.

Sebastien Col: “our situation on the World Match Racing Tour this year is part of the difficulties to overcome. It is a challenge! We have to admit that four events following each other is tough for match racing, it is not easy to manage. So we will see after Match Cup Sweden where we are, in order to reset our goals for the second part of the season. This is the last event of the 4 in the series, and we were a bit better in Portugal where we reached the quarters. Our goal now is to continue to come back after the difficult moments we've been through, and to let them behind us once for all! Sweden is a great stage in the World Match Racing Tour, and the level is very high. We will force ourselves to manage the races one by one, and to “unleash the power”! We will use this competition to try a new approach and to sail to go further in the event. It is kind of our last chance to try different things before the second part of the season.”

After this competition of the World Match Racing Tour in Sweden which will be the last one before St Moritz Match Race in September, Seb will fly directly to Lake Garda in Italy, in order to compete in one of his favorite circuits: the RC44 championship, for the next stage of the season which is organised in Malcesine. He will sail again with the team he joined this season: Team Ceeref.

Sebastien Col: “We sailed quite well in Cagliari, but I missed the next event in Austria, as I was sailing on the World Match Racing Tour. I'm always very happy to join Team Ceeref again. We developed new sails after Cagliari, and we will receive them now for Lake Garda's event. Also I will be in the best shape for the match racing races, right after Sweden's event! I will compete again against Dean Barker, Russell Coutts, to name a few, and I'm very enthusiastic about that!”

Then Seb will join his friends of TPM-COYCH team for the Med races of the Tour de France à la Voile for 8 days. “there are a couple of very good teams to beat, and I have a good motivation for that!”, says Sebastien Col.

Beginning of August, Seb will join again the other members of the French Match Racing Team for France International Match Race competition in Pornichet.

Last but not least, Seb will keep an eye on the Italian Melges 24 circuit from Sweden, as the last stage of the Volvo Cup before the European Championships is taking place this week at the same time in Torbole, and Seb can't sail with Flavio Favini's team (Blu Moon). He will join them again in Hyeres to compete for the Melges 24 European title at the end of August.

Sebastien Col: “I will keep myself posted about the last modifications on the sails that we identified after the Cagliari's event, so that we´ll see if we are on the right way for the Europeans!”

Seb Col