| Casper Bouman conquers the Grand Prix Riccione 2011 |
| Saturday, 11 June 2011 14:41 |
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Casper Bouman has stormed the first Formula Windsurfing Grand Prix Riccione 2011, along the Adriatic Sea on the eastern coast of Italy. The Italian town of 34,500 inhabitants was visited by 60 windsurfers from 15 countries. In the "green pearl" of the Adriatic, there were incredibly fast races, despite the 8-knot winds, in the first day of competition. Casper Bouman showed he was going to be hard to beat by winning the first race by a good lead over Steve Allen. In the second day, Casper dominated again and made it looked like a walk on the park. The second place was totally open on the last downwind as some sailors got stuck in the lulls. Steve Allen took advantage of this and sneaked in from around 10th to 2nd on the downwind. Ervin, who was in second up until the last few meters, dropped out of a plane and ended up in 3rd. Wilhelm Schurmann was also less than 100 meters from the finish when he stopped and had to see Miguel Martinho sneak in on 4th and Pablo Barrachina in 5th. Schurmann ended up in 6th followed by Marco Begali who was also on the new EVO3. On the third day competitors got sent out to the water but the wind just shut down and no races were completed. On the fourth day, competitors had an early start scheduled, but the conditions failed to deliver, similar to the previous day. However and despite overcast skies, the wind kicked in and two races were run in 12-to-14 knot winds, before the storm wiped out the chance of further racing. Another win in race 3 ensured Casper Bouman kept top spot on the podium. Steve Allen's consistency ensured he kept silver medal position and was first Master. The final podium position went to Martin Ervin who rounded off a great regatta by winning race 4. Formula Windsurfing Grand Prix Riccione 2011: 1. Casper Bouman (NeilPryde/F2)
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