King of the mountain to be crowned at St. Moritz Match Race

ST. MORITZ – A new ‘King of the mountain’ will be crowned at St. Moritz this week, the latest stop on the World Match Racing Tour. The St. Moritz Match Race begins on Tuesday, with 12 of the top match racers in the world, including Jochen Schuemann (GER), who is fresh off his victory at the America’s Cup with the Swiss defender, Alinghi.
At St Moritz, the 12 deep field is competing for a prize purse of 150 000 Sfr (approximately US$ 125 000) in addition to critical ranking points on the World Match Racing Tour. This event features the top four ranked sailors on the tour, including the defending champion at St Moritz, Paolo Cian (ITA), who will be eager to get back on a winning track after a disappointing result (11th) at the Danish Open last week.
Similarly, Mathieu Richard (FRA), who topped the World Match Race Tour table before having a difficult time in Denmark (10th place) and slipping to second on the Tour, will be aggressively pursuing victory here in Switzerland.
Ian Williams (GBR) is now at the top of the table on the World Match Racing Tour after earning a third place finish in Copenhagen by defeating Sébastien Col (FRA) in the petite final. Col arrives in St. Moritz in fourth position on the Tour championship board.
But it’s not just the tour leaders who are competing in St. Moritz. Two-time St. Moritz winner Mark Mendleblatt (USA) is here seeking his third ‘King of the mountain’ title after claiming the title in 2004 and 2005. And Michael Hestbaek (DEN), who is with the United Internet Team Germany America’s Cup team, is also in St. Moritz, seeking World Match Racing Tour glory.
The rest of the field doesn’t make the competition any easier. Eugeny Neugodnikow (RUS) and his ‘Lord of the Sail’ team have only competed in one event on the current edition of the World Match Race Tour, but they made it count, scoring 12 points from a fourth place finish in Germany. That came after a Semi Final loss to Staffan Lindberg (FIN) in Germany, who just missed on scoring points in Copenhagen with a ninth place finish.
The home favourites will surely be Eric Monnin (SUI) who finished in seventh place last year in St. Moritz, and Matthias Renker (SUI). Monnin will be looking to make the final four in front of a home crowd in St. Moritz this week, while Renker is attempting to build on solid results on the Alinghi Swiss Tour over the past couple of years. Renker, along with Matteo Simoncelli (ITA) are attempting to score their first points on the World Match Racing Tour.
The St. Moritz Match Race 2007 will be sailed on Lake St. Moritz, which is located in the Engadin region of the South-eastern Swiss Alps. At an elevation of nearly 2 000 metres above sea level, it is likely the ‘highest-elevated’ match racing event in the world.
The sailors will have to make a quick adjustment to the unique boats used in St. Moritz. In contrast to much of the World Match Racing Tour, where 10 to 14 metre keelboats are in vogue, the St. Moritz event features the Streamline 7.15, a seven-metre, three-person, trapeze keelboat, which physically and mentally challenges skippers and crew alike.
The first day of the St. Moritz Match Race is on Tuesday, 14th August, with the Final scheduled to take place on Sunday 19th.

Kirsten Bollinger,Media St. Moritz Match Race