Summary by Ruth Jessop
Despite mutters of ‘no bueno’ and strong winds on launch this morning a 117km task was set.
Today’s theme was ‘cold and turbulent’.
The wind from the north made the wait for the start to open a very cold one.
The task can best be described as a downwind dash, with pilots reaching speeds of 85km/h. There were very strong climbs, with new lady in the comp, Ramona Eckert, enjoying an 8.7m/s climb. On the downside, Thomas Gury hit 10m/s sink!
The long leg between turn point 1 and 2 gave lots of route choices with at least five distinct groups of pilots emerging. Yassen Savov and Arthur Moindrot were the mountain men of the day until they landed.
Dario Dandeu and Felix Rodriguez Fernandez, took the ladies on a very scenic route further north over the lakes.
Today was all about Andy Tallia (wearing the maillot jaune) and Baptiste Lambert (wearing the maillot vert). They set off with 0.1 points between them, it doesn’t get closer than that.
On the ladies’ leaderboard it wasn’t any less stressful. After five tasks Violeta Jimenez had just a 1.1 point lead over Kari Ellis.
The last leg of the race from turn point 2 to End of Speed was nail biting as Andy caught up, but Baptiste had an unbeatable lead out point advantage.
At the end of the day, Baptiste Lambert was once again unstoppable, he was always in front in a controlling position. He claimed his 4th World Cup victory here in Pegalajar, having already won in Baixo Guandu, Brazil and Linzhou, China (2019), Kruschevo, Macedonia (2022).
Although Kari arrived 23 seconds ahead of Violeta, Violeta clung onto her place on the top spot on the ladies’ podium. Violeta adds Pegalajar 2023 to her list of ladies’ victories: Gochang, South Korea (2022), La Rioja, Argentina (2021).
Team Niviuk 1 held onto their lead with their main rivals in today’s race being Niviuk 2.
Six days of racing shows that it takes a lot more than a windy day to stop the task here in Pegalajar.
A big thank you to all the pilots who have taken part in this amazing, first ever, World Cup in Pegalajar, for their fair play and safe flying.
None of this would have been possible without Lope Morales Gozalez, Montse Santana Dumpiennez, Inigo Redin, Antonio Romero and their team. They have worked tirelessly and with endless patience and smiles to make this competition one of the best ever.
The first 106 pilots made goal, and thus all flew the same distance, and gained the same distance points. Today’s winner is therefore the one with a combination of the best speed points and lead out points.
Top 3 speed point winners in task 6 – the fastest pilots round the course
02:19:03: Baptiste LAMBERT flying at an average speed of 48.5 km/h
02:19:07: Tilen CEGLAR
02:19:09: Pierre REMY
02:19:09: Marcelo SANCHEZ VILCHEZ
Top 3 leading point baggers in task 6– those who were in the lead the most
168.2: Baptiste LAMBERT
158.0: Tilen CEGLAR
157.6: Michael SOMMERAUER
Top 3 in task 6
1: Baptiste LAMBERT
2: Tilen CEGLAR
3: Pierre REMY
Best newcomer: Marcelo SANCHEZ VILCHEZ (4th)
Top 3 ladies in task 6
1: Alexia FISCHER
2: Kari ELLIS
3: Violeta JIMENEZ
Top 3 teams in task 6
1: Niviuk 2
2: Woody Valley
3: Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association
In the team competition the top two pilots in each team are scored and the second one gives the ranking. The highest placed second team pilot was Xavier LAPORTE flying for team Niviuk 2.
Top 3 overall in the World Cup in Pegalajar 2023
1: Baptiste LAMBERT
2: Andy TALLIA
3: Pierre REMY
Best newcomer: Marcelo SANCHEZ VILCHEZ (4th)
Top 3 ladies overall
1: Violeta JIMENEZ
2: Kari ELLIS
3: Atsuko YAMASHITA
Top 3 teams overall
1: Niviuk 1
2: Woody Valley
3: Ozone
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