Well, now THIS blog entry is really late, but I still hope some of you will not have lost the faith in your bloggers knowing that something would be posted about it: about THE END.
The last day was very very hectic and we did not have time to make the nice entry with all the details, still my "blogging colleagues" (the scorers Alex and Isca) managed to post the immediate important info.
On Friday (last competition day) the cloud cover, as forecasted, did raise above launch and the day became flyable. There was a great concern about the wind therefore, the decision to fly was made later than usual. The atmosphere was tense, decisions had to be made very carefully. Some people thought it would be impossible for the day to improve, some others thought it would be possible. Me, I just believed hard enough that pilots would get the chance to get in the air one more time; I believed the sun would shine.
The idea on the last comp day, is to set a shorter task with goal not too far away and easy retrieve in order to have all pilots in early. Unfortunately, with the strong N-NW winds that day, pilots could only be sent to the flatlands. Some pilots commented that the conditions were very rough and others said it was OK. In the end 50 pilots flew the 84.4kms that day with the fastest time 1hr34mins and the slowest 2hrs43mins.
TEAMS: The Italians, 2nd place until that day, knew exactly what they wanted: First place for their team. Up on launch you could feel that they were going for it! I spoke to a couple of members and they agreed they needed to "attack" and push hard, as a team, to beat the "Mighty Austrians" and they did!!!
The "Azurri" dressed in green stood up on the highest step of the podium to receive their gold medals. They flew well as a group making sure of having 3 good scores, sometimes their strongest pilots would not make it to goal, but another team-mate would make sure they scored well.
INDIVIDUAL: Heinrichs flew well making sure his closest rival would not get too far in front, assuring himself the desired title: EUROPEAN CHAMPION 2010-2012. He flew consistently good throughout the whole comp, he did not make any major mistakes; he was at goal every single day, sometimes first sometimes not, but ALWAYS among the top places.
Tom Weissenberger was not entirely sure if he wanted to try and gain more than the 125 points or so that separated him from beating Gerlof. If he tried to "attack" and failed, he could drop down and miss the podium...He was tempted, very tempted. In the previous days he had been on fire closing up on Gerolf gaining more than 125points on him, it could've been possible. Still when I spoke to him at goal that last day, he said he really thought about it, but it is very hard to fly in front and attack on a blue day, the conditions were not easy for the job so he decided to make sure he was getting his silver medal and scoring for the team! So, there you are, Austria getting Gold and Silver - individual and Silver as a Team.
Attila Bertok (HUN) came in 3rd closely followed by Mario Alonzi (FRA). He was very close to the 3rd place (5 points) and maybe, with a little bit of luck with a scoring problem (on another pilot's track) on the last day, he could've gotten it...Tough one.
It was a good and exciting competition with 9 racing days and an excellent level. Pilots trying their best, learning and improving. Organizers making BIG efforts and working HARD to give their guests the best; Team Leaders, Drivers and Fans supporting the event. Once more, a great party is over, leaving us with memories and experiences to add to our "books of life", hopefully making us better people.
Thank you all for being there personally or virtually, for being a part of it. To those who followed us on this blog, thanks for your interest; we hope to have provided information, insight and images to keep you up to date on the developments.
See you somewhere, sometime soon in some beautiful place on this Earth!!!
Regards,
The Blogging Team: Alex, Isca & La Nube.
