It was June when Balanger first started to hear whispers around the boat park in Malcesine that he was starting to look one of the favourites for the upcoming world championship. There was some justification for the speculation, given that he had just won the Fraglia Vela Malcesine’s Balardi Cup with five wins in six races.
The chatter intensified significantly after he also dominated the 89-boat Moth fleet at foiling week – winning with a counting scoreline of six firsts, a second, two thirds, and a fifth. It was his third consecutive victory at the event. Nevertheless, the young French sailor struggled to imagine himself as favourite for the world title.
“When you are 24 years old and you see the entry list of the Moth Worlds I think it’s not realistic to think you can win this championship. My first priority was to be able to say to myself that I had done everything I could to be ready for this regatta. Then I really wanted to be able to enjoy racing against sailors like Tom Slingsby and the rest of those top guys. Because it is not every day you get to race bow to bow with people as good as that.”
That’s some impressive attitude and it was an approach that Balanger says stopped him feeling too much pressure once the Worlds began and allowed him to race with confidence in his preparation, technique, and boat speed.
“I was really happy with my preparation and I was confident in my VMG and my skills on the water. Before Foiling Week I was ready to fight for a top five spot and if I got on to the podium, that would be crazy cool. Winning Foiling Week gave me the confidence to know that I could beat these guys if I sailed well.”
Balanger may not have been a Worlds favourite in his own mind but he said that going into the world championship series he was “ready to fight for a top five or podium” but also very much at peace with himself and his preparation for the event.
“Foiling Week was a really important week for me. I had already won twice over the last two years. It was my first big senior regatta to win in 2023 and now I had managed a ‘three-peat’. I said to my coach: “I think my summer is already won. I am happy with what we have done and now whatever happens, I’m happy – so let’s go racing.”
That said, the five days between Foiling Week and the Worlds felt like an eternity for Balanger, who was raring to get going.
