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.
