Robert Scheidt and Austin Sperry won the fourth race of the series and are snapping Cayard and Kleen’s transom but will need the American leaders to make a mistake to have any chance of toppling them from the overall regatta lead.
Scheidt and Sperry controlled today's race from the front, but behind them the fight was relentless as Cayard and Kleen traded places with Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi over the latter stages, with both pairs looking for an opportunity to seize the upper hand. Scheidt held on for the win. Cayard secured second. Negri finished close behind in third.
What Cayard & Kleen have built through four races is simple: consistency, in one of the strongest fleets the Bacardi Cup has assembled in years. Among the 77 teams are 17 Olympians, six Olympic medalists, three Olympic champions, and 14 Star World Champions. Yet Cayard has posted a near-perfect 1-1-1-2 scoreline.
“Paul is on fire,” said Scheidt. “He’s having a super great regatta. Not making any mistakes.”
Cayard understands exactly what that level of competition demands. “There are a lot of world champions, a lot of top-quality sailors in this class,” he said. “Everywhere you look you are in a battle.”
The approach onboard Cayard’s boat has remained deliberately simple. Start clean. Trust the speed. Then react.
“Our boat speed is good, so we’re not changing much,” Cayard said. “We try to stay clean on the start and let our speed work for us. Then halfway up the first beat we try to find where everybody is and make a strategy from there.”
In a fleet where dozens of sailors are capable of winning a race, that discipline has kept Cayard firmly in control heading into the final two days of the 99th Bacardi Cup.
Top 5 Overall After four races
1. Paul Cayard/Frithjof Kleen (USA) – 5 points
2. Robert Scheidt/Austin Sperry (BRA) – 11 points
3. Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada (POL) – 17 points
4. Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) – 20 points
5. Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise (USA) – 22 points
