A change of wind sparked a change of fortune for some crews in the Trofeo Princesa Sofia in Mallorca ©Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca

A change to the weather, with the arrival of warmer temperatures and some substantial shifts in wind direction, led to a change in fortunes for some of the racers on day three of the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca at the Bay of Palma, the first event of the Hempel World Cup sailing series.

The change in weather proved profitable for Lauriane Nolot of France in the women's Formula Kite event.

She enjoyed a consistent day with a second and three first places moving her into the lead of the women's fleet by five points as she began her campaign to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic regatta. 

Her compatriot Poema Newland is not far behind in third position.

"I feel like this is the start of our road to the Olympics in Marseille and with Poema, the way we have been battling against each other since last year is good for both of us and here we are near the top," Nolot said.

"But I am a little bit of a perfectionist and so I see my mistakes everywhere and am always looking to improve.

"I wanted to avoid all the mistakes I made yesterday when I was too focused on how unpredictable the wind was and today I just accepted the wind is unpredictable here and just concentrated on my speed and that worked well."

In the 49er skiff class the French pairing of Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin continue to lead the men’s fleet despite a disappointment in the first race of the day, before they bounced back with a second place in the next. 

"It was lighter today, so more tactical," Fischer said.

"We missed some opportunities in the first race but overall we’re very happy with how it’s going. 

"The forecast looks good for tomorrow and it looks a bit stronger which is always fun but to be honest we are just happy to be back out racing again."



In the International Laser Class Association 7 dinghies, Jean Baptiste Bernaz of France, bidding to qualify for his fifth Olympics, leads the overall standings by one point from his training partner Philipp Buhl of Germany.

"The first race was not easy as there was one big wind shift and if you were not there you were finished," he said.

Olympic gold medallist Matthew Wearn enjoyed a change in fortune after an uncertain beginning to competition.

The Australian posted two second place finishes to move up to eighth overall, a good end to a day that had started with a technical failure leading to him not completing the opening race.

A late arrival at the boat park meant Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman of Spain were up against the clock even before they reached the water but they won both the day’s races in the mixed 470s. 

"We were in race mode before the racing started," joked Brugman afterwards.

They retain a comfortable lead overall from Italians Giacomo Ferrari and Bianca Caruso. 

In the Nacra 17, Olympic silver medallists John Gimson and Anna Burnet of Britain won their first race of the week, but Tokyo 2020 champions Tita Ruggero and Caterina Banti of Italy still lead the overall classification in the class.

"The first race was light, maybe seven to eight knots so no foiling upwind, only downwind," Ruggero said.

"John and Anna found the best wind and there was no chance to catch them."

The event is the first of the 2022 Hempel World Cup series and the first major international competition since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.