Ocean Racing European Championship: Alicante Set to Crown Continental Champions

Alicante is ready to host the European Ocean Racing Championship from October 5 to 7 in La Vila Joyosa. The Italian canoe federation will present a strong and young delegation of nine 'Azzurri' (Italian national athletes) under the guidance of Technical Director Mariano Bifano. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Friday, October 5, marking the official start of the continental event. The competition will see over 180 athletes from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and, of course, Spain, battling it out on the waves of the Catalan coastal town. The course will run between La Vila Joiosa and Campello/Altea, with wind conditions determining the start. On Saturday, competitors in the Junior, U23, and Senior categories will vie for European titles in SS1, while Sunday will feature master events in SS2 and OC1. “We arrived last night, and this morning we are already on the race course to test the route references and the best lines,” commented Mariano Bifano, head of the ocean racing sector. “Wind forecasts should stabilize around 7-8 knots, a fairly easy condition with very little swell. The idea was to form a team of young, motivated, and versatile athletes, with the aim of investing in youth categories: among the juniors, we will have Zoe Faiman and Chiara Agostinetti at the start, two girls from flatwater disciplines who, based on what we’ve seen in various training camps and selective trials, make us hope for a top-five position. In the senior team, we will have the champion Susanna Cicali, a multi-medalist in sprint and marathon canoeing, who this year has invested in the surfski discipline; with her is the fearless long-distance specialist Gaia Piazza. For the men, Andrea Cervia is the sector specialist, the only athlete who practices only surfski, while Martin Behrens was a great discovery from the Garda school, a talented young man who is moving towards this discipline. The group is completed by…

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