MADRID, 11 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Alinghi Red Bull Racing confirmed this Monday the Swiss sailors Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bryan Mettraux, Yves Detrey and Maxime Bachelin to form its crew for the Preliminary Regatta of the America’s Cup Sailing that will take place in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona) from the 14th to the 17th. of September.
Psarofaghis, 35, and Bachelin, 25, will be the tillers, while Mettraux (33) and Detrey (44) will be the trimmers aboard the Swiss ‘AC40’. In addition, the rod Nicolas Charbonnier (42) and the two ‘trimmers’ Nicolas Rolaz (23) and Lucien Cujean (34) were named reserve crew.
“We made it a priority for everyone to improve and we learned what the first configuration was in terms of communication between the crew. We chose the four sailors and worked on the two best pairs that worked well together,” said Pietro Sibello, Sailing Team Advisor of the Swiss team.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing recalled that during the last year of training in Barcelona it has been rotating its crew between the two ‘AC40’ and the ‘AC75’ “on a regular basis, emphasizing learning and communication between team members” . “With a second ‘AC40’ crew raising the bar for each other during testing, the team was able to increase their performance level and evaluate various configurations during two-boat testing,” he noted.
The America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta, the prestigious sailing event that Barcelona will host in 2024, will have its six participants, including Emirates Team New Zealand, INEOS Britannia, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic and Orient Express Racing Team, who will compete in fleet races during the first days.
“This first pre-regatta in ‘AC40’ in Vilanova marks an important stage in our preparation and we still have many others on the way. It will allow us to test various elements both in the human and technical aspects,” warned Arnaud Psarofaghis.
For his part, Bryan Mettraux stressed that although “the objective is to win”, for this first regatta they also have the goal of “gaining experience.” “My personal goal is to feel comfortable getting my head out of the boat as much as possible and to be good at communicating. This is what will make the difference,” he said.