Denmark SailGP Team hits home waters for first time in history

The team – which will race a homecoming Grand Prix for the first time since joining SailGP in late 2019 – saw its F50 hit the water ahead of an action-packed race weekend which will see the sport’s best athletes racing SailGP’s supercharged, identical, foiling catamarans in Scandinavia for the first time.

Driver Nicolai Sehested said: “It’s a huge day, not just for our team and for ROCKWOOL, but for the whole of Danish sport.

“To finally sail the F50 at home, and to bring a global, world-class sailing league like SailGP to Danish waters is a dream come true, and we can’t wait to show everyone just how epic the racing is.”

The home team’s first day of training also marked a first return to the water for Denmark’s Olympic gold medalist and Aarhus resident Anne-Marie Rindom since her dramatic triumph in Tokyo in the Laser Radial class, which saw her crowned Olympic champion.

Rindom said: “It was amazing to get back onto the F50 after a few months away to focus on my Olympic campaign – and it was just as extreme as I remember!”

“Aarhus is an amazing place for sailing, and I really hope that the locals will turn out to celebrate that we have these world-class sailors and crazy boats racing in our waters. I think it will be the Danish event of the summer.”

Rindom and fellow Danish 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Katja Salskov-Iversen joined the Danish team ahead of Season 2 as part of SailGP’s Race for the Future purpose-led agenda – driving towards a better sport and a better planet – and fast-tracking the inclusion of female athletes into the sport.

Denmark SailGP Team lines up with home advantage following some impressive performances in the previous events – including a pair of podium race finishes in Plymouth at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix last month – suggesting that it is closing the gap on some of the more experienced teams in the league.

But Sehested admits that the competition will be extremely tough in Denmark, with many Olympic sailors – plus Great Britain SailGP Team driver Ben Ainslie – returning to the water.

“Season 2 of SailGP is without doubt the most impressive line-up ever seen in sailing, and we’re all pushing the limits further and faster to stay ahead of our rivals. I’m super excited that our fans back home have the chance to see these athletes and boats doing their thing for real.

“As a team, we are making progress, and we’re confident coming into our home event. We know that, on our day, we can beat any team in SailGP.

He adds: “Now we’re focused on putting on a show for our Danish fans, who I’m sure will make this a Grand Prix to remember for a long time to come.”

Limited tickets are still remaining – on shore and on-water – to the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix – but they’re going fast. To find out more, and to purchase tickets before they sell out, head to SailGP.com/Tickets.

For those unable to make it to the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix in person, head to SailGP.com/Watch to find out how to catch the action in your market.

Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL will be training for the next few days, before the whole SailGP fleet hits the water on Wednesday. Official practice racing will take place on Thursday 19 August ahead of the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix on 20-21 August.