Solid start leaves Denmark SailGP Team in podium spots at half-time in Spain

Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL scored back-to-back podiums on Race Day 1 at Spain Sail Grand Prix to leave them in touching distance of a first ever SailGP event podium spot.

The Danish team – led by Nicolai Sehested – secured consecutive third placed finishes in Race 2 and Race 3 of the opening day in Cádiz to finish in the overall podium spots at the half way point.

Sehested said: “It’s nice to start with a solid first day in Cádiz, in tricky conditions, but there’s a long way to go yet. We have to stay focused, because you’re only as good as your last race.

“We know that consistency is the key for us now, and if we start to put good results together then we will find ourselves at the right end of the rankings.”

Race Day 2 in Spain is likely to be a very different affair from the first, with more breeze – potentially up to 25 knots – predicted.

“We haven’t really raced in windy stuff since Bermuda, but we’re also a much better team than we were back then. We can’t go out there thinking about the leaderboard, we have to sail every day like it’s Day 1 – go out, have two good races, and I’m sure we’ll be in the right place come the end of the day,” added Sehested.

The Spain Sail Grand Prix saw the eight teams make history – with every boat featuring a female athlete onboard during racing for the first time.

Danish Olympic bronze medallist Katja Salskov-Iversen, who, alongside Olympic champion Anne-Marie Rindom, joined Denmark SailGP Team at the beginning of Season 2, stepped onboard Denmark SailGP Team as the crew configuration was expanded to six, or four in light winds.

“It was an amazing experience to be racing onboard these boats – you can’t simulate the adrenaline and speed that you get during a crazy starts,” said Salskov-Iversen.

“When you’re out there racing, it’s down to business and full focus, so I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about how big this day is, but I’m sure I’ll look back on it in future as a really huge moment both personally and for females in sailing.”

Don’t miss the action on Race Day 2 at Spain Sail Grand Prix – Danish fans can tune into TV2 Sport X at 1630 CEST, and those based outside of Denmark can head to sailgp.com/watch to find out how to follow in their market.