68 AUGUST 2019
DORIAN VAN RIJSSELBERGHE
COSTA BRAVA
This event was definitely different to what I am used to in all possible ways.
One of the reasons for us to be here was to see what the potential for an
Olympic class would be. That vision has become clearer after Costa Brava.
There are certain things from the racing here we can add to the vision and
a few we can take away. It was great to see the way the guys all helped each
other out. Everybody is very passionate about sailing at the PWA. The day it
was fifty knots was great. We need those days once in a while. It was good to
push ourselves. A lot of guys made a lot of big steps forward within an hour
of sailing in that crazy breeze. I enjoyed the slalom foiling. I prefer the course
racing side of foiling more than the slalom, but I do think there is a time and
place for the slalom and it can be spectacular. I had a lot of fun gybing with
all the PWA guys around. There are lots of variables tuning up your foil gear.
You have the trim of the sail, the foil rake, the foil wing rail,... the trim of
everything! It is not plug and play anymore. It is complicated, but it is fun
to geek out a little bit. I think we can now sail in 6-40 knots and it’s pretty
amazing to see what is possible.
THIRD GOLD
I am very competitive. If I think I have the slightest chance of winning I will
give it my absolute best shot. If I sniff a little bit of opportunity I will try and
take it. I also have to be realistic sometimes.
Potentially I will be going for gold again. At the moment we are in the
middle of the qualification series where there is another Dutch guy Kiran
Badloe who is also doing extremely well. He is also my training partner. We
are in a neck and neck race to go to the games in Tokyo. There is a three
way event qualification - last year, this year and next year for the world
championships. Whoever does best out of those three goes to the games.
There is only one rider from each country unfortunately. He is my good
friend and we travel together and train together. He is also my main rival.
The cool thing is that we are both really proud of each other and have both
been 1st and 2nd at the worlds and Europeans. We are doing a good job
and smashing it! So hopefully we can keep going like that all the way to the
games. It is a bit of a shame that we are possibly the best two in the world
and only one of us gets to go. That is the way it is. We can get frustrated by
it, but that is just life and complaining will not contribute anything. We put
it to one side and both just try our best. We both want to go to the games
but if either of us loses then we will be rooting for the other guy. If he beats
me, I’ll make sure that Kiran will be able to win it. Besides that I just want
to cruise on my foil stuff and have as much fun as possible.
“I AM VERY COMPETITIVE.”
Dorian on top!Hands up if you have 2
Olympic golds!Dorian on his way to gold
in Weymouth.