Miguel Martinho (Clube Naval de Portimão) took the podium at the Spanish National Championship of Formula Windsurfing, held in the Bay of Cádiz, between the 11th and 13th of October.
The athlete from the Algarve finished the race in 3rd place in the general classification, removed from the discussion of victory due to a technical problem on the first day of races and the cancellation of the last day of the race due to lack of wind, which did not give him enough margin to recover from the initial misfortune in a very competitive front squad.
“The championship was very good; we had a very interesting fight up front”, commented Miguel Martinho. In fact, this championship is marked by stormy weather conditions, which imposed additional difficulties on the athletes.
It was also marked by the impressive fight up front, held by three athletes: the Spaniards Fernando Martinez del Cerro and Juan Moreno Vega, and the Portuguese Miguel Martinho.
The first day of the championship in Puerto de Santa Maria, Saturday, October 11th, was held with constant sun and wind from 10 to 15 'knots'.
In the first race of the day, Miguel Martinho started well and had an intense fight with Moreno Vega, but was eventually passed by Fernando Del Cerro, finishing the race in second place.
In that race, Miguel Martinho broke a sail ruler and was unable to make the 2nd race, with a loss for the final results, despite having performed an excellent 3rd race on the same day.
For having one less race, Miguel Martinho was in 12th place in the classification for the 2nd day of the championship. But Sunday was a stormy day. Onshore wind at around 20 knots and 1 meter swell and very irregular. Difficult conditions forced the organization to move to Puerto Sherry.
Miguel Martinho started this second day betting on regaining places in the standings and followed 1st in the first race, when a strong storm hit the bay, with hail and wind in the order of 50 'knots', forcing the athletes to put their shoes on. candles in the water. The race has been abandoned.
In Sunday's second race, Miguel Martinho, Fernando Del Cerro and Moreno Vega developed an epic fight at the front, with the Algarve athlete finishing the race in 2nd place, behind Fernando Del Cerro.
In the third race of the day, with the wind passing the 20 'knots', Miguel Martinho started well, but did poorly, finishing in 3rd place.
The epic three-a-side fight on the front line promised a lot for the third (last) day of the championship. But the wind did not enter the Bay of Cádiz and there were no races on the last day, Monday 13th October.
The classification remained as it was at the end of the penultimate day of the race: Miguel Martinho finished the championship in 3rd place, with the same number of points as the 2nd placed, but behind that in the tiebreaker, due to the lack of appearance in the second race of the championship.
This was the closing event of an excellent sporting year for Miguel Martinho, during which he won important titles in Formula Windsurfing and beyond: National Champion 2014, Vice-World Master Champion 2014, Vice-World Lightweight Champion 2014, 3rd place in the Spanish Championship and National Slalom Vice-Champion 2014.
Podium (+ Portuguese) Spanish Formula Windsurfing Championship 2014
1. Fernando Del Cerro (Club Náutico de Sevilla) – 5 points
2. Juan Moreno Vega (VH Club de Golf) – 8 pts
3. Miguel Martinho (Clube Naval de Portimão) – 8 pts
(...)
8. Luís Fonseca (Clube Naval de Portimão) – 33 pts
11. João Gil Morais (Algarvian) – 39 pts
12. Marco Gil Morais (CV Viana Castelo) – 43 pts
19. Margarida Gil Morais (International Club of Vilamoura Marina) – 75 pts
22. João Laranjo (Clube Naval de Portimão) – 92 pts
30. André Videira (CV Viana Castelo) – 131 pts
33. Ricardo Raposo Meirinhos – 156 pts
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