DANISH OPEN
Skovshoved, DEN - 13/17 August, 2003



 

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

FINAL RANKINGS
1. MAGNUS HOLMBERG
1. (SWE)
2. JESPER BANK
1. (DEN)
3. PETER GILMOUR
1. (AUS)
4. JESPER RADICH
4. (DEN)
5. KELVIN HARRAP
1. (NZL)
6. LUC PILLOT
1. (FRA)
7. ANDY BEADSWORTH
1. (GBR)
8. KAROL JABLONSKI
1. (POL)
9. ROY HEINER
1. (NED)
10. JES GRAM-HANSEN
10. (DEN)
11. LARS NORDBJAERG
10. (DEN)
12. PAOLO CIAN
10. (ITA)

HONOUR ROLLS
2002. JES GRAM-HANSEN
2002.(DEN)
2001. MAGNUS HOLMBERG
2002.(SWE)
2000. MAGNUS HOLMBERG
2002.(SWE)

 
 Holmberg gets a clean sweep in Copenhaguen (08/15/03)
 (source : Swedish Match Tour)
Sweden's Magnus Holmberg of Team Stora Enso stormed through the early heats of the Danish Open today, as 12 international teams battled it out in 30-knot gusting winds off Skovshoved Harbour.

With the Danish Open marking the beginning of Swedish Match Tour 2003/04, the America's Cup caliber racing teams were all fired up and keen to kick off the 'new year' with a bang.

The highlight of the day took place in the ninth and final round of a busy day's racing. Both Holmberg and Australia's Peter Gilmour of Team Pizza La had kept a clean sheet until their final heat, so one of them was going to be disappointed. Gilmour is known for excelling in strong breezes, but he admitted that Holmberg did a good job of sewing up their match today.

As for the four home teams, Jesper Bank, the double Olympic Champion, had the least successful day of all of them, winning just one of four heats. By contrast, Jesper Radich, recent winner of the Swedish Match Tour 2002/03, maintained his streak of good form, with four wins from five races.

The other two Danes, Lars Nordbjaerg and Jes Gram-Hansen, both ended the day with two wins against three losses.

Luc Pillot of France enjoyed a good day on the water with four wins from five races, and seemed very comfortable with the conditions.

British skipper Beadsworth was delighted to win the last race of his day against former Olympic Soling rival Roy Heiner of the Netherlands.

Leaderboard (Skipper/Wins/Losses)

Magnus Holmberg (SWE), 4-0
Jesper Radich (DEN), 4-1
Luc Pillot (FRA), 4-1
Peter Gilmour (AUS), 3-1
Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 2-3
Andy Beadsworth (GBR), 2-3
Lars Nordbjaerg (DEN), 2-3
Kelvin Harrap (NZL), 2-2
Karol Jablonski (POL), 2-2
Jesper Bank (DEN), 1-3
Roy Heiner (NED), 1-4
Paolo Cian (ITA), 0-4

Results

Flight 1 : Gram-Hansen def. Beadsworth - Pillot def. Heiner - Nordbjaerg def. Radich

Flight 2 : Heiner def. Gram-Hansen - Beadsworth def. Nordbjaerg - Radich def. Pillot

Flight 3 : Pillot def. Gram-Hansen - Nordbjaerg def. Heiner - Radich def. Beadsworth

Flight 4 : Radich def. Heiner - Pillot def. Beadsworth - Gram-Hansen def. Nordbjaerg

Flight 5 : Beadsworth def. Heiner - Radich def. Gram-Hansen - Pillot def. Nordbjaerg

Flight 6 : Harrap def. Jablonski - Gilmour def. Bank - Holmberg def. Cian

Flight 7 : Gilmour def. Jablonski - Harrap def. Cian - Holmberg def. Bank

Flight 8 : Gilmour def. Cian - Holmberg def. Harrap - Jablonski def. Bank

Flight 9 : Holmberg def. Gilmour - Bank def. Harrap - Jablonski def. Cian

 Gilmour, Nordbjerg fill out Danish Open (08/14/03)
 (source : Swedish Match Tour)
Australian America’s Cup veteran Peter Gilmour of Team Pizza La (four points) advanced out of the Petit Danish Open, the pre-event qualifier held in Middlefart, Denmark this past weekend.

Also passing through to this week’s Danish Open is Denmark’s Lars Nordbjerg (three points), a product of Danish Open-host KDY/SKS Match Race Center, as the top Danish qualifier, and second overall. Nordbjaerg advanced on countback over countryman Henrik Jensen.

"Gilmour sailed superbly with excellent maneuvers and cool tactics, both he and Nordbjerg are ready for the Danish Open," according to fellow Petit Danish Open competitor Troels Lykke.

Sweden’s Mattias Rahm of Team Stena Bulk, last year’s runner-up to Denmark’s Jes Gram-Hansen in a thrilling, three-match final, failed to advance, winning only two matches.

 All Star competition in Denmark (08/09/03)
 (source : Swedish Match Tour)
Seven America’s Cup veterans, two local skippers and a new force on the match racing scene headline the early roster of skippers for Danish Open 2003, the first event on Swedish Match Tour 2003/2004, August 13 – 17 at the KDY/SKS Match Race Center on Skovshoved Harbor, north of Copenhagen.

Leading the confirmed list are :
- Denmark’s Jesper Radich, recently crowned Swedish Match Tour 2002/2003 champion;
- Jes Gram-Hansen of Denmark, the defending event champion;
- Sweden’s Magnus Holmberg of Team StoraEnso who won the regatta in 2000 and 2001, but was unable to compete last year due to his America’s Cup commitments with the Victory Challenge.

Also competing at Danish Open 2003 are two frequent competitors on the world’s premier professional sailing series,
- Poland’s Karol Jablonski of the Jablonski Sailing Team, runner-up at last month’s Swedish Match Cup, who finished fifth on Swedish Match Tour 2002/2003;
- Italy’s Paolo Cian of the Riviera di Rimini Sailing Team, former helmsman of the Mascalzone Latino America’s Cup challenge and eighth place finisher on Swedish Match Tour 2002/2003.

Five more America’s Cup veterans dialing up in the event-supplied DS 37 Match Racers next week will be :
- Denmark’s Jesper Bank, helmsman for the Victory Challenge and runner-up to Holmberg at Danish Open 2001;
- Luc Pillot formerly a member of the Le Defi Areva afterguard and a familiar face on the Swedish Match Tour;
- Great Britain’s Andy Beadsworth of Team Henri Lloyd, helmsman for the GBR Challenge in Auckland;
- sailing legend Roy Heiner, the “Flying Dutchman,” a member of the Oracle BMW Racing Team, competing at his first Swedish Match Tour event;
- American Kelvin Harrap who has not competed on the Swedish Match Tour in two years, but is a two-time America’s Cup competitor, most recently part of the OneWorld Challenge for America’s Cup 2003, and an accomplished ocean racer with two Around the World campaigns on his resume.

The two remaining skippers, the top Dane and top international finisher, will be added following this weekend’s Petit Danish Open qualifier. Among those competing at the Petit Danish Open is Australian Peter Gilmour of Team Pizza La.