The fifth and final day of slalom competition started off in a very similar fashion to day four, with the breeze teasing the competitors throughout the morning resulting in racing being on hold for much of the day.

As temperatures soared to new levels so did the tension between the competitors. And, as the day progressed it became apparent that only one race would be completed, leaving the 2009 world champion, Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) fighting for the crown with the 2009 world rankings runner up, Finian Maynard (RRD, Gaastra).

Albeau Holds All The Aces

Maynard looked nervous, with plenty of work still to do, whereas Albeau was playing it cool, and trying to keep calm, confident with the knowledge that all he had to do was finish higher than 7^th. However, with the mistakes he made the previous day he knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

By mid afternoon the wind began to build, and race director, Juan Antonio Aragon made the call to start race ten. All eyes were on Albeau and Maynard to see if they'd progress through their early heats. And, as expected, there was never a moment when either looked likely to fail, with both sailors going through to the finals with ease.

At this point, Maynard had to pull something special out of the bag. He somehow had to win the final race and ensure Albeau was almost last - a tough manoeuvre to pull off in anyone's book! Maynard pushed hard right at the start, but milliseconds later the horn went again, signalling a recall for the final eight. Unfortunately for Maynard he'd put himself out of the race, and inadvertently handed the crown to Albeau on a plate.

Champion Sound

Antoine Albeau:

"I had a great start to this event except for my crash. So with two days to go I was in the lead by a considerable margin. But, yesterday I sailed really badly, going out in the second round which meant it was still possible for Finian to claim first place. This put a bit more pressure on me today, and added to that, my half of the elimination was really tough. The semi-final on my side of the draw could easily have been a winner's final with guys like Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne, Mystic), Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde), and Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra) fighting it out with me.

I felt quite tense during the final because there was a huge battle to get the best lane at the start. Luckily for me, Finian hit the line too early and was therefore disqualified from the heat. After that I was a little bit more relaxed. During the re-run of the start Bjorn came over to me and began to push a little, but I just hung back a bit because I just had to finish the race to win overall, so my start wasn't the best. I finished third which was OK, but more importantly I'd won the event.