The French Team produced the Athens Olympic Gold medalist, Faustine Merret, who currently has fierce competition from a young up-and-coming girl; Charline Picon who took the silver in Palma last month. Faustine has had time away from the Tour allowing Charline to stand out, and having lost weight Charline is now going well in both strong and light winds. There are too many French male contenders to name them as all have performed well over different events. Their trials will certainly be tight.

In the Spanish RS:X Team it is the women who really stand out as the ones to watch. Two girls have a fantastic chance of performing well and have already proven themselves as consistent racers with the ability to win regattas. Marina Alabeau is currently World Ranked No.1, won a Silver Medal at the 2006 Worlds and has had multi-podium finishes on the World Tour. She seems to be naturally fast on the new RS:X kit. Blanca Manchon has pedigree from the Mistral, having won the 2004 Europeans and representing Spain in the Athens Olympics. But she maintained her form onto the RS:X by winning the 2006 Europeans. She has been hampered recently with a shoulder injury, but I know that as the Spanish Trials have already started the two are very close on points so it should be a nail-biter.

With so many different countries producing very talented racers, the Olympic Windsurfing class is definitely an exciting tour to follow. As it is such a physical class it is important to peak at the right events for selection, so certain sailors could be more motivated than others depending on if that event counts in their trials or not. Those different approaches to the event have the effect of certain sailors jumping up the results and others not performing so well. But the ultimate showdown will be at the Worlds in Portugal this July where undoubtedly all countries will be battling out for their place in China as well as that coveted podium finish.

The Worlds in Portugal is certainly where you will see a big battle between all the Brits, as it is the first event where the selectors take a really good look at our performances. In the UK women I will be looking to stand out against Lucy Horwood; a clash between Mistral and Formula pedigree. In the Men’s, Nick Dempsey will have to maintain his form against Leo McCallin who last year proved to be of World Class standard and also Richard Hamilton who has just been selected as our boy for the ISAF Youth Worlds and has a very good chance of a medal. So keep an eye on our performances on the Tour and place your bets!

RS:X European Championships: Limassol, Cyprus (5-15 June)
RS:X Worlds: Cascais, Portugal (12 -21 July)