Belcher and Ryan move a point closer to the Rio 470 lead

Only one race was possible in the 470 mens competition today and Australians Mat Belcher and Will Ryan worked their way back from a poor position early in the race to finish second. Their major rivals, Sime Fantela and Igor Marenovic (CRO) were third, so the gap has closed to two points. These two appear to be in control of the regatta at the halfway stage, with the third-placed Brits, Luke Patience and Chris Grube, already 10 points behind the Croatians.

Fantela said, “We had a decent start and not much risk. It was another good day in our pocket. We feel we have the boat tuned well and we don't worry about that now, we just focus on sailing.”

Asked how today's light and fluky conditions compared with yesterday's massive waves and strong winds, Marenovic smiled and said that yesterday was much more fun.

Belcher explained that their fall down to 11th place after a good start was the result of a big right-hand shift. “We just worked our way back, one boat at a time and managed to get second.”

He makes it sound easy.

For full results click here.

– Roger McMillan in Rio

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