Impeccable closing day... a fifth place with a lot of quality, dignity and much work.

The National Optimist Team, after winning all its confrontations on the last day of the European Team Championship that has concluded today in the Italian town of Lago di Ledro, has achieved the fifth absolute. Italy takes the witness from Spain, while Turkey repeats the second square and Sweden ends third. Malta, the big surprise in Ledro, says goodbye fourth.

In the course of the day there have been no surprises and the Spanish fleet of optimist has demonstrated the high level it has, winning all its meetings and with a wide margin on the rest of the teams, especially in Finland and Norway. Something more disputed has been the penultimate meeting of Spain in Ledro and has had Germany as a rival, although the boys were perfect from the very same line of departure.

Final classification
Italy
Second Turkey
Sweden
Malta
5th Spain
Germany
Finland
Norway
Denmark
10th Netherlands
Eleventh France
Twelfth Slovenia
Thirteenth England
Fourteenth Ireland
Fifteenth Switzerland

Third Day: Spain has only to fight for the 5th place

Spain is unable to revalidate the title of European Team Racing champion. The few possibilities of having a miracle were fading to the first of change after losing the penultimate meeting of the eight-league against Turkey. Nor was there any luck in the second with Sweden as an opponent. A very controversial encounter where our boys gave it all but I can't be. The other results also did not help Spain that saw the semifinals say goodbye, a series that Italy, Sweden, Turkey and Malta were going to dispute, the latter was the great surprise in Ledro, as it is the first time they have participated in this competition.

The Spanish fleet of Optimist, after losing with Turkey and Sweden in the league of eight, enters the Round Robin by taking it to the ninth square. Italy, Sweden, Malta and Turkey move to semi-finals (Pep Portas)

However, Spain had to settle for the Round Robin for the fifth to the ninth square, so the Spanish goal became the fifth. A complicated goal as Finland (5) and Germany (6) have ended up ahead of Spain, seventh. The first match to reach that fifth place was against Finland and there Spain was perfect from beginning to end. The script was to be repeated at the next meeting against Germany, 1.2 and 3 and a strong triumph with the Germans. Now there is only one meeting, against Norway, that will take place tomorrow, the last day of the European Team Racing.

Second Day: The second, a sour day for Spain

The second day of the European Team Racing, which is held on Italian lands of Lago di Ledro until this next Saturday, has been closed with two sides for Spain. In the first one our boys showed their best image, the best reflection being the duel with Germany, with a great team work, achieving a triumph in the last meters. Spain began the seventh day, although with many differences between countries due to the number of disputed meetings. At the end of the Round Robin, Spain achieved a spectacular rallying to fourth, even ahead of the almighty Turkey that finished sixth, although Italy did not make any mistakes and achieved the first square.

After an exceptional start with only wins, the defeats came (Pep Portas)

The second part, with a leguilla among the eight best, began Spain from zero and with it many illusions of being able to achieve good numbers for the penultimate day, arriving with options to be in semifinals but... Spain was not lucky (another arbitral error), nor was it right. The first duel was against the Cinderella Malta, the great revelation in Ledro and that not only was it imposed on Spain but it was also going to win all its confrontations, the only country with Sweden to achieve three out of three. The next two were against Italy and Norway, which our people trusted to add the first point.

The pass to semifinals has been very complicated for Spain and only a miracle can make ours at that party. Spain has to win all its meetings and some from above, especially Malta, Sweden or Italy, but it will also have to pay attention to Turkey as it has only won 1 out of 3, as has Germany, Norway or Finland. Spain will be the first morning to come into play, and it will be against Turkey. Then its rivals will be Sweden and the next series will see faces with Finland and Germany.

First Day: Spain begins in seventh place

The National Optimist Team has started defending the 2015 continental title in the Italian town of Lago di Ledro, in the European Team Championship. On the first day, ours have played seven meetings, winning three of them.

Denmark was the first rival... a meeting that Spain won without excessive plunder. Then the rival was going to be Finland... the Nordic gave us no choice and were clearly imposed. After Finese the Norwegians, but a mistake of judges Iset Segura and Carlos Losantos gave the dubbed with a victory that was clear and deserved... that the brawls recognized their grave error, was worth an education... but in the score they scored us a defeat. With the morale on the ground, Malta won us, and we recovered by beating Switzerland and France in the next two clashes.

Spain needs to improve much to defend its 2015 title (Pep Portas)

But the best was left for the end. The great favorite, Italy, was waiting for Spain but it showed that despite the four defeats until that time it is the current champion and with a high level. The boys didn't give a single option to the Italians who saw how Spain was going to get to the end, with a strong 3-0. Thus, Spain is seventh, but with fewer clashes than other countries. Turkey, the 2015 European subchampion, with eight wins over nine clashes is leader, followed by Sweden, seven wins and one defeat, while Italy is third with seven wins over nine encounters. The Regatas Committee hopes to close the Round Robin tomorrow to give way to the league of the eight best qualified, hoping that Spain will be among that group.

Previous: The National Optimist Team to defend its European 2015 title

The National Optimist Team moves to the Italian waters of Lago di Ledro to try to defend the European Team Racing champion crown. A title that he achieved brilliantly last year at the same headquarters in a final infarction with Turkey and that was decided on the same line of arrival. The Spanish combination comes to the European meeting with new faces, although some of them were already in Ledro, case of the Catalan Iset Segura. The rest of the Spanish expedition is made up of the Canaries Carmen Losantos and Ruben Naranjo (captain of the Spanish team), the Balar Juan Lladó and the Catalan Arnau Gelpí.

The National team, from izqd. to dcha. Jordi Lladó, Carmen Losantos, Carlos Torrado, President AECIO Ioda Spain, Kiko Echo, coach, Iset Segura, Ruben Naranjo and Arnau Gelpí

For the Spanish technician Kiko Echo, who adds four European Team Racing champion titles and a subchampionship, sees possibilities for revalidating the title, but is aware of the level of some countries that reach the Italian meeting very strong, after seeing their participation in Crotone European. The last three days the Spanish regatists have been training in Torrevieja, along with the local team. Tomorrow and afternoon sessions, with just over three hours of technical talk and regulation and about four hours of water preparation. He has also drawn positive conclusions, but he knows that Spain is one of the countries, not to say the country to be beaten.

Many of the teams that will compete with Spain in Ledro have been very well prepared in recent weeks, in the case of the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy or Turkey, in order to be able to win the Spaniards. This, according to Kiko Como, "is another motivation to achieve or try to play a good role". The Spanish technician is somewhat restless because in Crotone you can see the state of shape and the level of some countries that will now be Ledro, but trust their boys as for Kiko "has a high level and are good."