Mathieu Richard (FRA, French Match Racing Team) was defeated by reigning Women’s Match Racing World Champion, Lucy Macgregor (GBR, Match Race Girls) on day one of Qualifying at the Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda. The added grit of the lesser known teams who also attacked Richard on the front foot means the current Championship leader now faces more than a formality to reach the Quarter-Finals.

Although Macgregor held a slight advantage at the start of the titanic battle, the two boats looked very evenly matched up the first beat. However the gutsy Macgregor crossed just ahead of the French skipper as they approached the windward mark. On the first downwind leg the 24-year-old Brit played the gusts to perfection, extending her lead to five lengths at the leeward mark. After that the girls stormed ahead, ignoring Richard and tacking on the windshifts to build an unassailable lead.

See below for the play of the day…

Macgregor reflected: “Our match against Mathieu was a good one but we made silly mistakes in the second one, handing victory to Phil Robertson. We’re learning all the time – the boats here need a different skill set to the ones we normally sail which makes it tough out there.”

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