In Riva del Garda from September 9-11, the final act of the 2016 ALCATEL J/70 CUP ITALY took place. It was the fourth stage of the season-long series and also marked the finale for the ALPEN CUP—emblematic of the Lago di Garda J/70 Champion. Thirty-three crews representing nine countries sailed the regatta, hosted by Fraglia Vela Riva. Crews participated from Spain, Malta, Monaco, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Russia and Brazil. Franco Solerio’s L’ELAGAIN (with tactician Danele Cassinari) was hoping to repeat last year’s win and keep the national title. The San Remo team was being chased hard by Carlo Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK for the overall title. Meanwhile, sitting in third with a mathematical chance at winning the overall title was the top Corinthian crew of Alexander Zampori’s MAGIE DAS Sailing Team. And, they were being hotly pursued by Claudia Rossi’s European Championship team on PETITE TERRIBLE. Day 1: Riva del Garda delivered on the first day of sailing, providing the fleet with winds from 180 deg and blowing 10-12 kts with gusts to over 16 kts. After the first day, Solerio’s crew on L’ELAGAIN jumped into an early lead with 1-5-1 finishes for 7 pts. Working hard to maintain their consistency was Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK, with tactician Paul Cayard keeping them in the hunt with finishes of 4-6-8 for 18 pts. The fight for third place ended up in a tie between Rossi’s PETITE TERRIBLE with a daily scoreline of 9-7-5 and the Spanish J/80 World Champion team led by Jose Maria “Pichu” Torcida on NOTICIAS with a tally of 3-10-7 for 20 pts. Leading the Corinthian division was the Maltese Sebastian Ripard on board CALYPSO. Lying second behind them was Ludovico Fassitelli’s JUNDA from YC Monaco with a 3-3-22, and in third was Diego Negri’s Italian NOTARO Team with a 1-6-24. Day 2: After three more races on the final day, Solerio’s L’ELAGAIN took the Fraglia Vela Riva Act IV and, as a result, won the ALCATEL J/70 CUP overall as well as taking the ALPEN CUP for best Riva del Garda team. Solerio’s team consisted of Daniele Cassinari (tactician), Stefano Orlandi (mainsail trimmer) and Roberto Torn (trimmer). By finishing second in Riva del Garda, Rossi’s PETITE TERRIBLE team secured third overall for the season series. Although the Alberini-Cayard combo on CALVI NETWORK finished third on Garda, they still ended up second overall for the season. Sitting in fourth place was another famous combination in Garda; skipper Michele Galli on B2 with America’s Cup skipper and J/24 World Champion Francesco d’Angelis calling tactics. Fifth in the regatta was Pichu Torcida from Spain on NOTICIAS. For more ALCATEL J/70 Cup sailing information, visit http://www.j70.it/.