Friday, 3 April: Frenchman Alex Barret holds the early lead in the 18th running of the Karujet after a strong first day, winning the time trial and finishing second in the revised 40 minute second stage. “I had a good start and got to the all-shot in the lead. My team has done a great job. I knew Warner was gaining on me with the turbo he runs. He passed me because he was simply faster than me. After that I just tried to keep it safe and come in second, knowing I had enough of a lead on the guys behind me. It's been a great day for me with my win in the time trials earlier. I got through the first day of the Karujet for the first time since 2010, and I hope I can keep this going through the week.”
Criag Warner from the USA sits in second spot after going fourth best in the time trial and taking the stage 2 win, with Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Botti in third overall.
Barret led to the first mark, with Warner second, two-time Champion Davy Vaitilingon in third ahead of Alain Tarzia, Botti and defending Champion Ugo Fidelin.
Vincent Karam was in the mix but dropped from 7th to 9th mid stage and was passed by Yann Ponama and Pascal Gounouman.
Francois Medori’s Karujet jinx looks set to continue; the Frenchman, who came so close to winning in 2014, was looking good after taking second in the time trial but took a tumble in stage 2 dropping way down the order to end the day in 24th.
2013 Champion Marc Forbin also had a bad start in his quest for a second title, finishing the day down in 22nd spot after injuring his ankle, defending Champion Ugo Fidelin having a shocker ending the day in 29th spot.
At the front of the field Barret kept the lead until the 22nd minute when Craig Warner moved ahead, going on to take the win convincingly by 18 seconds. “It was a lot of fun. I was just trying to get from point A to point B on the shortest track instead of going outside to avoid the seaweed. Everyone else kept going around the seaweed, so I had the advantage there.” said Warner.
Vaitilingon is looking threatening and rounded out the day and in fourth after taking third in stage 2 ahead of Botti lying in third overall, Alain Tarzia and Yann Ponama finishing in fifth and sixth in the stage. “A great race and good to get some points on the board early on and under my belt before tomorrow's 68 km race to Marie Galante. That's when the serious racing really begins.” said Vaitilingon. “As a two time champion I always relish a third title. There's nothing more satisfying than racing here against the best riders in the world and taking them on. Today's course is pretty flat, with small waves, so the faster bikes will do well here. The trick to winning the Karujet is team work, mechanical reliability and consistency.”
Botti: “This is my fifth Karujet. This race is very tough for me, but it's even tougher from a mechanical standpoint. The aim here this year for me is to finish it. You can have so many mechanical problems out there, and that's what happened to me last year. So my goal this year is to just finish, every race.”
Time Trial:
1. A Barret 2. F Medori 3. JB Botti 4. C Warner 5. K Carlini 6. D Vaitilingon
Stage 2:
1. C Warner 2. A Barret 3. D Vaitilingon 4. JB Botti 5. A Tarzia 6. Y Ponama
Overall:
1. A Barret (fra) 1:1.43
2. C Warner (usa) + 12.00s
3. JB Botti (fra) + 54.00s
4. D Vaitilingon (gua) + 1:17s
5. Y Ponama (gua) + 2:20s
6. A Tarzia (fra) + 2:27s
Results:
http://aquabike.net/results/2015/france-guadeloupe
For further information: