Spithill takes honours in first Swedish Match
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Spithill and Radich fight it out
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RAVENNA, Italy -- Australian James Spithill of the OneWorld syndicate beat Denmark's Jesper Radich 3-1 to win the first of nine events in the 2002-03 Swedish Match Tour.
"We were feeling confident all week," he said after Sunday's victory in the Trofeo Challenge Roberto Trombini Match Race at Ravenna, Italy.
"We sailed a clean regatta with no penalties so we're really happy to have wrapped it up with a win."
It was Spithill's first appearance on the Swedish Match Tour -- the world's premier professional match racing sailing series -- since last year's Trombini Match Race when he and his same crew of Joe Newton, Ben Durham and Andy Feathers finished fourth.
"We were definitely a little concerned coming in because we haven't done much racing, but its a credit to the guys to be able to jump into the boat and compete at this level," added Spithill.
Having beaten Poland's Karol Jabonski to reach the final, Spithill won the first two races before Radich took the third. In the fourth and what would be the final race, Spithill forced the aggressive Danish skipper into a penalty and won the race.
Radich had beaten compatriot Jes Gram-Hansen in the fifth and final race of their semi-final.
New Zealander Gavin Brady of Prada and Spithill from One World were the only America's Cup helmsman in Ravenna.
More America's Cup skippers are expected for the Swedish Match Tour's next event, the UBS Challenge in Newport, Rhode Island, from July 31 to August 4 where there is prize money of $100,000 on offer.
Trombini Match Race standings
1. James Spithill, OneWorld Challenge
2. Jesper Radich, Denmark
3. Jes Gram-Hansen, DEN/Team Victory Lane
4. Karol Jablonski, POL/Team MK Cafe
5. Ed Baird, USA/Team Musto
6. Gavin Brady, Prada Challenge
7. Lars Nordjberg, Denmark
8. Matteo Simoncelli, Italy
9. Bjorn Hansen, SWE/Team GOL Sailing
10. Mikael Lindqvist, Sweden
11. Martin Angsell, Sweden
12. Chris Law, UK/Team Outlaw
Swedish Match Tour 2002-03 rankings after one event
1. James Spithill, OneWorld Challenge 25 points
2. Jesper Radich, Denmark 20 points
3. Jes Gram-Hansen, DEN/Team Victory Lane15 points
4. Karol Jablonski, POL/Team MK Café 12 points
5. Ed Baird, USA/Team Musto 10 points
6. Gavin Brady, Prada Challenge 8 points
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