BEN PROFFITT
I have to be honest, the Portugal Viana 2018 racing was easily the best slalom racing I have ever had to do the commentary for. It was 40 knots so the guys and the girls were on the edge of control. At any gybe mark you just never knew what was going to happen. More often than not a rider crashed round the last mark. You could really build the pressure with that type of exciting slalom racing. The main thing for me was just having the racing so close to the beach. The racers were blasting off the start line full power and coming in through the shorebreak with the inside gybe mark sometimes in the waves. When the first heats went down, we had eight guys coming over the back of the waves, all trying to choose their line. Cyril Moussilmani boosted an eight-foot air going out during a heat. In an ideal world that was the perfect setup. According to our viewers it went down like a storm. I don’t think the slalom could have been any better. The pros had helmets and body armour for the foil racing in 8 knots in Costa Brava and then we had 40 knot slalom races with eight guys within inches of each other in waves and they were all just wearing shorts and rash vests. If we have those conditions again I think the guys will be wearing protection! For me that was as exciting as racing can be and I think anybody who likes watching radical sports would have enjoyed it!