The second phase of the TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year concluded with a flood of votes: 50,009, an all-time record in the history of the award! Let’s briefly review what had happened: in the first phase (Feb. 18-March 15) we asked you to vote on the dedicated website velistadell’anno.giornaledellavela.com for your favorite candidates from the initial 100. The top thirty most voted for passed the round (after nearly 30,000 votes): in this second stage the final “skimming” took place. Only the top 10 candidates gained access to the finals. (cover photo by Martina Orsini)
Here are the final rankings of the second phase:
1. Elio Somaschini – 8837 votes
2. Andrea Barbera – 8253 votes
3. Giulia Grilli / Pietro Jan Bellot – 7285 votes
4. Marco Gradoni – 5708 votes
5. Ambrose Beccaria – 5413 votes
6. PoliTo Sailing Team – 4899 votes
7. Patrizio Bertelli – 4569 votes
8. Fabrizio Olmi / Davide Di Maria – 4402 votes
9. Caterina Degli Uberti / Giulia Ancillotti – 4234 votes
10. Sergio Caramel – 4092 votes
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
Now the ball is in the court of the Sailing Newspaper jury, which will have the task of deciding who will be the TAG Heuer 2020 Sailor of the Year and to whom the prizes will go TAG Heuer #don’tcrackunderpressure (To those who have shown that they never give up even under pressure), TAG Heuer Innovation (To those who have been able to make a special contribution in design and innovation), TAG Heuer Performance (to those who have achieved results through painstaking work on technique, training and refinement of teamwork) and TAG Heuer Young (to a young talent in competitive sailing).

TAG HEUER MOST VOTED AWARD GOES TO…
But one thing in the meantime we can anticipate: the winner of the “TAG Heuer Most Voted,” or the candidate who between the two online stages took the most votes after a fight to the death with Italian-Brazilian navigator Elio Somaschini, is the Agrigento-based Andrea Barbera, with 11,054 votes (8253 + the 2801 from the first phase)
THE AWARDS CEREMONY AND LIVE SOCIAL FEEDS WITH THE FINALISTS
The award ceremony was supposed to take place at Milan Yachting Week in early May, but the health emergency does not make it possible. The TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year does not stop, the Virus does not stop it because this is the award that represents an entire sailing community. And so he adapts to these times made up of social distancing with a few small changes in the program.
The prize-giving celebration of Italy’s best sailors, which we have been organizing since 1991, is being modified and expanded. The web will be the new stage for the Day of Champions, and it will run over time, 12 days from May 25 to June 6. Before the Champion’s Night ceremony – hosted by sports journalist Mino Taveri – on June 6, we will have daily live meetings on our socials with the ten nominees for TAG Heuer Sailor of the Year. We assure you that it will be even better than before! Soon the calendar with all social gatherings, where you can actively participate by asking questions to your idols!
Stay tuned here and at velistadell’anno.giornaledellavela.com to find out everything you can expect.
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