Fresh off his impressive victory at the legendary One Hour Classic on Lake Garda, Matteo Iachino joins us to talk about what it takes to conquer one of the most iconic windsurfing races in the world. Battling intense competition and the famous Ora wind, Matteo delivered a flawless performance, showcasing both his strategic racing mind and physical endurance. We caught up with him to hear more about the race, his gear setup, and tactics. Here is everything you need to know about the One Hour Classic. 

What exactly is the format of One Hour Classic? How many races are done in one day?

"The format is basically quite easy. There are two GPS points where, for the last almost four years, the buoys have been put in place for this race.

So that's why there can be a record and you can compare one year to another. Then they put the marks on the GPS spots and you basically start with the rabbit start all together and you lap the lake. And how many times? For as much as you can. Basically, you go up and down from one side to the other of the lake as many times as you can.

Then this is the basis of the One Hour Classic."

What was your tactic? Or is it only about the speed and making the most rounds?

"Obviously, the speed is a key factor, but the start makes quite a difference as well, because if you have a similar speed to another rider, and you start behind by like 200-300 meters, then it makes the race way more difficult in general.

So you need to hit the start in the place where you think is the best which can be either the pin end where the rabbit starts or the boat, the last place where the rabbit crosses, it depends on the angle of the wind so if you have the first mark which is on the other side of the lake. If the downwind reach is more downwind, it would be better to start at the pin and vice versa. After the start, you go to the other side and you start lapping. 

Regarding the tactics, there is always one more broad side and one side that is more upwind. Obviously, you want to exit tight the jibe where it is more upwind, let's say, and you can exit wider the side that is broader. Also, when you try to cross other competitors to be on the upwind side of them, because this makes the wind clearer and easier to be fast, otherwise you get turbulence all the time. The first lap, you're kind of clean, but then you start mixing up with people, and then it's a mess. 

Also, being it an hour, you want to be most of the time overpowered. This is because you never know what the wind is going to do. And if it picks up, you can still manage. But if it drops, you really struggle, especially on the side you go more upwind. 
On the Saturday of the race, I used the 8-meter. On Sunday, the 9-meter. It was actually a bad choice because Saturday I should have been on 9 and Sunday was super windy to be on 9 and I should have been on 8. But the top guys were all on the same gear. We were all overpowered, so it was kind of even."

What was your equipment setup?

"I was on the X15 85 wide with the biggest front wing and the neutral setup, so I could go fast.

I had a really good speed throughout the whole weekend. We had one race per day; that's how it works. You have one hour per day, one hour on Saturday, one hour on Sunday, and the race that counts is the one with the most wind and the most laps done.

So if you do, for example, 10 laps on Saturday and 12 on Sunday, the one on Sunday counts. You do not add the results as in other races."

Tell us more about the races you had. How did it go for you? 

"On Saturday, I started first and I was easily managing in front. I got a lakeweed, I would say seaweed, but we were in the lake, and I tried to jump and remove it, but it was not possible and I was really slowing down because of that, so I had to stop, remove it and restart. I restarted ninth and I overtook him all back until I got first again and I gave 40 seconds to the second, so I was really fast.

And then on Sunday I had quite a bad start, I was sixth at the first mark, but then I slowly came back and it took me a while more because I was overpowered, I was really full with the 9 meters, but still I had comfort and speed with the gear and it allowed me to win quite comfortably the race."