Postma came into the day with a healthy 18-point lead, but a broken halyard in the first race saw him finish second-to-last in the 59-boat fleet and battling against time to fix the problem before the next race.

The World Championship silver medallist managed to get back out on the water and place sixth in his second outing to hold on to top spot.

"Today was something different," said a relieved Postma.

"I was around 10th or 12th at the top mark and then my halyard broke.

"I tried to fix it as I went downwind and I finished the race.

"Then I needed to fix it and it took us 15 minutes or so and I only had one more minute before the race so it was really close.

"A lot of people helped and in that last race I was sixth.

"The points are getting close.

"It will be exciting tomorrow, I like some action and the heat is on."

Sweden's Bjorn Allansson and Frenchman Thomas Le Breton took the race wins leaving Le Breton second overall behind Postma, while Croatia's Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic occupies the bronze medal position.

The Netherlands also leads the way in the Laser Radial class, as Marit Bouwmeester overtook overnight leader Evi Van Acker of Belgium with a best finish of second, while the Belgian could only manage eighth.

Belarusian Tatiana Drozdovskaya maintained her place in third overall.

Another nation with two boats atop their respective standings is Australia, as Mat Belcher and Will Ryan continue to lead the way in the men's 470, while Tom Burton put in a consistent display to move a point clear of New Zealand's Andy Maloney, with Brazilian Robert Scheidt in third in the Laser competition.

Marit Bouwmeester is one of two Dutch sailors to lead their respective classes after day four of the ISAF Sailing World Cup ©AFP/Getty Images



The women's 470 class is also shaping up to be a close battle as the top two in the standings overnight shared a win apiece.

New Zealanders Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie hold a two-point lead over Britain's Sophie Weguelin and Eilidh McIntyre going into tomorrow's racing, while impressive runs from American duo Anne Haeger and Briana Provancha saw them draw level in second with the British pair.

New Zealand also lead the 49er class as Peter Burling and Blair Tuke continued their fine form this week with a best finish of fourth to lead Irish duo Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern by 22 points after they struggled in Hyères, managing a best of eighth in their three races.

New Zealand occupies the last place on the podium too in the form of Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski, while compatriots Alex Maloney and Molly Meech lie in second place in the 49erFX ahead of Denmark's Marie Baad Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen.

Brazil's Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze lead the class by 12 points after securing two more wins.

Two points separate the top three in the Nacra 17 with Italians Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri just ahead of home sailors Billy Besson and Marie Riou and Australia's Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis, who are tied in second place.

Another solid display from Poland's Piotr Myszka, including a first and third, sees him top the men's RS:X standings ahead of compatriot Pawel Tarnowski and third-placed man Kiran Badloe of the Netherlands.

A best of fourth saw overnight leader Jiahui Wu of China drop down to third on the women's RS:X leaderboard after two race wins for Poland's Maja Dziarnowska put her one point clear of German Moana Delle.

Competition in Hyères is due to continue through until Saturday (April 26).

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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