LYMINGTON'S Nick Thompson converted an overnight lead into victory at the Sailing World Cup in Weymouth.

And he believes a tricky week of racing will stand him in good stead for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Thompson took full advantage of stiffer breezes on Sunday at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy in the laser class.

He came fourth in the medal race, worth double points, to finish five points clear of Elliot Hanson with Australia’s Tom Burton third.

The World Cup was the final major competition before the Rio Olympics and Thompson was pleased with his form heading to Brazil.

“I feel I’m in a pretty good place,” said Thompson, who now lives in Ringwood. “The last two events have worked out well. A lot of the hard work is starting and, hopefully, the peak is coming at the right time.

“It was a really tricky race. I knew going into the day it was going to be really close – I was effectively tied with Burton and not that far ahead of Elliot. So to win was great.

“In Rio we’re going to see a huge mix of conditions which will be challenging. The last event I was at was the World Championships where it was 15 knots and steady breezes and I managed to do well there.

“Coming here it was completely different – light and variable but today there was a bit of breeze. So to do well in all the conditions was fantastic.”

Thompson was not the only local to taste success as, in the 470 class, Poole’s Saskia Clark and partner Hannah Mills moved from second in the overall standings to the top of the pile following a second-placed effort in the medal race.

And while Clark admits the windier conditions certainly gave her a serious workout, she enjoyed the challenge.

“Pretty much from the start, I don’t think my heart rate went down,” she said. “The adrenaline was pumping and the last downwind was really hard work.

“It was really good, though, and great that we managed to stick to our strategy and doing our process as we would if we were chilling out racing.

“It’s good to mix up the weather conditions and good for us to practise that change-up from the light winds where it’s all about being gentle around the boat and not disrupting everything too much.

“Today was about being powerful and driving the boat so it’s good to switch that up and do well in the race.”

The Sailing World Cup in Weymouth and Portland was held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy between June 6 and 12.

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