Peter Burling and Blair Tuke extended their incredible winning streak in the 49er overnight (NZT), claiming the sailing world cup regatta in Hyeres to notch an 18th consecutive victory in the class.
The pair has now gone unbeaten in the 49er skiff since the 2012 London Olympics, where they wonsilver, and their win in France was about as dominant as they come.
With an unassailable lead at the end of the penultimate day, Burling and Tuke capped off the regatta with win in today's medal race to smash Australian pair Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen by 49 points.
Flawless in breezy conditions, the Kiwis led from the start of the race and celebrated as they crossed the line in what was their first sailing world cup regatta of the year. Over 13 races sailed in Hyeres, Burling and Tuke finished in the top three in 10, including taking four race wins.
New Zealand also tasted success in the women's 470 in Hyeres and, if the pressure was off for Burling and Tuke, it was all on for Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie.
The pair was lying fourth overall going into the medal race and left hunting the front runners after some mixed results on day three. In an action packed medal race with a very tight finish, the Kiwis didn't discover their fate until they reached shore, with a performance that put them on the podium coming as a welcome surprise.
"We thought we might have got [there] but watching the [French] coach celebrate with them, followed by a "tough luck girls" from [coach] Nathan [Handley], we were rather grumpy," Aleh said.
"So after a grumpy sail in and some commiserations on the ramp, we were approached by the media team who wanted to interview us for second but we told them, 'no, no, we got fourth'. They insisted that we were actually second and, as that's what the iPhone said, it had to be true."
The other Kiwis in action in France had mixed results. In the 49er FX, Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech were third in the medal race to end the regatta in seventh overall, while a fifth in the medal race saw Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox also take seventh in the men's 470.
Josh Junior managed and eighth overall in the finn and Andy Maloney concluded the regatta in ninth overall in the laser.
