Yachting: Team NZ choose in-form Russians

Top seeds Team New Zealand today chose in-form Russian entry Synergy as their semifinal opponents in the Louis Vuitton Trophy yachting regatta in France.

Synergy, led by Polish skipper Karol Jablonski and with New Zealander Rod Dawson calling tactics, are on a five-match winning streak after starting the event in Nice with three successive losses.

"It's hard when you get to this stage of the regatta," Team NZ skipper Dean Barker said of choice of semifinal opponents.

"All the teams are strong. They won't be easy and if we don't sail well they'll beat us."

Team NZ compiled a 9-1 win-loss record during the round-robin stages, showing dominance in the pre-starts and impressive crew work around the course.

"We're a consistent team because we've been together so long as a group," Barker said.

"That helps us through the tough times."

The best-of-three semifinals - the other is between Italians Azzurra and Britain's Team Origin - will be sailed on Friday (NZ time), with tomorrow being a maintenance day.

Team NZ and Synergy were to have faced off today to complete the round-robin programme.

The contest would have had no material effect on the make-up of the semifinals as Team NZ were guaranteed top seeding and choice of opponents, and the Russians had already made the top four.

The race ended up being called off because of lack of wind in the Bay of Angels.

The abandonment led to a recalculation of the leaderboard, which resulted in Synergy finishing second, Azzurra third and Team Origin fourth.

- NZPA