New Zealand must not turn back clock in America’s Cup

Ruthless display destroyed Team USA in the final – and it would be a mistake for holders now to return to monohulls

That was not quite the Cup match-up we anticipated. I said before it began that I would not want to be a betting man. I really did think it would be a closely fought contest. I certainly did not envisage a 7-1 thumping of Oracle Team USA. I do not think anyone did, apart from, perhaps, the Kiwis themselves.

New Zealand absolutely deserved to win, though. They were extremely aggressive with their boat design, taking big risks, and in the end they were rewarded for that. It was a ruthless display. Who dares wins. You have to give them credit, particularly given the manner in which they lost in San Francisco four years ago, which was a body blow for the whole nation. To get back off the canvas like that and pull it all together so well; I am sure Grant Dalton had some very dark days when he did not know whether he or the team would survive.

A few people have asked whether it is good for the sport that an Olympic cyclist – someone who had never really sailed a boat before – gets to win sailing’s ultimate prize, as Simon van Velthoven, one of their grinders, did. Does it devalue the sport? I do not think so. I actually take the opposite view, which is that it is great that sailing is bringing in elite athletes from other fields. It makes it more inclusive, more interesting. I know Artemis had a former Olympic sprint canoeist on board their boat. And why not?

Besides, it was not just New Zealand’s “cyclors” on their static bikes. Ultimately, they came up with a brilliant design strategy, from their daggerboards to their rudders to their control system. It was the whole package.

A word for Oracle Team USA. I am sure they will be bitterly disappointed with how the Cup match panned out. But they have achieved a huge amount in the past 10 years. I will admit I was not a fan of the move to multihulls initially but I think we all have to applaud the vision of Larry Ellison and Sir Russell Coutts. The 35th America’s Cup as a whole was a wonderful advert for the sport and produced some incredible moments.

Attention now turns to the next Cup – and clearly everyone is on tenterhooks to find out what New Zealand have planned. I cannot really say anything, as I have not yet spoken to Grant or any of their senior management beyond offering my congratulations. I am sure we will all sit down over the next few days – before everyone goes their separate ways – and try to understand where they intend to go from here.

We already know that they have an official challenger of record: the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, which is Patrizio Bertelli’s Luna Rossa Challenge team. That was pretty much to be expected as they had been helping New Zealand since they left in 2015. But now we need