Podcast Ep. 15 - Rio debrief: Australia remind everyone who’s boss

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Australia's Bonds Flying Roos delivered what has to be the best single-day performance in SailGP history in Rio – and episode 15 of The Foil podcast breaks down how they did it.

Andy Rice, just back from Rio, joins Freddie Carr and Neil Cole to dissect a Sunday that saw Tom Slingsby's crew take 30 points from a possible 30 in conditions that left most of the fleet scrambling. While others wrestled with the 27.5m wings in building breeze beneath Sugarloaf Mountain, Ian Jensen's wing trim calls and the team's collective calm turned chaos into a masterclass.

But this wasn't just about the Aussies. The team dig into why the United States' starting technique might be the most underrated development of the season, how Emirates Great Britain went from season leaders to finishing dead last in this event, and whether SailGP's race course setup under Sugarloaf made life harder than it needed to be.

There's also frank discussion about the prize money structure – with Australia's grinder Kinley Fowler watching his team-mates pocket USD $400,000 without seeing a cent – and the growing uncertainty around how Season 6 will finish. With Middle East tensions threatening the Dubai and Abu Dhabi events, the conversation turns to potential replacements: Cádiz, Pensacola, or even (fingers crossed) Perth again.

This episode is brought to you by Musto – the brand that's been building performance sailing gear for decades, working directly with sailors pushing boats and themselves to the limit. We wear it ourselves, on and off the water.

00:31 - Catching up from Valencia and Rio
06:49 - Analysing the tricky conditions on day one
17:07 - Team USA interview on their starting strategy
21:09 - Brazil's nightmare start and the home crowd
26:21 - Reviewing Emirates GBR's surprisingly tough weekend
31:31 - The controversial 27.5m wing setup
38:00 - Australia's best Sunday performance in SailGP history
58:34 - The prize money debate and missing grinders