Meet Switzerland’s Youth America’s Cup Team
Team Tilt was originally founded by Swiss sailor Alex Schneiter in 1987. At the end of 2012, he put together a team for the 2013 Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, and with Lucian Cujean at the helm Team Tilt finished fourth in the regatta, just one point off the podium.
In 2014 Team Tilt continued an ongoing process of sailing the Decision 35 on Lake Geneva, and teammates Sébastien Schneiter and Lucian Cujean started a serious 49er campaign as well.
The following year, the team won the Bol d’Or Mirabaud on Lake Geneva and captured the overall D35 championship. Last season, Sébastien and Lucien finished 13th at the Olympic Games in the 49er class, and Team Tilt was also second in the GC32 Racing Tour.
Additionally in 2016, selection began for the new edition of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, with physical training and sailing the D35 on Lake Geneva commencing by summer. The final selection of the Team Tilt members for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda was made in January 2017.
Sébastien Schneiter [skipper] Sébastien Schneiter is a two-time Swiss Youth Sailor of the Year who races a variety of multihulls, including the A class and the Ventilo M2. Sébastien started on the Optimist, going to national, European and World Championships, then progressed to the Byte CII, which he sailed at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. In 2011, Sébastien won the Laser 4.7 Swiss, Dutch, and European Championships and claimed the top of the European rankings. In his career he has earned three Bronze medals at Laser Radial World Championship events. In 2015, he was victorious at the Bol d’Or and won the D35 Trophy annual championship, and last year he claimed second place in the Red Bull Foiling Generation World Final. Sébastien will not only helm the AC45F in Bermuda, but he also is the helmsman for the Team Tilt 49er and took 13thplace in the Rio Olympics. The 21-year-old bases his full-time sailing career in Geneva.
Jérémy Bachelin Lausanne-based student Jérémy Bachelin, 23, is one of the best 29er sailors in Switzerland, and he additionally has earned honors including a Bronze medal at the 420 ISAF Youth Championships [2010] and a Bol d’Or victory on a Ventilo M2. It was his strong multihull experience that secured him a trimmer position on Team Tilt’s crew for Bermuda.
Arthur Cevey Team Tilt’s bowman in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, Arthur Cevey, started sailing when he became intrigued by the sport while working as an apprentice boatbuilder. At the Centre d’Entraînement à la Régate, he sailed Surprise monohulls and the Tour de France à la Voile, then moved to match racing. He joined Team Tilt in 2016 specifically to improve his skills in multihulls. The Geneva resident, who is currently 21 years of age, has already logged career highlights including third place on the Decision 35, and runner-up in the GC32 Racing Tour.
Jocelyn Keller Jocelyn Keller was a member of the Team Tilt crew that sailed to fourth place at the original Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in 2013, and he will be a grinder/trimmer for the team in the new edition of the regatta this June. A three-time Swiss National Champion and three-time World Championship participant in the Optimist class, he also represented Switzerland at the European and World levels on the Laser. Born in 1994 at Lutry, where he is currently a business student, Jocelyn additionally has experience with the Moth, the Decision 35 and the GC32. The Swiss standout has finished strong in the D35 across multiple seasons, most recently capturing third at the D35 Trophy in 2016.
Guillaume Rigot In the critical role of tactician for Team Tilt at the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, 23-year-old Guillaume Rigot will use the experience he has gained at national, European, and World Championships. Born and raised in Geneva, Guillaume participated in international races on the Optimist and also raced in the Laser 4.7. With his brother, he sailed 420s, and then they progressed to the 470 class, where they earned two Swiss Junior National Championships, fifth place at Junior Worlds, and sixth place at the Junior European Championship. In 2015, Guillaume was both Vice-European Youth Champion in Match Racing and fourth in the Sailing Champions League. A student of economy and management at the University of Geneva, Guillaume has acquired a foiling Moth in order to train as much as possible.
Nils Theuninck As a 19-year-old last year, Nils Theuninck claimed the 2016 Swiss National Championship in the Finn class and the Bronze medal on the Laser Standard at the Under-21 Europeans. Previously, he was the Under-16 World Champion on the Laser 4.7 [2011], and he captured the Swiss national Laser Standard title [2013] as well as Bronze at the Under-19 Laser Standard Europeans [2014]. On the Laser Radial he earned another European Championship medal with third at the Under-17 event in 2012. Nils pursues studies in biomedical science and medicine at the University of Fribourg while training for a 2020 Olympic campaign in the Finn class. He will be a trimmer for Team Tilt in Bermuda.
Florian Trüb Florian Trüb grew up in the countryside but has been sailing competitively since 2012. He won the Class Championship on blu26 and the German Open on the Melges24 in 2014, then started sailing multihulls in 2015, racing in the M2 Speed Tour and F18 Championship. In Team Tilt’s campaign for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, Florian will be a trimmer. The 22-year-old also studies materials and process engineering at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur.
