They had asked the crowd to bring their cowbells. All weekend long they rang out around Lake Geneva, carrying all the way to the athletes on board the F50.

In front of a packed Race Stadium, and on a Lake Geneva that delivered exceptionally light conditions, the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team lived through a home weekend charged with emotion.

A first home race win on Saturday, a place in the final decided in a single race on Sunday, then fourth place in that final. Above all, Geneva confirmed one thing: this team now has what it takes to take on the best.

After three finals this season, the Swiss are no longer simply the team making progress, or closing the gap. They are becoming a team to beat. And doing it here, on Lake Geneva, in front of their own crowd, gives the weekend a weight of its own.

The first event win is still to come. Geneva showed it is now within reach.

From last to first

The day starts badly. A missed start in the opening race and, in wind that light, there is no way back: Explora Swiss finishes at the back of the fleet.

The second race wipes the slate clean. A dominant start, a lead built in the opening seconds, never once under threat. Sébastien Schneiter and his crew cross the line first, and the shoreline answers.

It is the Swiss team's first race win in front of their home crowd.

They follow it with a third place in the last race of the day, and end Saturday still in contention for the final.

On a stretch of water their athletes have known since childhood, these conditions gave nothing away. The courses are short, a hundred metres decides who finds the breeze, and a decision taken at the wrong moment cannot be undone.

It didn't start well, but then we bounced back really well as a team and had a good last race again. So yeah, we're fired up, ready for tomorrow. It's going to be very tight on points. So we just have to go race by race and try to win.

Sébastien SchneiterDriver, Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team

Believing right to the end

Sunday, everything is still to play for. Just two races stand between the Swiss team and a place in the final.

Saturday's lack of wind has reshaped the schedule. At the start of the day, a single point separates the Swiss from their direct rival, New Zealand's Black Foils.

The first race changes nothing. The Swiss finish fifth, and it all comes down to the next one.

At the leeward gate, the Black Foils have right of way and choose the left. The Swiss take the other option and head offshore, where they know they will find more breeze. A reading of Lake Geneva that pays off: the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team move ahead and cross the line 18.5 seconds clear.

It is exactly the race they need to win, at exactly the moment they need to win it.

With 14 points and second place in their group, the Swiss take their place in the final, their third of the season, after Halifax and Portsmouth.

In the final, they finish fourth.

Three finals this season, and a first event win that still eludes them. But in Geneva, in front of their home crowd and on a lake the team knows by heart, they are no longer far away.

We made it into the final, despite the obstacles we came up against. It all came down to the last race, the one we absolutely had to win. We kept a cool head, and that is exactly what we will be building on going forward, because it pays off.

Maud JayetStrategist, Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team

Three finals in five events. We have two left to go and chase that first Sail Grand Prix win, and to end the season with real momentum before we turn to next year. The team is well on track, and we believe it.

Boet BrinkgreveCEO, Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team