Taylor Canfield and the USA team emerged as the unlikely victors from a light-wind weekend of racing in Valencia at the Spain Sail Grand Prix.In the first light-air event on the circuit for some months, Australia looked set to take their sixth win from 10 events this season, only to let victory slip through their fingers in the latter stages of the four-boat final.The Flying Roos left the door open and allowed the Americans to spread the game on the last upwind leg of the course. A right-hand wind shift created an opportunity for Canfield to make a vital overtaking pass and hold a narrow lead across the finish line.Victory to the USA, the team’s second of the season, moves Canfield’s crew to third overall in the season standings, albeit still a long way back (12 points) from Spain in second. Australia, on 85 points, enjoy a commanding lead.Spain suffer from a shortened scheduleAfter what driver Diego Botin described as the Spanish team’s best single day of racing in their time in SailGP, it was unthinkable that Los Gallos could miss the next day’s final in what was SailGP’s first venture to Valencia.On Saturday, the Spanish were imperious, winning their first two races in Group B and coming second in the next. But the wind was so light Sunday that the racing was a few minutes delayed. Race management decided to cross the last group race off the schedule, meaning just one group race remained before the top two from Group A and B progressed to the final.Spain went for a late entry into the start box, hoping for the kind of opportunistic late dash from behind to accelerate through their rivals. However, no gap opened up, just a wall of opposition F50s standing in their way.“It was very important to be in that first row,” Botin told The Athletic. “As we were only six boats in our fleet, we were hoping for a little gap and be able to punch through. But all the boats closed our options of being in the front. We had a very bad start.”Los Gallos were forced to start from the back of the pack and were going to have to battle through the field.Knowing when to try to push to get onto the hydrofoils and when to stay in so-called displacement mode is a key skill in the lighter breezes. Botin again made the wrong choice at the wrong time.“We thought we needed to pass a boat in the last upwind, so we took a risky move trying to foil. It didn’t pay,” he said.“We couldn’t get on the foils because when we were just popping, we were going through the gas of the boats in front. We lost all our chances there. Something that hurts me a bit is that we kind of went for the risky move, trying to foil, and not the move you would normally do. It feels like a bit of a desperate move. I don’t like the feeling of it and it hurts quite a bit.”Australia’s Slingsby kicking himselfAustralia only just scraped into the final but executed the best start to take an early and, sometimes, quite comfortable lead. However, a bad tactical decision was all that the Americans needed to pass the Flying Roos.Tom Slingsby couldn’t forgive himself. “I’m frustrated and upset at my decision around that bottom mark,” Australia’s driver said.Taylor Canfield crosses the boat as the USA leads Australia. (Andrew Baker for SailGP)Slingsby said he had failed to take account of the changing course as the GPS-positioned robot marks were moved to a new location.“We went for a right turn, which had worked for us all day but, for the first time on that final downwind, the marks were moving and when they stopped it was a left-gate favour,” he explained.“We knew it was a left-gate favour and we should have taken the left turn.“We decided to do what had worked for us during the day and we didn’t adapt to the new conditions, a big right shift that came through the course. I look at that as an own goal out there. It’s taking nothing away from the U.S.; they were pressing us the whole way. But that last decision, that’s a mistake on me.”Light winds from here to Abu DhabiValencia wasn’t expected to be a light-wind event, but the city’s longest, hottest summer on record probably hasn’t helped with generating the usually reliable afternoon sea breeze.It’s been a while since the last consistently light-airs weekend, and Valencia has been a reminder of just how different the challenge is of making an F50 go fast when the wind is in short supply.Some teams, like Australia and Spain, are solid all-rounders, capable of making the F50 go fast no matter what the wind conditions. Others are specialists in strong or light wind.Denmark and Italy, the other two teams in the final, have both suffered poor seasons, barely able to make an impact on the scoreboard. But these two teams took the top two places in Abu Dhabi last November at the end of the 2025 season when there was also light wind. Valencia offered a reminder that they know how to get the best out of the F50 in sub-powered conditions.The United States celebrates on the podium in Valencia. (Jason Ludlow for SailGP)The good news for Denmark and Italy is that the rest of the season is likely to take place in light airs. Geneva, Switzerland, in two weeks, along with Dubai and Abu Dhabi in November, are all notorious for being light-wind venues. It’s also a useful playing card for the USA. Their two event wins this season — Sydney and Valencia — have both come from light-air weekends.A year ago it was unthinkable that Canfield’s team would make it to a grand final. They were nowhere close to world-class.This year, the Americans have moved closer to becoming one of those all-rounder teams who don’t mind whatever weather comes their way. After such a strong performance this weekend, Canfield probably won’t mind the prospect of three more light-wind events to round off the season.