Sailors to get a taste of French waters before Olympics

Australia's sailors will get a measure of their medal prospects ahead of the Paris Olympics as they continue to fine-tune their preparations in French waters this week.

There are three sailing regattas - the Nacra 17 world championships and 49er European Championships, held concurrently in La Grande Motte in the south of France, while the Mixed 470 European championships will be held at the nearby Yacht Club de Cannes.

Olympic duo Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown are one of three Australian crews in the Nacra 17, with the pair ready for any conditions.

Liddell and Brown, both from the Newcastle region of NSW, skipped the French Olympic Week regatta last month in Hyeres to head straight to La Grande Motte to prepare for the world championships, aiming for a minimum top-10 finish in the multi-hull event.

With 47 entries in the event, 18 out of the 19 Olympic teams will take part.

"Over the past few weeks here in La Grande Motte, we have experienced every wind strength and done practice races amidst some of the coldest sailing conditions I've encountered," said Liddell.

"It is the last opportunity for us to put in a really good result down to build some more confidence before the Olympics."

Jim Colley and Shaun Connor, who are also part of the Olympic contingent will compete in the 49er titles where the three-time world champion Dutch crew Bart Lambriex and Floris van De Werken will set the pace.

"We are straight into another event post Hyeres as we feel the Europeans (championships) provides great opportunity to keep working on our racing skills," Colley said.

"We have most of our Olympic competitors here racing, so the environment is a prefect dress rehearsal for the Games."

Olympic-selected 49erFX duo Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine have chosen to capitalise on time in Australia before they return to Marseille for a series of training camps and practice regattas before the Games.

Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas will line up in the new Olympic event, the Mixed 470, and have spent most of the lead-up in Europe working with Italian Andrea Mannini, a gold medal 470 coach from the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Jerwood, who also competed in Tokyo, said Cannes could throw up some unusual conditions.

"The weather is likely to be predominantly light winds, with plenty of chop expected caused by the super yachts zooming around Cannes Bay," she said.