PWA Costa Brava

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Der erste Slalom-Worldcup 2016 in Südkorea verlief anders als die Starter erwartet haben, es wurde nur eine einzige Slalom-Elimination abgeschlossen. Die Ergebnisse sind deshalb wenig aussagekräftig was die Leistung der einzelnen Fahrer angeht. Nun startet der zweite Event der diesjährigen Slalom World Tour an der Costa Brava in Spanien. In Sant Pere Pescador, rund 150 Kilometer nordöstlich von Barcelona, findet der Event vom 7. bis 12. Juni 2016 statt. Der Wind ist hier besonders schwer einzuschätzen, vom sehr starken Tramontana bis zu leichten, thermischen Winden ist hier alles möglich. The opening slalom event of the season in Ulsan, South Korea, only provided one complete race, which makes the second event of the season very difficult to predict — in the sense that it is still difficult to gauge exactly who is flying and will be challenging for the top overall — apart from the usual suspects. The second stop of the tour sees the PWA Slalom World Tour Men’s fleet heading to Costa Brava, Spain, between the 7th-12th June. Costa Brava has the potential to provide nuclear Tramontana winds, but in recent years competitors have been faced with light winds, and the range of conditions Costa Brava can produce makes this event one of the toughest to prepare for. Costa Brava The picturesque town of Sant Pere Pescador is located 150 km to the north-east of Barcelona and is blessed with twelve kilometers of jaw dropping white sand beaches and the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The Gulf de Roses has become a world renowned destination due to its clockwork like sea breezes, which frequently grace Costa Brava with their presence during the summer months. However, whilst offering an astonishing backdrop, the Pyrenees Mountain’s can also transform Costa Brava into a white knuckled assault course - when the ferocious Tramontana wind whistles down the mountain range in excess of thirty knots - ready to test the mettle of any world class sailor. Either way we are guaranteed to see more exhilarating, close-quarters racing. Ones to Watch Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) struck first blood in the opening event of the year to take an early season advantage in this year’s title race. The Italian was a prominent figure in 2015 — leading for the majority of last year before just falling short — and the 26 year old showed he has had no problem adjusting to his new equipment after a change of sponsors during the close season. Iachino won here last year and is sure to be challenging for top honours again come the end of the event. The 2015 PWA Vice-World Champion — Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) — bounced back to his best after a slightly disappointing 2015 to claim 2nd place in Korea. The fiery Frenchman finished last year with a flourish with a dominant 3rd place in New Caledonia and he looks to have carried that form into the new season, so you can expect him to be challenging for the top also. Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) picked up where he left off in 2015 to secure another podium finish — making it 4 top 5 finishes out of the last seven events he has competed in. Williams recorded his best overall result in slalom in 2015 and with the Brit now concentrating on purely one discipline he looks set to be an ever greater threat. Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) came agonisingly close to a maiden world title in 2015 as he finished level on points with reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde / Chris Benz) and the Frenchman looks set to mount another title challenge this year. Mortefon started the season with a solid fourth place and will undoubtedly win a title at some stage during his career — the question is will 2016 be his year? Another sailor to have changed sponsors over the course of the winter is — Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) — and the man from San Maarten made a bright start to the year with a 5th place finish. Quentel has been in the miix for top honours over the last few seasons and it will be interesting to see if he can sustain his positive start to the season. The 30 year old finished 2nd here in 2013 and he should be in the thick of things again. Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) has started to look a real threat over the last couple of seasons and the Italian showed again that he can be a real danger and potentially one of the top contenders after claiming 6th in Korea. Reuscher is starting to combine his experience and raw talent and looks set to be a major force in the next few seasons. Reuscher revels in gusty conditions, which he may well find in Costa Brava and an even better finish is on the cards for the 26 year old. Reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau — may have only taken a 7th place finish in Korea, but he was evidently happy with that due to the flukey winds and tricky conditions that Korea produced. AA is aiming for a 4th consecutive world title and he’ll be competing for top honours again come the end of the event. Albeau has all the experience and skills and you have to feel the more races that are completed the more the tie falls in his favour such is his consistency. Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7) was unlucky during the winners’ final in Korea and currently sits in 8th place overall. However, that could have been much better for the Argentinian had he not been taken down at the first mark, when occupying 3rd, by Julien Quentel. Costa Hoevel showed excellent pace during the opening event and is sure to feature heavily again  The top ten is currently completed by Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails), who won the losers’ final in Korea and Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne). Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) just missed out on a top 10 finish — 11th — but will be pressing on the door of a top 10 finish again having achieved his first podium finish in the slalom during the final event of 2015.  Also the likes of Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) — 5th overall last year — Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails), Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails), Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) and Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic) will be looking to bounce back having missed out on the top 10 in the opening event of the year. Elsewhere the likes of Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) and Bruno Martini (Starboard / Point-7), who qualified for the winners’ final in race two in Korea, will be looking to build upon that form — together with other young hotshots such as Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne), who almost knocked out Albeau in the semis before eventually finishing 16th, Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North), Matteus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde), Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne) and Ethan Westera (JP / GA Sails), who will be making his first appearance of the season. The current forecast looks as though the opening few days will see the usual sea breeze kick in, before a change in wind swings northeast over the weekend. The next 6 days promise to see another intriguing event and you’ll be able to follow the event live by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com Current Ranking — 2016 PWA Men’s Slalom 1st Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) 2nd Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) 3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) 4th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) 5th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) 6th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) 7th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 8th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7) 9th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) 10th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)