The wind and waves continued on Day 3 of the Tenerife PWA World Cup allowing the double eliminations to continue. Conditions today proved to be more tricky with wave selection proving to be critical with some waves just closing out, while others would open up with bowly sections to produce excellent scoring opportunities.  Women’s  Double Elimination Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / NorthSails) began her comeback through the double elimination by overcoming Birgit Rieger in the first round, before also ending the hopes of Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins), who suffered a broken mast. Next up for, Arutkin, would be Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD / Maui Ultra Fins) and the Italian got the better of Arutkin in the air. However, the French beauty showed better wave selection and execution to win her third heat on the spin and she will now face Amanda Beenen (99NoveNove / Point-7) in Heat 30a. The final heat of the day saw Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / NorthSails) versus Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer / Mystic) after the 17 year old successfully navigated her way through the opening two rounds by defeating Alexa Escherich (JP / NeilPryde) and Serena Zoia (Loft Sails). Sniady landed a stylish forward loop, but couldn’t hunt out the waves she needed, while Bandini earned her best wave score on her opening wave as she picked out a set and delivered a sick turn in the pocket — with Sniady unable to find a response the young Italian advanced as she also won 3 heats in a row today. Men’s Double Elimination The first heat of the day — Heat 19 — saw two upsets as Julian Salmonn (Severne / Severne) used his local knowledge to take down Florian Jung (RRD / Gun Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), while Loick Lesauvage (Goya Windsurfing) produced a complete display to defeat Graham Ezzy (Tabou / Ezzy). However, neither sail could escape from the next round as Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Sunglasses) ended the hopes of Salmonn, while Lesauvage had chances to beat Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde), but couldn’t find the second wave he needed as the German escaped unscathed.  After a disappointing showing in the single elimination — Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde / MFC) — bounced back to somewhere near his best as advanced past Tim van dam Sanchidrian (Starboard / Flight Sails) by landing a sick frontside tweaked aerial and frontside 3, but that’s as good as it would get for Martin with Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) coming out on top in Heat 24a.  Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) is making a habit of becoming the comeback King in the double elimination. The Belgian won 6 heats on the bounce at the recent freestyle contest in Fuerteventura and gained momentum again today to win 3 successive heats. Van der Eyken first defeated Morgan Noireaux (JP / Hot Sails Maui) in a close run contest before going on to defeat Moritz Mauch (Severne / Severne / MFC) and Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) as he consistently landed stylish backloops, while unleashing gouging turns and frontside 3s. Against, Denel, Van der Eyken pulled it out of the bag in the dying moments as he produced the best wave of the heat with his final scoring opportunity to turn the result on its head as he once again busted on a frontside 360. The reigning freestyle world champion has now guaranteed himself first top 10 finish in the waves and will meet teammate — Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) — in Heat 29a next. Elsewhere, Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX), looked to be in good form as he dispatched of Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer) and Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer) to set up a duel against Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX), while Dany Bruch clinched victory against fellow countryman Leon Jamaer and the event organiser will now face Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC).  In Heat 27b, Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails), struck late to steal victory from the claws of Omar Sanchez (Angulo / KA Sails) with a super tweaked pushloop swinging the tie in his favour. Waiting for the 27 year old in the next round will be Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses). The forecast for tomorrow looks similar today so the decision has been made to keep the skippers’ meeting at 10:30am — with the action commencing from 11am (GMT+1) if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the brilliant action as it happens via the PWA live stream.  To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

The second day of the Tenerife PWA World Cup saw an incredible day of competition as the level of sailing continued to go through the roof — resulting in nail biting heats and a few upsets along the way. With lighter winds than yesterday the sailors were given an additional 2 minutes — 16 minute heats — to show what they are capable of and they certainly didn’t disappoint with impressive jumping and radical wave riding from the word go. Both the men’s and women’s single eliminations have now been completed and it is Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) and Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who sit proudly at the top of the current rankings come the close of the play. Women’s Single Elimination Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) delivered a wave riding masterclass against Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) to cause the biggest upset of the day, and one of the biggest upset in recent years in the wave sailing world, who had been in imperious form on the previous day, to deservedly earn her place in the top two for the first time. The current world tour leader once again shone in the air, but failed to connect with her waves, while Wahl excelled by taking every opportunity she was presented with to deliver fluid, super vert hits to setup a tie against Iballa Moreno — after the reigning world champion had exacted revenge against Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) in the opening semifinal.  Winners’ Final Iballa Moreno made a flying start to the winners’ final as she quickly landed a regular forward, followed by a tabletop forward to take an early lead. Iballa remained busy through out the heat working each wave fluidly from top to bottom to really transfer the pressure upon Wahl, who didn’t really get involved in the final until the second half of the heat, but she did eventually announce herself with a backloop. However, she couldn’t quite conjure up the magic she showed in the semifinals and Iballa deservedly secured a clear cut victor in the single elimination as she demonstrated why she has been crowned the world champion for the past two years with her dynamic wave riding really standing out.  Daida Moreno will no doubt have been extremely disappointed to lose in the semifinals, but she quickly put that behind her to claim victory in an extremely close battle for 3rd and 4th between herself and Sarah-Quita Offringa, which saw the lead swinging back-and-forth throughout. However,  an amazing tabletop forward proved to be the difference as Daida claimed the final place on the podium, although Offringa will be happy to have edged ahead in the wave department. Offringa also suffered one of the wipeouts of the day as she went into an accidental double pushloop.  Men’s Single Elimination  Marcilio Browne took down reigning world champion — Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) — with a proficient and tactical display in the opening quarterfinal. Browne almost matched Köster’s trademark double forward and the Brazilian then gained the lead by excelling in the waves with vert, crisp turns proving too much for Köster to overturn.  Brawzinho then faced Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails), who had earlier narrowly defeated Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne), and the two former world champions produced an epic battle as they exchanged wave 360s and stylish turns. TT produced the better the wave scores, but crucially Browne dug deep to pull the trigger on a third double forward, which turned out to be his best — earning 9.12 points — which gave him a one point victory to qualify for the final.  Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) had been in imperious form over the opening two days and the Spaniard deservedly earned his place in the winners’ final by defeating Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails), Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX) and Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD) today. Winners’ Final The final proved to be one of the spectacles of the day as Browne and Fernandez went all out for the win — leaving nothing to chance — and both sailors came flying out of the starting blocks quickly landing double forwards — Fernandez’s being higher and Browne’s being faster. With a solid jump on the board each they then proceeded to trade blows wave-for-wave in another heat where the lead repeatedly changed hands and they proved almost inseparable on the wave. However, a few minutes before the end of the final, Browne, hunted out on a ramp down by the bunker before stomping a superb stalled double forward, which proved to be the difference between the two of them as the 2013 world champion clinched victory by under a point — such were the fine margins between them. Local legend — Alex Mussolini — defeated good friend Thomas Traversa in the battle for 3rd and 4th with Mussolini gaining the upper hand in the waves by landing trademark frontside 3s and critical takas. Double Elimination The opening heat of the men’s double elimination has also been completed and Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer) was able to dispatch of Eric Sanllehy (Goya Windsurfing), while Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer) earned a hard fought win against Camille Juban (Quatro / MFC / MFC) to book a battle against fellow Englishman Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) in the next round.  The forecast for tomorrow looks a little lighter than today and also sees the start of a long period south swell, so we will have to wait and see what happens. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30am with the action commencing from 11am (GMT+1) if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the brilliant action as it happens via the PWA live stream.  To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Result Women's Single Elimination Tenerife PWA World Cup: 1st Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) 3rd Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 4th Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer / Mystic) 5th Amanda Beenen (99NoveNove / Point-7) 5th Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD / Maui Ultra Fins) Result Men's Single Elimination Tenerife PWA World Cup: 1st Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) 2nd Victor Fernández (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) 3rd Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD) 4th Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) 5th Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses) 5th Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) 5th Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX) 9th Klaas Voget (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) 9th Omar Sanchez (Angulo / KA Sail) 9th Moritz Mauch (Severne / Severne / MFC) 9th Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) 9th Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde) 9th Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) 9th Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

No time was wasted in beginning this year’s contest in Tenerife with good conditions on offer from the word go. So after a quick registration the action began promptly at 1pm in chest-head high wave and enough wind for most of the sailors to be on 4.2m-4.7m sails. By the end of the first day the opening round of the men’s single elimination has been completed, while only the top 8 women are left standing. Up to this point the top seeds have survived unscathed, but there were a few close calls on an exciting first day of competition.  Women’s  Sarah Hilder (Simmer / Simmer) and María Andrés (Fanatic / NorthSails) successfully navigated their way through the opening heat of the single elimination with Hilder defeating 14 year old Alex Escherich (JP / NeilPryde), who was making her debut on the PWA Wave World Tour, while Andrés’ wave riding proved to be the difference between her and Birgit Rieger.  The opening heat of the second round saw Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) in action for the first time and she continued in the same rich vein of form which she showed in Pozo, Gran Canaria. The heat was close for a long time, but Offringa asserted her dominance in the latter stages against Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails) by landing a pushloop and an 8.5 point wave to ensure victory. Meanwhile, The b-side of the heat saw the emerging talent of Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) claim the scalp of Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / NorthSails). Heat 10 featured Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer / Mystic) versus Caroline Weber (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg / Maui Ultra Fins) and it was Sniady who claimed a clear cut victory, while reigning world champion — Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) — produced a dominant performance against Sarah Hilder as Iballa showed the reason she hasn’t finished outside the top 2 since the event started in 2011.  Heat 11 saw the top seeds of the heat — Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) and Amanda Beenen (99NoveNove / Point-7) — safely progress as they dispatched of Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / NorthSails) and Serena Zoia (Loft Sails), respectively. Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) produced the standout performance of the day to rack up the highest score of the event so far — 26.13 points — as she continued her impressive start to the season. Daida landed a one-handed backloop all the way to earn 9 points — before destroying the waves with powerful frontside hacks, takas and airs. While Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD / Maui Ultra Fins) claimed a narrow victory over fellow Italian Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / AL360) Men’s  After a disappointing 17th place in Pozo — Klaas Voget (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) — came out firing on all cylinders in the opening men’s heat. The German took a super aggressive approach to his wave riding which paid dividends as he defeated John Skye (RRD / RRD / MFC) — and he looks a real threat going into the next round. Meanwhile, Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) was pushed all the way by Marc Paré (99NoveNove / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins) and TT needed a brilliant last minute wave to avoid an upset. In Heat 2 Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) won the battle against teammate Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / NorthSails) with a fine performance including a sick frontside 360, while generally being on top in the wave riding department. It could have possibly been a different story if Stillrich had managed to hang onto a bolt upright double forward in the opening minute, but he will now have to wait until the double. The other side of the heat saw Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses) in impressive form once more with his frontside riding especially catching the eye and the 25 year old is safely into the second round.  Event organiser — Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Sunglasses) — and Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) are also safely into round two after victories over Morgan Noireaux (JP / Hot Sails Maui) and Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne), respectively.  Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde) looked to be in decent form, particularly with his wave riding and he eased past a slightly below par Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde / MFC), while reigning world champion — Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / MFC) — produced the highest score of the day — 25.5 points — to dispatch of the local wildcard Tim van dam Sanchidrian (Starboard / Flight Sails. The 3-time world champion stomped a trademark double before combining powerful, gouging hacks with critical takas to set the bar very high.  Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) ended the hopes of Graham Ezzy (Tabou / Ezzy) in the single elimination while local hero — Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD) — made no mistakes against the highly progressive youth talent of Loick Lesauvage (Goya Windsurfing) to also progress from Heat 5. Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) wasted little time in announcing his return on the world tour, after missing out on the opening event of the year due to injury, as he immediately stomped a 9 point double forward, but it took him until the end of the heat to assert himself against Julian Salmonn (Severne / Severne) after struggling to connect the wave scores he needed early on. Meanwhile, Moritz Mauch (Severne / Severne / MFC) took down Florian Jung (RRD / Gun Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) on the b-side of Heat 6. In the penultimate heat of the day — Heat 7 — Omar Sanchez (Angulo / KA Sail) edged a narrow duel against Camille Juban (Quatro / Simmer / MFC) to progress, while Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX) won the battle of Britain against Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer) with Swift’s double forward proving to be the difference between the two sailors on the day.  In Heat 8 Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) looked mightily impressive against Eric Sanllehy (Goya Windsurfing) as the current world tour leader landed the highest scoring jump of the day — 9.62 points for an immaculate double forward, while also effortlessly linking together several excellent waves with dynamic turns and frontside airs — proving that he’ll be a difficult man to beat. Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer) gained the upper hand in the aerial battle against Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails) as he earned 8.5 points for a double forward, but it wasn’t enough as Sanllehy claimed a hard fought win by making the better of the waves. The forecast looks promising again for tomorrow with further wind and waves on offer and both fleets will meet at 11am on Tuesday morning for the skippers’ meeting. The first possible start for tomorrow is 11:30am (GMT+1). Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the brilliant action as it happens via the PWA live stream.  To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Fuerteventura lieferte an 8 von 10 Tagen starken Wind - oft über 40 Knoten – und ermöglicht so eine fantastische Freestyle- und Slalom-Show für den Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam 2016. Am Ende des Wettbewerbs sichert sich Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) ihren 9. Freestyle-WM-Titel, während Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severn) zum ersten Mal überhaupt einen Event gewinnt. Weltmeister Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), dominierte den Slalom und erzielte seinen ersten Eventsieg in diesem Jahr. Freestyle Women’s Sarah-Quita Offringa once again proved unbeatable as she extended her unbeaten run to an incredible 9 years to deservedly collect her 9th world freestyle world title — 11th overall with a further 2 world crowns in slalom. Offringa combined the latest power moves together with some of the older sliding moves to see off Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) Maaike Huvermann grew in confidence throughout the event and she ends 2016 as the vice-world champion, which is her best result so far. Huvermann was able to show her true talent after a disappointing single elimination and by the end of the week she was even beginning to give Offringa a run for her money — consistently landing regular konos and shakas. Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) sailed well once again and the Norwegian secured her place on the podium for the 3rd consecutive year. Johanne earned 2nd place in the opening single elimination, but slips back one place to 3rd with Huvermann gaining the upper-hand in their next two battles.  Meanwhile, Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) rises to 4th in the overall rankings this year, while Maxime van Gent (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde) complete the top 6. Alexa Escherich (JP / NeilPryde) made her debut this week and she walks away as the 2016 PWA Youth World Champion Men’s Amado Vrieswijk built on his opening performance of the year in Austria, where he finished 2nd, to go one better in Fuerteventura as the Bonairean came back through the double elimination to beat Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) and claim a maiden event victory. Success here takes Vrieswijk to the top of the overall rankings with one freestyle event to go — Sylt between 30th September until the 9th October. Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) had to settle for 3rd place here, which sees the 6-time freestyle world champion fall one place to 2nd in the overall rankings. Uncharacteristically, Gollito, crashed a couple of moves against Vrieswijk in Heat 50, and his last minute shifty did not count due to having completed his scoresheet, which led to a slender 1.8 point defeat. However, Gollito, is still firmly in the hunt for a 7th world crown and once again oozed style in each of his heats. Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) properly announced himself on the world stage this week by storming to victory in the single elimination. The young Belgian produced a powerful display to defeat Vrieswijk, but couldn’t quite hold off his challenge in the double. Caers will still walk way from this week delighted with his performance after finishing on the podium for the first time and he currently completes the overall podium.  Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) was a man on a mission in the double elimination as the Belgian recaptured the form which saw him crowned world champion last year. Van der Eyken won 7 heats on the bounce by defeating — Francesco Cappuzzo (RRD / RRD / Flymount / AL360), Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne), Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails), Nico Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Phil Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks) to rise from 9th to 4th and is now 5th overall in the world.  Phil Soltysiak was delighted to sail his way into the top 4 in the single elimination and the Canadian leaves Fuerteventura with a superb 5th place. Elsewhere, Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), recovered from a disappointing performance in Austria with a 6th place finish here as the Frenchman sailed to the level which earned him 4th overall in 2015.  Meanwhile, Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) remains 4th in the overall rankings after a joint 7th place alongside fellow Bonairean Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails). Slalom Men’s The opening two events of year had proven tricky for Antoine Albeau, but the reigning world champion was back to his very best over the last 5 days to dominate proceedings. AA claimed 4 bullets and qualified for all but two winners’ finals as he claimed his opening event victory of the year, which sees him rise to 5th in the overall rankings. Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) continued his great start to the season as he too qualified for every winners’ final bar two. The Brit finished 3rd here last year and was able to go one better this time around as he claimed 2nd place. Williams showed brilliant pace and gybing throughout and he remains in 3rd place overall — firmly in contention for the world title. Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) still holds control of the 2016 title race after completing the podium. The Frenchman failed to win an elimination this time, but showed the level of consistency required to challenge for the top and he remains the man everyone has to catch. Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) made a flying start to the week as he secured the opening bullet after an enthralling finish against Antoine Albeau. The Italian was able to clinch a further victory in Race 8 to secure 4th place here to maintain 2nd place overall. Julien Quentel produced a brilliant set of results to record his second top 5 finish of the year and is currently 7th in the world rankings, while Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) and Ben van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails) achieved their first top 10 finishes of the year with the latter winning the final elimination of the week.  The top 10 is completed by Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic), Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) and Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails), who hangs onto 10th place after having to withdraw from sailing on the last day due to a shoulder injury sustained on Day 9.  The last 5 days of racing produced some of the most exciting slalom in year’s with the sailors skills and tactical awareness being tested with a variety of courses, while there were thrilling finales and brutal crashes to make it a show you couldn’t take your eyes off. Thanks to René Egli for once again organising a fantastic event, which will be remembered for a long time, and to everyone who was involved with the event. The PWA looks forward to returning again. To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Where’s Next on the PWA World Tour? The second stage of the PWA Wave World Tour starts tomorrow with the Tenerife PWA World Cup running between the 1st-7th August. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the amazing action as it happens via the PWA live stream. Overall Ranking 2016 PWA Women’s Freestyle World Tour:  1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 3rd Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 4th Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Maxime van Gent (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)   Overall Ranking 2016 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Men’s Freestyle 1st Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) 2nd Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) 3rd Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) 4th Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) 5th Phil Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks) 6th Nico Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) 7th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) 7th Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails) 9th Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD / AL360) 9th Tonky Frans (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg / AL360) 9th Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Shamal Sunglasses) 9th Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne) Current Ranking 2016 PWA Freestyle World Tour: Men’s  1st Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) 2nd Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) 3rd Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) 4th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) 6th Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails) 7th Phil Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks) 8th Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne) 9th Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Shamal Sunglasses) 10th Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins)   Overall Ranking 2016 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam: Men’s Slalom 1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 2nd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) 3rd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) 4th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) 5th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)   6th Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) 7th Ben van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails)  8th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) 9th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)  10th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)   Current Ranking 2016 PWA Slalom World Tour: Men’s 

1st Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) 2nd Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) 3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) 4th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) 5th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 6th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) 7th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) 8th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) 9th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) 10th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)

Am Sonntag gingen auf Sylt nach fünf Tagen die Internationalen Deutschen Meisterschaften im Windsurfen zu Ende. Vor einer Rekordkulisse von insgesamt 125.000 Besuchern konnte Vincent Langer (GER-1) triumphieren und so seinen Titel verteidigen. Langer siegte in den beiden Einzeldisziplinen Racing und Slalom und wurde so auch dominierender Overallsieger. „Nachdem die DM extrem schlecht für mich begonnen hat, konnte ich am Samstag meiner Favoritenrolle gerecht werden.“ sagt der neue und alte Deutsche Meister Vincent Langer.

Zunächst sah es für den Titelverteidiger Vincent Langer gar nicht gut aus. Nach dem ersten Tag führte der Flensburger Gunnar Asmussen (GER-88) die Ergebnisliste an. Nach drei Tagen übernahm Nico Prien (GER-7) aus Schönberg die Führung. Erst am Samstag fand Langer seine gewohnte Form zurück und gewann die letzten vier Wettfahrten in Folge. So übernahm Langer die Führung und konnte die Disziplin Racing am Ende deutlich gewinnen. Abermals ist er damit Deutscher Racingmeister. Der zwischenzeitlich führende Nico Prien sichert sich mit einer konstant starken Leistung den Vizemeistertitel. Der Schweizer Richard Stauffacher (SUI-31) kann Platz drei erobern. Gunnar Asmussen fuhr sich nach zwei Ausrutschern wieder an die Spitze und belegt am Ende Platz vier. Der Ravensburger Fabian Mattes (GER-202) komplettiert die Top-5 in der Disziplin Racing.

Auch im Slalom war Langer als amtierender Slalom Weltmeister das Maß der Dinge. Er lieferte sich im Finale ein packendes Duell mit Gunnar Asmussen, dem Slalom Weltmeister von 2013. Beide Fahrer hatten einen perfekten Start und konnten sich schnell vom Rest des Feldes absetzen. Über fünf Schenkel flogen die beiden Kopf-an-Kopf mit Geschwindigkeiten von über 50 km/h über den Kurs. Am Ende hatte Langer die Nase vorn und sicherte sich so den Deutschen Meistertitel in der Disziplin Slalom. Gunnar Asmussen kann sich über den Slalom-Vizemeistertitel freuen. Nico Prien erobert Platz drei.

In der Overallwertung werden die Ergebnisse der beiden Einzeldisziplinen kombiniert. Durch seine Siege im Racing und im Slalom findet sich Vincent Langer auch in der Overallwertung an der Spitze des Gesamtklassements. Mit der Idealpunktzahl 2,0 macht er deutlich, dass an ihm aktuell kein Weg vorbeiführt.

Als stärkster Verfolger und Zukunftshoffnung für den deutschen Windsurfsport präsentierte sich der 21-jährige Nico Prien in starker Form. Mit einem zweiten Platz im Racing und einem dritten Platz im Slalom kommt Prien auf 5,0 Punkte. Damit ist er Deutscher Vizemeister 2016. Prien: „Ich freue mich total und bin sehr zufrieden. Vincent hat fair gewonnen und das Ergebnis spiegelt die Leistung wieder!“

Auf Platz drei folgt der Flensburger Gunnar Asmussen. Als Vizemeister im Slalom und vierter im Racing liegt er nur einen Punkt hinter Prien und komplettiert so das Podium der Deutschen Windsurfing Meisterschaft. „Im Slalom hätte ich natürlich gerne den Deutschen Meistertitel geholt, aber bei einer Slalom-Elimination war nicht mehr drin. Dennoch freue ich mich total, wieder auf dem Podium zu stehen.“ sagt Asmussen.

Mit 11,0 Punkten in der Overallwertung liegen der Schweizer Richard Staufacher und Dennis Müller (GER-89) punktgleich. Im Tiebreak kann der Schweizer Stauffacher aber knapp den Norderneyer Müller verdrängen und sich so Platz vier erobern.

Die Nachwuchsfahrer zeigten sich in brillanter Form. Bester deutscher Youth U-20 Fahrer ist Julien Pockrandt (GER-18) auf Platz 12. Nur einen Platz dahinter folgt Michele Becker (GER-277) auf Platz 13 vor dem Kieler Lars Paustian (GER-1999) auf Platz 17. Der beste deutsche Junior U-17 ist sein Bruder Kai Paustian (GER-707) auf Platz 34. Bester Rookie (Neueinsteiger) ist Finn Kroll (GER-740).

Der Surf Cup Sylt  2016 presented by Flens war ein Megaevent. Mit über 125.000 Besuchern wurde ein neuer Rekord verzeichnet. Tausende verfolgten die Rennen der Windsurfer, feierten bei den Konzerten und schlenderten über die Cateringmeile. „Besser hätte es nicht laufen können“ strahlt Organisator Matthias Regber von der Choppy Water GmbH. „Wir hatten tollen Sport, herrliche Konzerte, ein tolles Rahmenprogramm und hochwertige Gastronomiestände. So war für jeden etwas dabei.“. Hier die direkten Links zu den Ergebnislisten
Ergebnisliste Overall
Ergebnisliste Slalom
Ergebnisliste Racing

Der vorletzte Tag des Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - organisiert und gesponsert von René Egli – startete nicht so, wie es aufgrund der ausgezeichneten Prognose sein sollte – starke Bewölkung störte die lokale Thermik. Die Bedingungen erwiesen sich als recht schwierig, sehr böig war es schon seit dem Vormittag. Am späten Nachmittag stabilisierte sich der Wind und schließlich war es möglich, eine weitere Elimination abzuschließen. Die Ergebnisse lieferten allerdings einige Überraschungen. Elimination 8 For the first time this week 3 out of the top 4 put a foot wrong today as firstly Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails), followed by Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) crashed out after jumping the gun in the quarterfinals.  This potentially opened the door for Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) to reduce the margin between himself and Albeau at the top of the event rankings, but the Brit too fell at the quarterfinal stage after dropping his first gybe. Williams managed to fight back into 5th in Heat 12, but ran out of room before he could reel in Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg), who booked his place in the second winners’ final of the week.  This means that in the most likely event of one final elimination tomorrow that it will probably be a head-to-head battle between Albeau and Williams for the event title. AA holds a 6.9 point advantage over the Brit heading into the final day, so  the reigning world champion only requires a 6th place finish or better to ensure his opening event win of the season — assuming both sailors qualify for the winners’ final, which as today proved is no given.  Winners’ Final The wind picked up for the winners’ final and Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) made a great decision to change down to 6.2m, while Ben van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails), Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) were overpowered on 7m sails. The race for the opening buoy saw an intense battle, but after an excellent start it was Iachino who held a closely contested lead, however, the Italian was soon given a clear advantage as van der Steen and Mortefon collided, while taking down Vonk in the process. With clean winds, Iachino, soon extended his lead and it wasn’t long before he was celebrating his second bullet of the week, which sees the 26 year old rise to 4th in the current rankings. After avoiding the carnage at the first buoy, Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic), broke through to clinch second, which is the Bonairean’s best result of the week, followed by Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti), who has sailed consistently all week and Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne), who completed the top 4.  Unfortunately, Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails), suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first semifinal and everyone at the PWA would like to wish the Frenchman a quick and successful recovery. Toselli had enjoyed an excellent week up until this point and looked set for a top 5 finish come the end of the event.  Elsewhere, Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails), bounced back to form after a disappointing opening few days as the Pole qualified for his opening winners’ final of the week — eventually finishing 5th. The forecast shows excellent wind for the final day and crucially, unlike today, it predicts clear skies which should hopefully provide a thrilling finale to what has been an amazing event. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30am with the action commencing from 11am (GMT+1) — if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the racing live.  To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Current Ranking Men’s Slalom — Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam 1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 2nd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) 3rd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) 4th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) 5th Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails)  6th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) 7th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) 8th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)  9th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) 10th Ben van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails) 

Der Samstag könnte der Schlüsseltag für die Internationalen Deutschen Meisterschaften 2016 sein. Am Vormittag konnte das Ergebnis in der Disziplin Slalom gesichert werden. Am Nachmittag gab es vier weitere Rennen in der Disziplin Racing. Vincent Langer (GER-1), der Deutsche Meister von 2015 konnte sich die Führung erobern und rückt so einer erfolgreichen Titelverteidigung näher. „Heute war ein perfekter Tag für mich. Ich konnte im Slalom siegen und alle vier Racings des heutigen Tages gewinnen. Ich bin überglücklich, denn am Anfang hatte ich im Racing ein paar Probleme. Nun bin ich in der perfekten Ausgangssituation für den Finaltag“, strahlt Vincent Langer. Am Freitag konnte sich zunächst der Schönberger Nico Prien (GER-7) die Führung bei den Internationalen Deutschen Meisterschaften erobern. Doch der Samstag sollte die Karten komplett neu mischen. Die Vorhersagen versprachen nur für ein kurzes Zeitfenster am frühen Morgen ausreichende Bedingungen. Deshalb begannen die Slalomrennen bereits um 08:45. Die „Frühschicht“ zahlte sich für die Windsurfer aber aus. Bei fünf Windstärken herrschten perfekte Slalombedingungen und es konnte die Slalomelimination beendet werden. Im Slalomfinale trafen alle Favoriten aufeinander. Vincent Langer und Gunnar Asmussen (GER-88) hatten beide perfekte Starts und konnten sich so schnell vom Verfolgerfeld absetzen. Über fünf Slalomschenkel lieferten sich die beiden Kontrahenten ein packendes Duell. Am Ende konnte sich Vincent Langer knapp durchsetzen und so die Führung in der Disziplin Slalom sichern. Mit Platz zwei ist der Flensburger Gunnar Asmussen gut auf Kurs für den Vize-Meistertitel im Slalom. Der bis dahin in der Disziplin Racing führende Nico Prien aus Schönberg belegte im Slalom Platz drei und konnte so seinen härtesten Konkurrenten in der Rangliste, Dennis Müller (GER-89) von der Insel Norderney, hinter sich halten. Der Norweger Martin Möller-Hovda (NOR-41) komplettierte die Top-5. Wie erwartet ließ der Wind in der Folge nach, so dass auf die Disziplin Racing gewechselt wurde. Die Wechselphase wurde auch noch unfreiwillig etwas verlängert, weil ein Spülbagger mit seinen Küstenschutzmaßnahmen direkt in das Kursgebiet steuerte und auch in der Folge immer wieder kurze Wettkampfunterbrechungen erforderte. Vincent Langer ließ sich davon nicht irritieren und kehrte auch im Racing wieder zu seiner Topform zurück. Überlegen konnte er alle vier Wettfahrten gewinnen. Damit eroberte er auch in der Disziplin Racing die Führung und baute diese in der Folge weiter aus. Nico Prien zeigte sich im Racing weiterhin stark und ließ sich auch von einem gebrochenen Trapezhaken nicht irritieren. Mit 8,7 Punkten liegt er relativ sicher auf Platz zwei. So hat er vor dem Finaltag die besten Karten, um deutscher Vizemeister im Racing zu werden. Der Schweizer Richard Staufacher (SUI-31) hält Platz drei mit 13,0 Punkten. Gunnar Asmussen macht einen großen Sprung nach vorne und liegt aktuell mit 14,7 Punkten auf Platz vier im Racing. Fabian Mattes (GER-202) komplettiert die Top-5 in dieser Disziplin. In der Gesamtwertung werden beide Disziplinen zusammengezählt und somit auch der Deutsche Meister 2016 ermittelt. Mit ersten Plätzen in den beiden Einzeldisziplinen belegt aktuell Vincent Langer auch in der Gesamtwertung überlegen den ersten Platz. Somit rückt seine Titelverteidigung in greifbare Nähe. Auf Platz zwei liegt aktuell Nico Prien mit einem dritten Platz im Slalom und Platz zwei im Racing. Auf dem dritten Platz folgt Gunnar Asmussen. Der Schweizer Richard Staufacher und der Noderneyer Dennis Müller komplettieren die Top-5 vor dem Finaltag. Für den letzten Regattatag sind erneut sehr gute Bedingungen für die Disziplin Racing angesagt, so dass weitere spannende Wettfahrten zu erwarten sind. Die offizielle Siegerehrung für die Internationalen Deutschen Meisterschaften findet um 17:00 Uhr statt.

Der Wind ließ sich am 8. Tag des Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam etwas Zeit – aber ab 14:30 blies er wieder in gewohnter Stärke. Gefahren wurde erneut mit den kleinen Slalomboards und Segeln zwischen  5,6 bis 6,3m².  Auch am dritten Tag waren Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) und Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Segel / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses), sehr stark, sie hielten die ersten beiden Plätze in der Gesamtwertung, jeder gewann heute eine Elimination der Rennen Nr. 6 und 7. Elimination Six Winners’ Final Josh Angulo (Angulo) made the best start to the winners’ final, but it was Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) who led the race into the first mark ahead of Angulo, Antoine Albeau and Ross Williams, who produced an excellent first gybe and turn of acceleration to grab pole position as they rounded the second. However, in a hotly contested final it was soon a 3 or 4 way battle over the remainder of the course between Albeau, who held the advantage into the third, Williams, Iachino and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails), but ultimately Albeau wouldn’t be denied a 4th bullet of the week as he extended his lead at the top of the event rankings. Meanwhile, Williams, hung onto 2nd place after a photo finish with Mortefon after a thrilling final leg.  18 year old Ethan Westera booked himself a place in his first semifinal of the week to recover from a poor day yesterday. The young Aruban couldn’t navigate his way into the winners’ final, but he secured 13th overall in the sixth race. Ross Williams found himself in a spot of trouble in the semifinal, but escaped brilliantly by executing a superb gybe at the second buoy to jump from 7th to 4th.  Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) missed out on a place in the winners’ final, but was able to limit the damage by claiming victory in the losers’ final to maintain his place in the overall top 10 of the event.    Elimination Seven Winners’ Final The 7th elimination brings the second discard into play, but the top 10 doesn’t really change after this. The biggest mover is Matteo Iachino, who rises from 10th to 6th. However, the last winners’ final of the day saw another thrilling finale with Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) leading Heat 16 from the start until half way down the final reach only for Williams to haul himself back into contention to force an absolutely flat out fight for the finish line and as the two sailors past it was too close to call. Soon afterwards it was confirmed that Williams had managed to secure his opening bullet of the week, while denying Toselli a second victory. Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) ended that day with his best result of the event so far — 3rd — while Antoine Albeau will currently discard his 4th place finish.  In the losers’ final Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) saw off the challenge of firstly, Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails), and then Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) to earn 9th place and the Dutchman was clearly delighted with his efforts as it brought him back into the overall top 16, while Mortefon claimed 2nd ahead of Maynard in 3rd.  Both Mortefon and Maynard were involved in a collision in the opening semifinal, which ultimately cost them a place in the winners’ final when both well placed.  Elsewhere, Matteo Iachino, produced a superb comeback in the quarterfinals after falling at the second when in the lead. The Italian made a quick recovery to somehow still grab the final qualifying place as he denied Ludovic Jossin (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg). The forecast looks windier again tomorrow, which should see the exhilarating slalom continue. The sailors will meet again at 10:30am — with the racing commencing from 11am (GMT+1) onwards. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the racing live.  To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Current Ranking Men’s Slalom — Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam 1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 2nd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) 3rd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) 4th Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) 5th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) 6th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) 7th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) 8th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) 9th Ben van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails) 10th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic)  

Nachdem die Teilnehmer gestern einen entspannten Tag am Brandenburger Strand erleben durften, ging es heute auf Sylt wieder ab auf die Bretter. Der Wind wehte mit 8-10 Knoten (3 Windstärken) aus Süden. Er wehte damit am unteren Limit der Disziplin Racing. Es reichte um zwei weitere Racings einzufahren. Die Deutsche Meisterschaft 2016 ist damit gesichert. Nach insgesamt drei Wettfahrt erobert Nicolas Prien die Führung bei der wichtigsten nationalen Windsurfregatta. Prien: “Ich weiß gar nicht mehr genau, was im Rennen passiert ist, weil ich mich so super freue, dass ich jetzt auf 1 bin. Am Anfang war es super eng mit Vincent. Aber bei dem schwachen Wind hat bei mir alles perfekt gepasst. Unglaublich, dass sich der ganze Aufwand jetzt endlich mal auszahlen konnte.“ Gleich am ersten Regattatag konnte bereits ein Racing absolviert werden. Hier konnte sich der Flensburger Gunnar Asmussen (GER-88) den ersten Laufsieg sichern. Dicht auf den Versen waren ihm Nicolas Prien (GER-7) und Vincent Langer (GER-1) auf Platz zwei und drei. Auch am dritten Regattatag standen diese drei Favoriten im Mittelpunkt des Geschehens. Im ersten Rennen des Tages fand Vincent Langer zu seiner gewohnten Form zurück und ließ alle Verfolger hinter sich. Gunnar Asmussen war in diesem Rennen vom Pech verfolgt und beging einen Frühstart. Für dieses Rennen wurde er somit disqualifiziert. Nicolas Prien freute sich erneut über einen zweiten Platz, gefolgt von dem Kieler Leon Delle (GER-6). Um die Windverhältnisse bestmöglich auszunutzen, wurde direkt das dritte Racing angeschossen. Hier wendete sich erneut das Blatt und neue Protagonisten kamen ins Spiel. Nicolas Prien konnte den ersten Sieg für sich entscheiden. Der Schweizer Richard Stauffacher (SUI-31) kam als Zweiter ins Ziel, gefolgt von dem Ravensburger Fabian Mattes (GER-202). Vincent Langer erlangt lediglich Rang acht. Mit zwei zweiten Plätzen und einem Laufsieg übernimmt Nicolas Prien die Führung beim Surf Cup Sylt presented by Flens. Mit deutlichem Abstand folgt der amtierende Deutsche Meister Vincent Langer auf Platz zwei. Nach einer längeren Verletzungspause feiert der Ravensburger Fabian Mattes ein erfolgreiches Comeback. Leon Delle und der Norweger Martin Möller-Hovda liefern sich ein packendes Duell um Platz vier. Beide sind punktgleich. Im Tie-Break kann sich der Kieler Delle aber durchsetzen. Hier die direkten Links zu den Ergebnislisten Ergebnisliste Racing

Weitere 3 Eliminations wurden am zweiten Tag des Slaloms abgeschlossen. Der Wind war erneut sehr stark, die meisten Starter gingen mit 5.6-6.2er Segeln und den kleinsten Boards aufs Wasser. Heute war ein echter Test für die taktischen Fähigkeiten der Fahrer, in jeder der drei Eliminations wurde der Kurs etwas verändert. Am Ende des Tages ist es Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), der seine Führung in der Spitze des Event-Rankings verteidigt. Der amtierende Weltmeister gewann zwei Eliminations,  ein neunter Platz von ihm ist bereits ein Streichergebnis. Elimination Three Winners’ Final Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) made the best start of the fleet in the opening winners’ final of the day, but it was Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) who assumed the lead as they rounded the opening buoy. However, with the ferocious winds and extremely choppy water, Moussilmani, took a tumble at the second mark allowing Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) to pick up the lead. Over the remainder of the course there was a fantastic battle between Toselli, Frans and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails), but it was Toselli who eventually came out on top with Mortefon taking 2nd ahead of Frans and Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails), who recorded his best result of the event so far — 4th.  Elimination Four The fourth elimination saw a completely different course, which saw some sailors up in arms about the course they had been set, but it produced the most exciting race of the day with positions constantly changing with sailors falling left, right and centre with the short and broad legs catching many out. This meant that sailors going in the drink at the opening couple of buoys were still frequently qualifying with the opportunity to come back a real possibility and from a spectators perspective it was fantastic. Winners’ Final Having missed out on the winners’ final in the third elimination, Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), immediately struck back as he made a flying start by the pin to take a narrow lead into the first over Pascal Toselli, who was looking to win back-to-back eliminations, and Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses). With the bit firmly between his teeth Albeau was soon securing bullet number two of the week and he celebrated by launching into a massive jump as he crossed the finish line. Meanwhile, with Williams applying the pressure the Brit secured himself an excellent 2nd place as Toselli went down when under pressure, while Ben Van der Steen went one place better than the previous race to finish 3rd ahead of Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails). Elsewhere, Diony Guadagnino (AHD / Loft Sails), qualified for his first winners’ final since returning to the PWA Slalom World Tour this year and the Venezuelan showed excellent pace and secure gybes to earn a 6th place finish. Elimination Five After a short and dynamic course in the third race, the final elimination of the day was a battle consisting of out and out speed with just two successful gybes being needed to round the course. However, the speed runs saw many sailors tail walking as they fought to survive the extreme conditions snd some suffered some brutal wipeouts — including Marco Lang (Fanatic / North Sails) who broke his boom such was the ferocity of one of his catapults. Winners’ Final The fifth elimination saw another scintillating finish involving Antoine Albeau, Pierre Mortefon and Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7). Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) made an excellent start, but by the first it was Albeau and Iachino going all out and it looked as though it would be AA who would hold the lead as they entered the opening gybe, however, Iachino dived down the inside to snatch pole position only for Albeau to find another gear to blitz past Iachino on the second reach to take first place. Mortefon then came flying down the home reach to make it a three way battle for the finish line, but Albeau would not be denied as he opens up an extensive lead at the top. Mortefon, meanwhile, rises to 3rd overall after beating Iachino to 2nd place, while Ross Williams continues to enjoy a fine start to the event and he occupies 4th place in the currently event rankings after another top 4 finish.  Jordy Vonk qualified for his opening winners’ final of the week after a disappointing performance yesterday and the young Dutchman was clearly delighted as he fist pumped across the finish line, only to be brought firmly back to earth with a catapult. However, Vonk, didn’t let the crash affect his mindset as he continued to celebrate once being back on the beach. Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) missed out on a place in the winners’ final for the first time this week, but he limited the damage by claiming victory in the losers’ final to finish 9th overall and holds 4th place in the event rankings.  Antoine Albeau now holds a commanding lead at the top of the rankings and he’ll be looking to continue his domination of the event tomorrow with the forecast predicting another windy day tomorrow. The sailors will meet again at 10:30am — with the racing commencing from 11am (GMT+1) onwards. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the racing live.  To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Current Ranking Men’s Slalom — Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam 1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 2nd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) 3rd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) 4th Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) 5th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) 6th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) 7th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) 8th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) 9th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) 10th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)

Am ersten Augustwochenende werden in Sankt Peter-Ording die deutsche Kite-Elite, Hunderte von Testern und Tausende von Kitefans zu Gast sein. Das Nordseebad lädt vom 05. bis zum 07. August zum dritten Tourstopp der offiziellen deutschen Meisterschaftsserie „Kitesurf Masters“ ein. Neben den Wettkämpfen der Spitzenreiter wird auch für die Hobbysportler und die Besucher eine Menge geboten. So werden die führenden Marken der Kiteindustrie ihre Kiter, Boards, Bars und Zubehör bei der Kite-Expo im Event-Village direkt am Strand präsentieren und bem Kitelife Testival sogar kostenlos zum Testen zur Verfügung stellen. Die Kitesurf Masters sind die höchste Kite-Regattaserie in Deutschland. Die Tour besteht in diesem Jahr aus vier Tourstopps. Die Ergebnisse gehen in die offizielle Rangliste ein. Dabei kämpft die Kite-Elite um den offiziellen deutschen Meistertitel. In St. Peter-Ording werden die Disziplinen Freestyle, Racing und Slalom (für Junioren und Youth) ausgetragen. Dass St. Peter-Ording als Top-Spot unter den Kitesurfern gilt, zeigt auch die Anzahl der Anmeldungen. Schon jetzt zeichnet sich ein starkes Teilnehmerfeld ab: Knapp drei Wochen vor der Veranstaltung haben sich bereits über 50 Kiter angemeldet. Neben den sportlichen Wettkämpfen ist das Kitelife Testival ein weiteres Highlight der Veranstaltung. Hier stellen renommierte Kitemarken ihr Material Hobby-Kitern zur Verfügung. Neben der aktuellen Produktpalette werden teilweise auch schon die neuen Produkte für 2017 vorgestellt. Neben der Action auf dem Wasser sorgt ein buntes Rahmenprogramm mit Pump Track und Slacklines im Eventvillage für Unterhaltung. Eine abwechslungsreiche Catering- und Shoppingmeile lädt am Strand zum Verweilen ein und für musikalische Abwechslung sorgen die beiden Bands, die am Freitag (05.08.) und Samstag (06.08.) Abend im Eventvillage auftreten werden. Parken kann man tagsüber auf dem Strand direkt neben dem Eventvillage. Allein das ist schon einmalig in Deutschland und macht den Trip zu den Kitesurf Masters und Sankt Peter-Ording zu einem Erlebnis.

Der Surf Cup Sylt presented by Flens ist in vollem Gange. Mit dabei ist in diesem Jahr auch ein Schweizer Profi Surfer. Richard Staubfacher bringt viel Erfahrung mit, denn er durfte schon drei Mal bei Olympia mitfahren und konnte sich 2012 dort sogar unter den Top-10 etablieren. Wir haben ihn dazu interviewt: Was ist das Besondere an Olympia? "Die Olympischen Spiele sind für jeden Sportler ein Lebenstraum und ich habe viel dafür trainiert und gekämpft um teilnehmen zu können. Mit dem Start habe ich dann ein riesen Ziel für mich erreicht und mir einen Traum erfüllt. Das Außergewöhnliche sind die Dimensionen, die die Veranstaltung hat. Meist werden ja ganze Städte dafür umgebaut. Schön ist auf jeden Fall die Tatsache, dass man mit Sportlern aus dem ganzen Land unterwegs ist. " Gibt es Ähnlichkeiten zum Surf Cup Sylt? "Bei den Olympischen Spielen liegt der Fokus eindeutig auf dem Event selbst, da es nur alle 4 Jahre stattfindet. Es stellt den Höhepunkt in der Karriere aller Sportler dar. Eine gewonnene Medaille hat einen unglaublichen Stellenwert. Man hat es geschafft! Genauso ist aber auch die Teilnahme an der Deutschen Meisterschaft hier im Rahmen des Surf Cup Sylt für viele Surfer der Höhepunkt in der Karriere." Gibt es ähnliche Events auch in der Schweiz? "Die Veranstaltung rund um die Deutsche Meisterschaft ist größer als die meisten Wettkämpfe in der Schweiz. Die Schweizer Serie beginnt in Südfrankreich und wird dann auf verschiedenen Seen in der Schweiz ausgetragen. Am Silvaplaner See findet dann der Saison Höhepunkt statt: die Schweizer Meisterschaft. Diese wird in einem 5 tägigen Event ausgetragen, bei dem auch viele Surfer aus Deutschland teilnehmen. Vincent Langer hat zum Beispiel auch schon teilgenommen." Bist du Vollprofi oder wie verdienst du deine Brötchen? "Ich arbeite mittlerweile seit 4 Jahren im Controlling und bin für das Asset Management zuständig. Durch meinen 100% Job bin ich nicht mehr so regelmäßig auf dem Wasser. Daher komme ich hauptsächlich in meinem Urlaub zum Surfen. Dann nehme ich an Regatten teil und trainiere viel. Wie im Winter, als ich mit meiner Familie zum Trainieren in Südafrika war oder jetzt zu den Deutschen Meisterschaften auf Sylt." Was ist deine Lieblingsdisziplin? "Die Disziplin Formula liegt mir am meisten. Das taktische Fahren bringt mir super viel Spaß. Der Vorteil ist, dass man bei einer Rücklage durch gute taktische Manöver immer wieder nach vorne kommt. Allerdings bieten die Slalom Rennen mehr Action und sind dynamischer. Es ist also kaum zu vergleichen." Was sind deiner Lieblingsreviere? "Kapstadt ist eines meiner Lieblingsreviere, wobei es sich vor allem für das Waveriding eignet. Aber auch der Silvaplanersee ist ein tolles Revier. Man befindet sich 1800 m über dem Meeresspiegel inmitten der Berge.  Das ist ein herrliches Panorama. Jedoch kann man es aber nur wenige Tage im Jahr auf Grund der Höhe befahren, denn sonst liegt dort immer Schnee." Was sind deine Ziele? "Jetzt möchte ich bei den deutschen Meisterschaften aufs Treppchen kommen. Und dann stehen in zwei Wochen die Schweizer Meisterschaften am Silvaplanersee an. Auch hier hoffe ich auf eine gute Platzierung. "