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. "

Heute war der erste Tag für die Slalom-Racer beim diesjähringen Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam. Nach 5 Tagen Freestyle gab es heute einen spektakulären Beginn der Slalomrennen. Bei Wind von über 40 Knoten wurde das Können der Racer heftig auf die Probe gestellt. Zeitweise war der Wind so stark, dass das Überleben primäres Ziel wurde und es gab einige massive Wipeouts auch mit einigen prominenten Opfern. Am Ende des ersten Tages führt Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) nach einem ersten und zweiten Platz in den beiden heutigen Eliminations. Extrem spannend gestern der Finallauf der ersten Elimination – Matteo Iachino und Antoine Albeau Kopf an Kopf auf dem letzten Schlag – Matteo gewann das Rennen. Wer Zeit und Gelegenheit hat, sollte sich unbedingt die Rennen im Live Stream der PWA anschauen. Men’s Slalom Elimination One Winners’ Final The opening winners’ final saw one of the closest finishes in PWA history as Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) pipped Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) to the first bullet of the week in an exhilarating finish, which saw the two heavy weights flying down the final reach at mac ten. Albeau looked to be in control, but Iachino turned on the afterburners to steal the victory from the claws of the reigning world champion. Meanwhile, Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails), made a fine start to the event as he secured third place ahead of teammate Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses). Enes Yilmazer (Starboard / Severne), Ingmar Daldorf (Patrik / Loft Sails), James Dinsmore (Starboard / Severne) and Massimo Colombi (Starboard / Maui Sails) all received byes into the second round after Bruno Martini (Starboard / Severne / AL360), Nik van den Eerenbeemt (JP / NeilPryde) and Diony Guadagnino (AHD / Loft Sails) all jumped the gun resulting in disqualification. Elimination Two Winners’ Final Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) led for the majority of the second winners’ final, but was denied victory by Antoine Albeau, who struck late to overtake at the final mark ensuring that he leads the event at the end of the first day of racing. Moussilmani finished in second place ahead of Ross Williams and Cedric Bordes and he holds second place in the current event rankings, while Bordes and Williams are currently tied for third.  After making a flying start to the event Matteo Iachino suffered an early exit in the second elimination as he was knocked out in Heat 12, which saw the Italian go from leading the event to dropping to 12th but he will be hoping to discard that result after the fourth race.  Elsewhere, Andrea Ferin (RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360), enjoyed a fine second elimination as he qualified for the semifinals. Unfortunately the Italian then jumped the gun in Heat 13, but secured 13th place to bounce back from a second round exit in the opening race. Current world tour leader — Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) — currently sits in 6th place after 9th and 5th place finishes today and you would expect to see him charging for the top tomorrow as he looks to continue to set the pace in this year’s title race. The forecast for tomorrow looks even windier, which should guarantee plenty of adrenaline fuelled slalom and whether anyone can tame Fuerteventura’s fierce winds will remain to be seen. 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. Here’s a recap from the preview of some of the top contenders to look out for over the next five days. Current Ranking Men’s Slalom — Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam 1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 2nd Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne 3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) 3rd Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) 5th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) 6th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) 7th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) 8th Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne) 9th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) 10th Nicolas Warembourg (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic)

Der diesjährige Surf Cup Sylt presented by Flens kann einen neuen Teilnehmerrekord vermelden. Insgesamt 73 Teilnehmer aus fünf verschiedenen Nationen haben sich auf den Weg zu den Internationalen Deutschen Meisterschaften nach Westerland gemacht. Pünktlich zum Skippersmeeting wehte der Wind mit unteren fünf Windstärken, so dass zunächst die Disziplin Slalom gestartet wurde. Bis zu den Viertelfinals hielt sich der Wind und bescherte den Windsurfern spannende Positionskämpfe. Leider ließ der Wind dann nach, so dass die Slalomelimination beendet werden musste.

Beim Surf Cup Sylt ist auch die Disziplin Formula Windsurfing (Racing) angesetzt. Die Teilnehmer fahren mit bis zu 12qm großen Segeln und können somit bereits ab sieben Knoten (untere 3 Windstärken) aufs Wasser gehen.

Hier konnte sich der Schönberger Nicolas Prien (GER-7) zunächst erfolgreich in Szene setzen. Bis kurz vor dem Ziel behauptete er seine Führung. Doch wenige Meter davor musste er doch noch den Flensburger Gunnar Asmussen (GER-88) passieren lassen. Asmussen sicherte sich somit den Sieg im Auftaktrennen. Der Deutsche Meister Vincent Langer (GER-1) fuhr auf Platz 3. Der Schweizer Richard Stauffacher (SUI-31) platzierte sich auf dem vierten Rang, vor Fabian Mattes (GER-202).

Neben der sportlichen Action auf dem Wasser sorgten das LVM Kids Camp mit dem lustigen Maskottchen „Pferdinant“ bei den kleinen Gästen für Begeisterung. Für das ältere Publikum hatten die Moderatoren auf dem Surf Cup ebenfalls noch ein Ass im Ärmel. Beim Bingo auf der Promenade gab es nicht nur sensationelle Preise sondern auch eine Menge Spaß und Aktionen. Die täglichen Öffnungszeiten sind von 10:00 bis 22:00 Uhr auf der Promenade von Westerland.

Der letzte Tag des Freestyle-Worldcups auf Fuerteventura lieferte keine Wettkampfbedingungen mehr. Sehr böiger Wind verhinderte leider faire Wettkämpfe. Die Sieger des 2016er Freestyle Worldcups sind somit Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) und Amado Vrieswijk. Für die Damen ist der Event in Fuerteventura in diesem Jahr der einzige Tourstopp, dadurch ist Sarah-Quita zum neunten Mal Freestyle Weltmeisterin. Die erst 18 jährige und sehr stark gefahrene Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne) wurde Vizeweltmeisterin. Wir sind gespannt was von Maaike in den nächsten Jahren noch kommt. Ebenfalls einen sehr starken Auftritt hatten die beiden Nachwuchsfahrer Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) aus Belgien und Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) aus Bonaire. Sie fuhren sowohl in der Single Elimination als auch in der Double auf die ersten beiden Plätze. Amado gewinnt den Fuerteventura Event – sein erster Eventsieg überhaupt – und wird dadurch auch Erster der diesjährigen Rangliste. Enttäuschend hingegen verlief der Fuerteventura Worldcup für Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC), er war durch seinen Eventsieg am Neusiedler See / Österreich auf einem guten Weg zu seinem siebten Freestyle-WM-Titel. Es bleibt trotzdem spannend, der letzte Freestyle-Event dieses Jahres findet beim Worldcup auf Sylt statt. The fifth day of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam — orangeades and sponsored by René Egli — saw light winds to conclude the final day of the freestyle. During the afternoon the breeze did increase and the women’s second double elimination was started, but unfortunately conditions deteriorated again soon afterwards meaning that there was no change to the results, which means Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) claims a deserved maiden win on the world tour, while Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) maintains her incredible unbeaten run to collect freestyle world title No.9. Women’s  Sarah-Quita Offringa proved again over the last 5 days why she is the undisputed Queen of Freestyle as she produced another imperious display to extend her unbeaten run to 9 years. The 25 year old won every heat she sailed this week with a combination of the latest power moves and also sliding combos. Offringa had this to day after capturing a 9th freestyle world crown — 11 overall: “I feel like I had a good event and it was fun to sail in a different range of conditions — varying in wind strength and waves or waves, which gave everyone a chance to show their level. The thing that I personally enjoyed the most is that everyone was trying to push the level with Maaike and Oda going for the power moves, while Arrianne and Maxime are also pushing. Overall its nice to see the level go up.” Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 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.  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 Freestyle Amado Vrieswijk clinches a maiden event victory after fighting back through the double elimination and defeating Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) twice to overturn the result. Vrieswijk now assumes control of the title race as he leap frogs Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) into 1st place in the current overall world rankings. Vrieswijk added: “I’m super stoked to win my first world cup event. We had some amazing conditions. Thanks to everyone for being here and congratulations to Yentel and Gollito as well. I look forward to coming back next year.”  Yentel Caers has been threatening to produce a big performance recently and this week everything clicked into place as the Belgian stomped his mark on the world tour by winning the single elimination — guaranteeing himself his best ever result — 2nd here. Caers has now broken through and established himself as a world title contender for 2016 and years to come.  6-time freestyle world champion — Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) — sits in 2nd place overall after the event. Gollito sailed well throughout the event, but uncharacteristically made a few errors in his heat against Vrieswijk in the double elimination. Gollito is usually clinical in the competition arena but crashed a couple of times, before running out of moves on port tack, which proved critical with his shifty in Heat 50 not counting. However, Gollito, still occupies 2nd place in the overall rankings and will enter the final event of the year in Sylt with an excellent shot at a 7th world title.  After an epic freestyle battle attention now turns towards the slalom, which starts tomorrow and runs for the next five days. From the looks of the forecast the fastest sailors in the world will be trying to hold onto their smallest equipment, while attempting to safely navigate themselves to the end of the course. The skippers’ meeting for tomorrow will be held at 12:30pm with a first possible start of 1pm (GMT+1). 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. Here’s a recap from the preview of some of the top contenders to look out for over the next five days. Men’s Slalom Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) came agonisingly close to a maiden world title last year, finishing level on points with Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), and the Frenchman has picked up exactly where he left off and currently leads the race for this year’s title after following up a 4th place finish in Korea with his first victory of the year in Costa Brava. The 26 year old seems equally adept in light or strong winds and he looks sure to be challenging for the top again as he looks to maintain his lead at the top of the rankings. However, Mortefon, will face stern competition, first and foremost from Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7), who led the title race for much of last year and made a flying start to the year in Korea where he came out on top. A small blip in Costa Brava saw the Italian have to settle for 7th, but he looks to have made a seamless transition onto his new equipment and should be challenging for the top again. Iachino is still breathing down the neck of Mortefon, but will be doing everything in his power to overhaul the current world tour leader. Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) has continued his fine form from 2015 and currently sits in 3rd place overall and will be looking to replicate his podium finish here last year as the Brit looks to keep himself in contention. Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) has bounced back from a slightly disappointing end to last season with to two top 10 finishes — including 5th in Costa Brava. Toselli looks to have the bit between his teeth and looks lighting quick and should be involved again. Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) entered the second event of the year in 15th place, but has risen to 5th in the current standings after an excellent 2nd place in Costa Brava and the Israeli will be looking to build upon that performance, while Steven Allen (Patrik / Severne) continues to perform unbelievably consistently. The Australian currently holds 6th overall after two top 10 results — 10th in Korea and 9th in Costa Brava, respectively.  Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) has been racing on the PWA World Tour for the last 20 years, but the Italian experienced his best performance to date in Costa Brava as he won the final elimination of the week to deservedly earn a maiden podium. Cucchi is extremely quick and if he can avoid making any errors then he’ll be a real threat again — as will Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti Sails) who currently holds 8th place.  The season hasn’t gone to plan so far for reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) — and he currently finds himself in 9th place. However, the proud new father, holds an incredible 23 world titles to his name and you would expect him to bounce back with a vengeance. AA generally performs excellently under pressure and there’s now no room for error for the remainder of the season. Elsewhere you can expect to see the likes of Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne), Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails), Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde), Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic), Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7), Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic) and Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) all challenging for the top 10 again — with the latter coming into the event off the back of his best ever result — 4th in Costa Brava.  You would also expect to see big performances from teammates Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) and Ben van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic), who finished in 5th and 6th place last year, but currently find themselves outside of the top 16. 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) 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) 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)  

Der vorletzte Wettkampftag für die Freestyler verlief etwas ruhiger als die Tage zuvor. Leider war der Wind zu böig um einen fairen Wettkampf durchführen zu können. Lediglich für eine kurze Zeit während des Nachmittags stabilisierte sich der Wind, so dass eine zweite Single Elimination bei den Damen abgeschlossen werden konnte. Keine große Überraschung - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) machte einen weiteren Schritt in Richtung WM-Titel. The penultimate day of the freestyle in Fuerteventura saw a much quieter day of action with the wind proving to be too gusty to make for a fair competition. However, for a brief period during the afternoon the wind stabilised allowing the second women’s single elimination to be completed as Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) took another step towards the world title.  Women’s Single Elimination II Winners’ Final Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne) lined up against Sarah-Quita Offringa in a repeat of yesterday’s final and the two women, who occupy the top two places in the current event rankings, produced another entertaining battle. Huvermann has grown in confidence throughout the event and she led the opening half of the final with a combination of flakas on both tacks, a big forward and an excellent regular kono to put Offringa under some pressure. With 8 freestyle world titles to her name, Offringa, responded like the champion she is landing a powerful ponch and stylish shaka before clinching her third victory of the week with a perfectly executed culo, which puts her on the verge of a 9th world title. Losers’ Final The battle for third and fourth saw Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) take on Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) and it was the Norwegian who came out on top to reaffirm her  3rd place in the event rankings. The heat proved to be quite an even affair with both of them matching each other move for move, until Johanne found a moment of inspiration as she landed a superb shaka to secure the victory. During the afternoon many of the sailors decided to go for a freesail, but with the conditions failing to improve to a suitable level they were released shortly before 6pm. The forecast for tomorrow looks similar to today and the Calima is expected to worsen overnight, which could make completing any further freestyle tricky. The sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 10am skippers’ meeting — with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the amazing 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. Women’s Freestyle Current Ranking - Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam: 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) Men’s Freestyle Current Ranking - Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam: 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)

Auch am drittenTag des Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam gab es spannende Wettkämpfe bei den Freestylern. Der Wind spielt nach wie vor hervorragend mit, so dass heute die Double Elimination, sowohl bei den Damen als auch bei den Herren, abgeschlossen werden konnte. Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) konnte erfolgreich ihre Single Elimination Krone verteidigen und ist jetzt einen wichtigen Schritt näher an ihrem beinahe unglaublichen 9. Freestyle-WM-Titel – es wäre der 11. Weltmeistertitel insgesamt. Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) kämpfte sich zurück in der Double Elimination und liegt nun vor Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde), der die Single Elimination gewann. Amado führt nunmehr das Ranking bei den Herren an.   Day 3 of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam — sponsored and organised by René Egli — saw the wind continue to produce the third consecutive day of explosive freestyle, which saw the men’s and women’s double eliminations completed. Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) was able to successfully defend her single elimination crown and she is now a major step closer to an incredible 9th freestyle world title — 11th overall — while Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) fought back in the double to overhaul Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) and take control of the current men’s ranking. Women’s Double Elimination Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) may have been disappointed with her result and performance yesterday, but today she can be extremely proud of the day she sailed. The 18 year old came out with all guns blazing as she won five heats on the bounce today, and six overall in the double elimination. Huvermann, who finished 3rd overall last year, landed anything from flakas and shakas to spocks and grubbys, and as her confidence grew she even busted out regular konos to firstly defeat Lene Kyte (Fanatic / NorthSails) before also clinically dispatching of Birgit Rieger, Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde), Maxime van Gent (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins), and Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails) before clinching victory against Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) in a fiercely fought battle. Winners’ Final After storming back through the double Huvermann had earned the opportunity to take on Sarah-Quita Offringa in the winners’ final and she put on a bold show. Huvermann made a flying start to the heat as she landed a fully planing regular kono and she soon backed it up with a big forward — having only learnt to forward yesterday — while also attempting a culo. For a while Huvermann led the heat, but SQ soon reassumed the lead with a combination of a stylish shaka, perfect culo and a powerful ponch, before also landing a burner, shaka360 and a double puneta to extend her unbeaten run — which currently stretches to 8 years. Single Elimination II In the afternoon the second single elimination began, but couldn't quite be completed as conditions deteriorated during the evening. However, Huvermann and Offringa will line up once more after successfully navigating their way into the winners’ final after defeating Johanne and Aukes in the semifinals. Men’s Amado Vrieswijk faced Jose ‘Gollito‘Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) in the battle for 2nd and 3rd place, while fighting for the opportunity to take on Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) to steal his single elimination crown. The heat between Vrieswijk and Gollito proved to be one of the heats of the day with sailors both going massive. However, it was Vrieswijk, who managed to gain the upper hand with a combination of shiftys, paskos, spock culos and a brilliant backloop. Gollito nailed a pushloop off flat water and an air kabikuchi, but crucially he used his final move on port tack to try and follow suit after Vrieswijk’s backloop, but couldn’t emulate his effort. Having reached 7 moves on port, the 6-time world champion then went onto land a radical shifty, but unfortunately it didn’t count due to his scoresheet being complete already. Winners’ Final / Super Final Having defeated Gollito, Vrieswijk, came out even more pumped it against Caers knowing that he had a shot at his first double elimination victory. The Bonairean came mighty close in Austria  — forcing a super final, but eventually lost out. However, he wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip through his fingers again and the 20 year old continued his blistering form to force a super final after a close heat against Caers. With adrenaline levels still running high Vrieswijk once again produced a masterclass of freestyle as he quickly racked up an amazing shifty, pasko, clean kabikuchi and a superb planing double culo to really put the pressure on Caers. The Belgian produced a few stunning moves, but he couldn’t quite replicate the form he showed in the prior heat or day. Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) was visually disappointed with his display yesterday, but he’ll feel much better after today’s performance, which saw the reigning event and world champion rise to 4th in Fuerteventura after winning seven heats on the bounce. The Belgian rediscovered the form which saw him earn top honours last year with a combination of spock culos, kabikuchis and massive skopus on the outside as he took down 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) before he pushed Gollito all the way, but he eventually just missed out. Single Elimination II The first round of the men’s second round was also completed and so far all the names you would expect to progress have escaped unscathed. The forecast predicts lighter winds for tomorrow, but there is still the possibility of more action with the gradient wind in the correct direction for the local thermal to kick in. The sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 10am skippers’ meeting — with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the amazing 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 Double Elimination - Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam: 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) Result Men's Double Elimination - Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam: 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)

Zweiter Tag des Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - gesponsert von René Egli – mit viel Wind gab es  wieder spannende Action im Freestyle. Sarah-Quita Offringa aus Bonaire ist erneut auf dem besten Weg zu einen weiteren Weltmeistertitel. Sie gewann das Finale gegen Oda Johanne aus Norwegen, Dritte wurde die Niederländerin Arrianne Aukes. Bei den Herren tauchte ein völlig neuer Name auf dem Podium auf. Yentel Caers gewann am Samstag die Single Elimination vor Amado Vrieswijk und Gollito Estredo.

Day two of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam — sponsored by René Egli — saw the howling winds continue to produce another frantic day of freestyle. Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) stomped her authority in the women’s fleet to claim an emphatic victory, while a new name emerged at the top of the men’s freestyle with Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) claiming victory in the single elimination in his maiden winners’ final.  Women’s Single Elimination Winners’ Final  Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) booked her place in the final as she defeated Maxime van gent (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) in the semifinals with a proficient display of sailing. However, the Norwegian beauty then faced the ominous task of trying to overhaul Sarah-Quita Offringa in the winners’ final. Offringa, who hasn’t been beaten in 8 years, looked in imperious form in her earlier heats and the Aruban gem continued her magnificent display in the final to once again stomp her authority as the undisputed Queen of Freestyle. On her way to victory Offringa landed anything from shakas and bobs to radical skopus and burners and it’s almost impossible to see anyone knocking her off her pedestal at the top of the current event rankings — quite simply Offringa was in a league of her own. In the battle for 3rd and 4th Maxime van Gent, who earlier defeated Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) much to her delight, took on Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins), who was looking to return to the podium and that’s exactly what the 29 year old managed to do with a combination of flakas, punetas and funnels and she will now look to, at least defend her position in the double elimination, while setting Johanne in her sights.  Double Elimination The opening 3 heats of the women’s double elimination were also completed and so far the sailors you would expect to advance have with Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde), Yoli Freites de Brendt (Fanatic / NorthSails), Birgit Rieger and Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) all progressed.  Men’s Single Elimination Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) and Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) have frequently been drawn on the same side of the draw — usually resulting in one of them knocking each other out. However, the single elimination here saw them on different sides of the draw and both sailors took full advantage  as they progressed into the winners’ final. On Caers’ route to the final the Belgian firstly defeated Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) today, followed by, Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Philip Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks). Meanwhile, Vrieswijk took down Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne) before defeating Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / North Sails / MFC) in one of the heats of the day. Winner’ Final Caers may have never qualified for a final in his life, but he thrived under the opportunity who had deservedly earned and continued to impress with his powerful style in the final. The 21 year old made the slower start to the showdown, with Vrieswijk landing an absolutely amazing shifty bolt upright but he gathered momentum as the final progressed as he landed a radical pasko, double burner, kabikuchi and even a brilliant air chachoo. Vrieswijk also racked up the moves with a kabikuchi of his own, a spock culo, double culo and also a perfectly executed backloop, but crucially the Bonairean was missing a counting move on port tack with the best 4 moves from 7 to count on each tack. However, it would still have been an extremely tall order to overhaul Caers, who eventually won the final by 19.4 points as the new generation start to rise to the top of the rankings. Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo, narrowly missed out on a place in the winners’ final, but he put any disappointment behind him to ensure he claimed 3rd place by winning the losers’ final. The 6-time world champion faced Philip Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks), who will be delighted with his performance today after clinching 4th place in the single elimination and was leading much of the heat until Gollito landed a couple of big moves in the latter stages of the heat.  Double Elimination Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Shamal Sunglasses) was the name everyone was watching in the double elimination as the 2011 PWA Freestyle World Champion began to attempt his comeback through the double after being knocked out by Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails) in the second round of the single. The Belgian has now won four consecutive heats after ending the hopes of Cheppi Gustowski (Fanatic / NorthSails), Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing), Antony Ruenes and Mattia Fabrizi (Fanatic / NorthSails) and he will now have the chance to exact revenge against Thode in Heat 45a.  The biggest shock of the day was perhaps Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails) being defeated by Max Matissek (Fanatic / NorthSails) meaning the very talented Dutchman finishes last in the opening double elimination. Matissek was then defeated by Max Rowe (Simmer / Simmer / Mystic) in the next round. Mattia Fabrizi enjoyed a fine day with the Italian knocking out fellow teammate Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) — who finished 3rd in Austria — in Heat 40b with a sick burner and spock culo inflicting the damage.  Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) pushed Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) all the way in the final heat of round 3, with the young Frenchman producing a fantastic array of moves on starboard tack — including a sick air skopu — but he couldn't quite match his performance on port, after Van der Eyken sailed a solid heat.  The final heat of the day saw the legendary brothers — Tonky (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) and Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) — progress into round 5 of the double elimination after defeating Youp Schmit (99NoveNove / Avanti) and Jeremy Pluss (Tabou / GA Sails), respectively.  The forecast for tomorrow looks lighter than today, but there should still be more than enough wind to continue the freestyle. The sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 10am skippers’ meeting — with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1). Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the amazing 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 - Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam: 1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 3rd Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) 4th Maxime van Gent (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Jazzy Zwerus (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Birgit Rieger  5th Yoli de Brendt (Fanatic / NorthSails) 5th Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) Result Men's Single Elimination - Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam: 1st Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) 2nd Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) 3rd Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) 4th Phil Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks) 5th Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne) 5th Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails) 5th Nico Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD / AL360)  

Fuerteventura lived up to its reputation on the opening day to deliver a showing of world class freestyle in winds in excess of 40 knots. With the elite of the world’s freestylers on display there was plenty of radical action consisting of the latest power and combination moves as well as an extensive array of jumping, while the howling winds and choppy waters made things extremely challenging leading to a few, inevitable, big crashes. By the end of the first day just over half the men’s single elimination and the opening round of the women’s single has been completed.  Women’s Single Elimination The opening women’s heat saw Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde) in action against Maxime van Gent and Lisa Kloster (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg / Maui Ultra Fins) versus Birgit Rieger. Raskina, who was making her first appearance since 2014 didn’t produce her best heat and a result took an early exit and van Gent linked together the moves necessary to advance, while Rieger used her competition experience to defeat Kloster, who was making her debut on the world tour.  Heat 19 saw Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails) take on 14 year old Alexa Escherich and Aukes produced a professional display to safely advance into the next round where she will now face Yoli Freites de Brendt, who easily dispatched of Stefania Fumagalli (JP / NeilPryde) on the b-side of the draw. The final women’s heat of the day saw Jazzy Zwerus (JP / NeilPryde) negotiate her way past Lene Kyte (Fanatic / NorthSails) to set up a tie against the 8-time freestyle world champion — Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins). Men's Single Elimination The opening round of the men’s single elimination saw the 2011 world champion — Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde) — in action after the Belgian missed last year’s contest due to injury. As you’d expect Van Broeckhoven had no problems advancing as he ended Loick Spicher’s hopes (RRD / RRD). The remainder of the opening round all went to plan for most sailors, except Max Matissek (Fanatic / NorthSails) with the Austrian suffering a slightly surprising defeat to Marco Vinante (Starboard / Point-7), who sailed an excellent heat. Meanwhile, Tony Mottus (JP / NeilPryde), sailed through the pain barrier, after dislocating his toe earlier this week, to knock out Yuma Kobayashi (Starboard / Severne). The second round saw the top seeds in action for the first time and most survived unscathed. However, there was one major upset as Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails) suffered a defeat at the hands of Francesco Cappuzzo (RRD / RRD / AL360). The 19 year old Italian was in fine form in the challenging conditions landing one-handed ponches and a spock into culo, which was the best of the bunch. The b-side of Heat 15b saw a very close battle between Phil Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks) and Max Rowe (Simmer / Simmer) with the two sailors matching each other move for move throughout the heat. However, Soltysiak just managed to gain the upper hand towards the end of the heat to progress. The biggest battle of round two saw two former world champions going head-to-head as Steven Van Broeckhoven faced Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails) in Heat 12b. Both sailors pulled off some exceptional moves with Van Broeckhoven landing a double burner, but he met an on fire Thode who stomped a sick air skopu and a double air funnel diablo to advance into the last 16. The Bonairean then produced the highest scoring heat of the day against Julien Mas (JP / Avanti) to amass a huge 120.9 points with a stunning performance and he clearly means business after a slightly slower start to the year in Austria than usual.  Reigning world champion — Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) — looked sharp in his sole performance of the day against Tony Mottus. The Belgian excels in tricky conditions and today was no different as he landed spock culos, skopus and a radical air skopu on the way out, which is extremely difficult here. Van der Eyken will now face Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD / AL360). Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne) continued his fine start to the season as he ended the hopes of Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) in the opening heat of the third round. Müller’s radical and fearless approach once again proved popular, with both the crowd and the judges, and the Swiss will now face Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) in Heat 21a after the Bonairean came out on top against fellow countryman Youp Schmit (99NoveNove / Avanti). 6-time freestyle world champion — Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) — looked on song in both of the heats he sailed today as he firstly ended the hopes of Mattia Fabrizi (Fanatic / NorthSails) before also conquering Tonky Frans (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) in what proved to be one of the most entertaining heats of the day with both sailors throwing themselves into big stalled forwards, air chachoos and backloops. However, Tonky, will now have to wait until the double elimination to try and exact revenge.  Elsewhere, Yentel Caers’ (JP / NeilPryde), produced a powerful display to knock out Adrian Beholz (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg / Maui Ultra Fins) and he’ll be one to watch again tomorrow after being one of the standout sailors of the day. Next up he will face Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails), who dispatched of Jeremy Plüss (Tabou / GA Sails), and the Frenchman was still able to land a trademark no-handed burner — even in the nuclear winds, while fellow countrymen Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) are also in the last 16 after claiming victories over Giovanni Passani (Tabou / GA Sails) and Nic Hibdige (Tabou / GA Sails), respectively.  The forecast predicts excellent conditions again tomorrow with the trademark strong winds and swell still present, which should see the single eliminations completed in spectacular conditions. With this in mind the skippers’ meeting has been called for 9am — with the action commencing from 9:30am (GMT+1). Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the amazing 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.  

Vom 22. bis 31. Juli sind die Freestyler und Slalomracer wieder beim Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam „ready for action“ - gesponsert von René Egli. Die ersten fünf Tage der Veranstaltung wird den Freestylern gehören, die Herren haben ihren zweiten Wettkampf der Saison, während es für die Frauen der einzige Auftritt des Jahres wird, bei dem gleichzeitig auch der WM-Titel vergeben wird. Die restlichenTage des Events gehört dann den Slalomracern. Beim dritten Slalomevent dieses Jahres hoffen natürlich alle auf die  typischen Fuerteventura Bedingungen – sehr starker Wind für die kleinen Boards und Segel zwischen 6.1 bis 7.0 . Quadratmetern. Die nächsten 10 Tage versprechen jedenfalls viel Action und Adrenalin auf Fuerteventura! Die Windprognose sieht sehr gut aus, so dass wir uns auf einen tollen Start des Events freuen können. Sie live dabei -  klicke auf www.pwaworldtour.com und verpasse via PWA Live-Stream nicht  von der Action. Alle aktuellen News,  Starterliste, Bilder und einen Liveticker findest Du hier. From the 22nd-31st July the freestyle and slalom fleets will be returning to action for the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam — sponsored by René Egli. The opening five days of the event will belong to the contortionists of the windsurfing world as the men prepare for their second battle of the season, while the women prepare for their sole appearance of the year with a world title up for grabs. The remainder of the event will then see the world’s fastest sailors return for their third instalment of warp speed slalom as the men’s title race starts to gather pace. The next ten days ahead promise to be action packed and adrenaline fueled as Fuerteventura’s famous nuclear strength winds prepare to test the mettle of the world’s elite once more. Sotavento is located on the Southeast coast of Fuerteventura and has developed a world-class reputation due to its year round sunshine, stunning golden beaches and most importantly, as its name suggests, strong winds, which create some of the most exhilarating conditions on the PWA World Tour. Fuerteventura is one of the most challenging stops on the tour for the freestylers, but it can also be one of the most rewarding when there is a swell running as it produces the perfect stunt ramps for the freestylers to launch into the latest aerial power moves, while the slalom fleet will be reaching for their smallest gear and trying to reach the end of the course unscathed.  Freestyle Women’s Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) enters the event as the overwhelming favourite. The lady from Aruba has already claimed 8 freestyle world titles, as well as 2 slalom world crowns, and she looks to have taken her sailing to the next level again with spock culos and kabikuchis in her reporter of tricks. Offringa will be fired up to seal a 9th freestyle world title and its hard to bet against her doing just that. Offringa’s biggest threat may again prove to be Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who may have only been competing since 2013, but she has made a quick rise through the ranks and has finished the past two seasons as vice-world champion. The Norwegian copes well with Fuerte’s choppy waters and you can expect to see her fighting it out for top honours again. However, the likes of Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who is the most exciting young talent on the world tour will be an even bigger threat this year. The 18 year old has finished 3rd overall for the last two seasons and has reportedly added culos and konos to her bag of tricks, which would make her an even bigger threat if she can bring them to the competition arena.   Meanwhile, Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) will be looking to return to the podium having finished 5th overall last year. Aukes changed sponsors over the winter to Fanatic and NorthSails and you can expect to see a bold show from the 29 year old. Also battling it out for place in the top 5 and beyond will be Maxime van Gent (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins), who also changed sponsors over the winter in a move that saw her return to JP and join NeilPryde, Yolanda Freites de Brendt (Fanatic / NorthSails) and Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde), who returns to the competition fray for the first time since 2014 after taking a year out after becoming a mother for the first time.  Men’s Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) proved any possible doubters wrong in Austria by claiming the opening victory of the year as he goes in quest of a 7th freestyle world crown. Gollito experienced his worst result to date on the PWA World Tour in 2015 — finishing 8th overall after having to withdraw after the first double elimination in Fuerte last year — but he will once again be the man to beat, particularly with Fuerteventura being his favourite event of the year. Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) made an unbelievable come back in Austria, winning 9 heats on the bounce, to eventually finish in 2nd place, which was his best result to date. The Bonairean was able to beat Gollito in the final, but another victory in the super final proved a step too far on that occasion. However, if Vrieswijk can advance further through the single elimination in Fuerte then he stands a real chance at the title and you can expect to see another explosive performance again. Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) will enter the event full of confidence having achieved his maiden podium in Austria. The Frenchman has added a new level of consistency to his game and holds all the moves necessary to challenge for top honours once more. The remainder of the Bonaire crew consisting of — Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins), Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails), Tonky Frans (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg / AL360) and Youp Schmit (99NoveNove / Avanti) will be ones to watch carefully, with their island style always standing out from the crowd.  Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) made another solid start to the season and he currently stands 5th overall in the rankings. Expect to see more trademark no-handed burners as he pushes for another top 5 finish, while his fellow countrymen — Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) will also be pushing for the top 10 and beyond.  The Belgian contingent consisting of the reigning world champion — Dieter van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) — the 2011 world champion — Steven van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Shamal Sunglasses) and the exciting emerging talent of Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) will all be major threats. Caers recorded the best result of the trio in Austria — 6th — and van der Eyken and van Broeckhoven will be looking to bounce back after slightly disappointing starts to the season, which saw both sailors finish in joint 9th.  Elsewhere, Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne), will be looking to build upon an excellent start to the year, which saw him claim 7th in Austria, while the likes of Phil Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks), Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails), Hugo De Sousa (RRD / RRD / Maui Ultra Fins) will all be hoping to be battling it out in the latter stages of the contest. Also watch out for Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD / AL360) after the Italian claimed 3rd place at the opening European Freestyle event the year.  Men’s Slalom Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) came agonisingly close to a maiden world title last year, finishing level on points with Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), and the Frenchman has picked up exactly where he left off and currently leads the race for this year’s title after following up a 4th place finish in Korea with his first victory of the year in Costa Brava. The 26 year old seems equally adept in light or strong winds and he looks sure to be challenging for the top again as he looks to maintain his lead at the top of the rankings. However, Mortefon, will face stern competition, first and foremost from Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7), who led the title race for much of last year and made a flying start to the year in Korea where he came out on top. A small blip in Costa Brava saw the Italian have to settle for 7th, but he looks to have made a seamless transition onto his new equipment and should be challenging for the top again. Iachino is still breathing down the neck of Mortefon, but will be doing everything in his power to overhaul the current world tour leader. Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) has continued his fine form from 2015 and currently sits in 3rd place overall and will be looking to replicate his podium finish here last year as the Brit looks to keep himself in contention. Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) has bounced back from a slightly disappointing end to last season with to two top 10 finishes — including 5th in Costa Brava. Toselli looks to have the bit between his teeth and looks lighting quick and should be involved again. Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) entered the second event of the year in 15th place, but has risen to 5th in the current standings after an excellent 2nd place in Costa Brava and the Israeli will be looking to build upon that performance, while Steven Allen (Patrik / Severne) continues to perform unbelievably consistently. The Australian currently holds 6th overall after two top 10 results — 10th in Korea and 9th in Costa Brava, respectively.  Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) has been racing on the PWA World Tour for the last 20 years, but the Italian experienced his best performance to date in Costa Brava as he won the final elimination of the week to deservedly earn a maiden podium. Cucchi is extremely quick and if he can avoid making any errors then he’ll be a real threat again — as will Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti Sails) who currently holds 8th place.  The season hasn’t gone to plan so far for reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) — and he currently finds himself in 9th place. However, the proud new father, holds an incredible 23 world titles to his name and you would expect him to bounce back with a vengeance. AA generally performs excellently under pressure and there’s now no room for error for the remainder of the season. Elsewhere you can expect to see the likes of Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne), Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails), Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde), Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic), Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7), Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic) and Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) all challenging for the top 10 again — with the latter coming into the event off the back of his best ever result — 4th in Costa Brava.  You would also expect to see big performances from teammates Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) and Ben van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic), who finished in 5th and 6th place last year, but currently find themselves outside of the top 16. The forecast looks as though it will be windy from the word go ensuring an explosive start to the event. Make sure you don’t miss any of the amazing action by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com/— here you'll be able to follow the 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.