Day 4 in Pozo saw two heat of Juniors competition run, and some of the pros hitting the water to get warmed up for tomorrow!
The next generation of windsurfers take centre stage at the PWA Pozo World Cup
Day 4 of the PWA Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival finally saw some action, as Juniors took centre stage. Howeve, promising winds at the start of the day soon deteriorated which resulted in the Juniors final being canceled, while the men’s and women’s heats have yet to begin.
Junior’s Heat 1
Moritz Mauch dominated Heat one with with out standing wave riding ability. The 17 year old Moritz made the most of the conditions as he demonstrated both front and backside riding, before sliding his way through a smooth taka. Mauch also landed two clean forwards. Competitors Noah Roche-Vocker and Loick Lesauvage both demonstrated nice forwards, but it wasn’t enough to stop Moritz Mauch from winning the heat.
Junior’s Heat 2
Seventeen year old Benjamin advanced into the final after beating Marc Pare and Nicklas Herrera Mathisen. Benjamin edged out the tow competitors with superior wave riding, confidentiality linking together several waves, with both front and backside hits. Pare came a close second but may have been able to edge out pare if he was able to hang onto a very close back loop attempt. 12 year old Herrara Mathisen can be proud of his heat landing several forward loops, and is definitely one to watch in the coming years.
The final of the Juniors heat was started, but deteriorating wind conditions forced it to be cancelled. The junior Heat will be concluded tomorrow.
The forecast for tomorrow is similar to today. Hopefully the local effect will hold as the winds are a bit more easterly, allowing for the competition to begin. The skippers meeting has been called for 10AM with action beginning at 10:30 if conditions allow.
The third Day more waiting for wind in Pozo. What do the top windsurfers in the World do when they are stuck with little to know wind? Well a little tow-in, interviews, and a little fishing from the back of your longboard, with Dario Ojeda
It was another day of no wind in Pozo. Ricardo Campello does some tow-in, Dario Ojeda gets a massage well Thomas Traversa, Alex Mussolini and Kenneth Danielsen answer some quick questions. Here’s to hoping they see some wind soon!
The waiting game continues at Pozo
The second day of the PWA Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival was very relaxed as wind and waves didn’t cooperate for the second day in a row. Temperatures sored into the 30’s as competitors took to seeking shade and cover out of the sunshine, as they continued to wait.
It was a quite first day at this years Gran Canaria Wind and Waves Festival. Check out this clip for a fun behind the scenes look at what top pros do when there is no wind!
The day was quieter then usual for the first day in Pozo.
No official competition was completed on the first day of the 35th PWA Pozo World Cup, but crowds and other competitiors were treated to some sick freestyle from five time PWA Freestyle World Champion Sarah-Quita Offringa. By the afternoon the PWA crew released the three trials heats.
Check back for more updates as the 2013 PWA Pozo World Cup progresses.
Beginning tomorrow, July 9th the 25th edition of the PWA Pozo World Cup begins, and runs until July 14th. pozo Izquiredo is recognized as one of the best windsurfing spots on the planet due to its super strong winds which can exceed 50 knots and it’s steep waves. This combinations turns Pozo into a waveailing and jumping paradise, allowing radical windsurfers to boost huge and spectacular moves!
As the top wavesailors in the world come to the shores of Pozo, Gran Canria, who will be the ones to watch and what action will unfold? Six days of unbelievable wave sailing, as the top wavesailors battle for another World Title, and work to gain points for the World Tour season.
Top 32
There has been a change in format this season, only the top 32 men in the World will be allowed to compete, down from 48 in previous years. This will mean a result in an increased level of competition, but heats will now only feature two sailors instead of four, meaning the action will be easier to view on the PWA live stream.
Who to Watch
There is no doubt a lot of eyes will be on the reigning PWA World Champion, Philip Koester as he try’s to complete a hat-trick of event victories. Judging from his latest videos it will be hard to beat him.
Vice Wave World Champion Victor Fernandez will be hoping to one better last years finish. The Spainard is one of the most stylish riders on the tour, and has doubles that are almost as effortless as Koesters.
Ricardo Campello is not one to hold back, he is considered by many to be on of the best jumpers on the tour. With little to no fear Campello pushes the boundaries and we may see him attempt or even land a triple forward in the contest as he grabs for Glorey as he tries to better his performance from the past three seasons.
There are five other sailors to also keep an eye on. Alex Mussolini, from Spain is one of the best wave riders in the World and scored him well in Pozo last year. Brazilian Macilio Browne will no doubt be a serious competitor having been training on Maui all off season. Dario Ojeda escels in harsh conditions found at Pozo, and is a local favorite. German Dany Bruch has a fluid style and finished fifth at last years event. Thomas Traversa clamed his first event victory at Klitmoeller last season beating Koester will he be able to ride that high into this years Pozo contest?
On the womens side the Moreno twins will continue to dominate. Iballa Moreno and Daida Moreno have dominated the top two places in Pozo for the last 13 years. Gran Canaria local Nayra Alonso makes her return after becoming a mother last year, in 2011 she finished third overall. Swiss wider Karin Jaggi will also be looking to make a strong start to her season as well as PWA world champion Sarah-Quita Offringa, Pollands Justyna Sniady and Germany’s Steffi Wahl.
This year is the 25th anaversary of the PWA Pozo World Cup events, which makes this years titles that much more special. Stay tuned for more action.
There’s also dedicated websites at all of the following:
Event Website http://grancanariawindandwavesfestival.com/
Event Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/GranCanariaWindWavesFestival?fref=ts
Event Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/GCWindWavesFest
Event YouTube http://www.youtube.com/GCWindWavesFestival
Event Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/gcwindwavesfestival/
And for the live feed of the event head over to PWAWorldTour.com
A few days ago top British wavesailor Robby Swift suffered a serious injury, while training for the upcoming PWA Pozo World Cup. The Professional windsurfers association recently caught up with Robby to find out more, here’s the interview from the PWA:
PWA: What’s the full diagnosis?
RS: “I flew back to England today and have an appointment with the specialist tomorrow morning. Broken ankle and tibia. I need an MRI to check the joint situation. Couldn’t see from the x-ray as I can’t weight bear due to pain and swelling.”
“I’m really gutted as I was more prepared this year than ever for Pozo. I really felt that I could be on the podium at the end of the event and was having so much fun sailing there last night.”
PWA: What happened exactly?
RS: “I did a 1 foot backloop and saw that I was going to crash so I tried to throw the gear away but my back foot got stuck in the strap and I fell down onto the sail with my other foot over the mast and all my body weight squashed my leg into the mast.”
“Anyway, hopefully tomorrow they will give me my prognosis and I will let you know what they say.”
Here’s to hoping Swifty recovers quickly and we see him back on the PWA World Tour soon.
Things are looking good for the PWA Tour after a few events were cancelled in previous years. Chili is confirmed and the AWT has extended an invitation to the PWA to join them for The Aloha Classic.
The Aloha Classic was the final and premier event of the PWA World Tour until 2006 when it was cancelled. In 2011 the AWT brought an event back to Ho’okipa with the Maui Makani Classic, which was just announced will be renamed to The Aloha Classic.
Announcing a name change for the AWT final 2013 event from Maui Makani Classic to Aloha Classic. AWT brackets will run as usual with Amateur, Masters, Youth, Women and Pro divisions. The PWA has been invited to join in on the 2-week contest window. If the PWA joins in on the event, top Pros ranking from the AWT brackets will advance as wildcards to the PWA brackets. We are happy to also welcome Duncan Coombs as confirmed Head Judge for the 2013 Aloha Classic.
Contest window for the Aloha Classic is October 24th-November 6th. Permits allow us to run 11 of the 14 days. We will hold our awards party on Saturday, November 2nd. All completed divisions up to that point will be awarded at that time and any final awards will be presented at the beach Sunday the 3rd through Wednesday the 6th of November condition dependent.
All are welcome to participate in this event. Register today at AmericanWindsurfingTour.co
m as spots are limited to the first 100 competitors registered.
This is great news, and it is sure to be an exciting event. I would say we could see many names return to Competition, such as Jason Polakow who competed in last years AWT event, and Kauli Seadi who has recently joined with Hot Sails Maui.
2013 is the 25th Anniversary of the Gran Canaria Wind and Waves Festival, which takes place form July 9th to 14th. Many of the pros are alreadyt here training and it should be an awesome event. But check out this trailer with some old school footage.
Event Summary: A familiar face surrounded by two, new, potential stars of the slalom world
The final day of the PWA Catalunya World Cup witnessed a mammoth final elimination, which took four hours to complete due to the gusty and shifty winds. After a long and largely frustrating afternoon, Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), eventually powered to victory in race four and more importantly this clinched the overall event victory for him. The reigning world champion’s first event victory of the year sees him return to the top of the overall rankings too. A grueling day was eventually completed shortly after 7pm to conclude another fantastic event on the beautiful shores of Costa Brava.
Antoine Albeau was able to claim two bullets, as well as a third and a fourth to cement his place as the King of Costa Brava. The reigning world champion became the first man to stop his arch nemesis – Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Dunkerbeck Eyewear / Chris Benz) – from claiming the title for the first time in three years. Albeau demonstrated his perfectly timed starts time and time again, along with a phenomenal top speed to blow the competition out of the water.
Words from the winner:
“I’d like to thank all the organizers – thanks Panxo – because you did a great job again to organize this wonderful event. Thanks also to the owner’s of the campsite as we stay here, and this really is a beautiful, beautiful place to windsurf, and it is perfect for holidays too. I’m also really happy to see new blood on the podium [Julien Quentel and Matteo Iachino], it’s really nice and I think I’m going to have a big battle with Julien this year. And thanks to everyone because today was really hard. Thanks to Juan Aragon and his team, I think they did a really good job re-adjusting the course so quickly and see you next year!”
Bjorn Dunkerbeck managed to recover from a disastrous first round exit in the opening elimination to fight back to fourth place. The most successful windsurfer of all time started his recovery with a seventh and a tenth place, before showing what he is truly made of to take home second place in the final elimination, which allowed him to discard a 44.5 point score, which then saw him fly up through the rankings.
Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails) was able to put the disappointment of Korea behind him and firmly get his season back on track with a fifth place finish. The American showed his perfectly timed starts and super consistent gybes to claw his way back towards the top of the pack. He will now be hoping to continue the form he showed here, at the next event in Turkey.
Flying Dutchman – Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Different) – was able to back up his third place finish in Korea with a solid sixth this week with a gritty display of sailing. Van Der Steen now sits in fourth place overall in the rankings, perfectly poised to make an attack for the top in Turkey. Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) is similarly positioned and showing the kind of consistency that is required to finish in the top five and above overall.
Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) continues to prove that his change of equipment in the winter is working wonders for him as he now sits inside the top then. The Israeli was able to finish seventh this week, and his result may have been even better – with a bit more luck – if the first attempt to complete the winners’ final hadn’t been cancelled due to a drop in the wind.
Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Point-7) came into the event as the leader of the tour, but a combination of bad luck and a major error – sailing to the wrong mark in the opening elimination – cost him dearly. The Italian finished eighth overall and still finds himself in third place overall. Menegatti reaffirmed his title winning credentials with another bullet in the third elimination, so it remains to be seen whether his mistake in the first race comes back to haunt him, come the end of the season.
Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) achieved his first top ten finish on the PWA in almost a decade with a fantastic display of sailing. The man behind Point-7 made one appearance in a winners’ final along with two losers’ finals to claim his best finish in a very long time.
The remaining winner of a race this week was Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti) – who stole the show in the second elimination. Maynard lit a trail a blaze as he hunted down Patrick Diethelm (Patrik / Loft Sails) to move into the lead, and once in the lead he was in complete control of the race.
The 2013 PWA Catalunya World Cup Standings:
1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
2nd Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)
3rd Matteo Iachino (F2 / Challenger Sails / AL360)
4th Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Dunkerbeck Eyewear / Chris Benz)
5th Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)
6th Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Different)
7th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
8th Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Point-7)
9th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
10th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
Action of the third elimination of the winners finals at the 2013 PWa Catalunya World Cup in Costa Brava. Alberto Menegatti won the third elimination in front of Micah Buzianis and Julien Quentel.
Maynard and Menegatti steal the show with one elimination victory apiece
Day four of the PWA Catalunya World Cup saw the wind arrive much earlier than the opening three days of the competition, which enabled the conclusion of two more eliminations. The competitors endured a grueling day – spanning seven hours – after they began competing shortly after eleven o’clock. Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti) claimed the first bullet of the day – his first of the season – before Alberto Menegatti reaffirmed his title winning credentials with his second victory of the season in elimination three after a thrilling finish with Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails).
Head over to the PWA website for there full report on Day 4 of the PWA Catalunya World Cup.
The Top 5 After Elimination Three
1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
2nd Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)
3rd Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)
4th Matteo Iachino (F2 / Challenger Sails / AL360)
5th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
The third day of the PWA Catalunya World Cup saw winds ranging from 7-20 knots as two wind directions hit the Golf-de-Roses over the course of a few hours. Costa Brava was transformed from a starboard tack slalom paradise into a port tack slalom heaven in the same afternoon. The sea breeze, which is synonymous with Costa Brava enabled a further six heats to be completed. Shortly after three o’clock it looked as though the racing was over for the day, before the local ‘Garbi’ wind kicked in from the Northeast. Unfortunately it only made a brief appearance, meaning that only a further three heats were completed before the end of the day.
Read the full report on Day 3 over at the PWA website. If you’re like us and missed day 2 here it is!
