An unforgettable day for Delphine Cousin as she claims her first World Title, and Antoine Albeau claim victory in Alacati
The final day of the PWA Pegasus Airlines World Cup saw two more eliminations completed for both the men and women as the Meltemi wind continued to blow for much of the day. At the end of the day Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) battled his way back to the top of the rankings to secure the event victory, with one bullet and a second place today. Meanwhile, in the women’s fleet Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Chris Benz / Maui Ultra Fins) continued to dominate with back-to-back elimination victories on the final day to emphatically claim the event win, but the biggest news of the day involves Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde) who will remember this day forever, after clinching her maiden world title as she was crowned the 2013 PWA Women’s Slalom World Champion.
Final Rankings at the PWA Pegasus Airlines World Cup – Men’s Slalom
1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
2nd Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Point-7)
3rd Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)
4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Costa Hoevel)
5th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
6th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North)
7th Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails)
8th Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)
9th Ben van der Steen (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Different)
10th Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra)
Final Rankings at the PWA Pegasus Airlines World Cup – Women’s Slalom
1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Chris Benz / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde)
3rd Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails)
4th Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)
5th Ayako Suzuki (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
6th Dilara Uralp (JP / NeilPryde)
7th Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic / AL360)
8th Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)
Women’s 2013 PWA Slalom Overall Standings: (Final 2013)
1st Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)
3rd Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)
4th Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails)
5th Ayako Suzuki (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
6th Dilara Uralp (JP / NeiPryde)
7th Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic / AL360)
8th Marion Mortefon (Starboard / Severne)
Enjoy the live stream from the PWA Alacati World Cup Live!
Event Updates
Day 6 & Final Results – Delphine Cousin claims her first World Title for the women, and Antoine Albeau claim victory on the men’s side
Day 4 – light winds continue to delay.
Day 3 – winds continue to cooperate, as competitors spend most of the day on the beach.
Day 2 Video
Day 2 – light winds in the morning make for a late start.
Day 1 – Action opens as Antoine Albeau sits in first place.
Event Preview – Who to watch, where its going down, get the inside scoop.
Get involved on twitter with #pwaworldtour, and #pwalive.
The waiting game continues as light winds halt the proceedings
The fourth day of the PWA Pegasus Airlines World Cup proved to be a largely frustrating affair as teasing winds kept the competitors on standby for much of the day. After a very quiet start to the day at 12pm the wind swung 180 degrees and began to rapidly pickup causing a flurry of action on the beach. However the wind remained gusty for much of the afternoon meaning that only a further two heats were completed – one men’s and one women’s semifinal.
In the men’s semifinal – Heat 13 – Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) showed good speed again to win the heat, whilst Ben van der Steen (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Different), Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) and Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Point-7) all qualified for their first winners’ final of the week.
In the women’s semifinal – Heat 5 – Marion Mortefon (Starboard / Severne) made the best start to the heat and safely qualified for the final with a proficient display, whilst Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic / AL360) claimed second place. The remaining qualifying places were clinched by Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) and Ayako Suzuki (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) meaning that local hero Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails) misses out on a place in the winners’ final.
A frustrating day for competitors as winds fail to cooperate.
Day three of the PWA Pegasus Airlines World Cup saw just three heats completed in the women’s second elimination dues to light and flukey winds. Conditions looked to be improving quickly by 2pm, but it didn’t last long as 5 knot holes were to be found on the race course. The day continued to frustrate with many heats started and then abandoned, first men’s semi final.
However three women’s heats were completed. In heat two, the first heat of the day, local hero Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails) was victorious, while Marion Mortefon (Starboard / Severne), Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic / AL360) and Gelly Skarlatou also qualified for the next round. In heat three Burce Vardarli, Melek Toraman (Starboard / Loft Sails), Ceren Yaman (JP / NeilPryde) and Deniz Sekercioglu qualified. Heat four saw Marianne Kaplas (Starboard / Severne) who finished first in her heat. Also qualifying from heat four were Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde), Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) and Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Chris Benz / Maui Ultra Fins) respectively.
Racing is scheduled to resume tomorrow at 11am, if conditions allow.
Check out the action from Day 2 of the PWA Alacati Slalom World Cup, with Ben Proffitt.
It was a hot and dramatic day for the PWA Alacati World Cup. Winds didn’t pick up until mid afternoon, and two and half hours of competition resulted in 9 more men’s heats being completed. Read the full story here on PWAWorldTour.com.
The PWA slalom tour returns with some high speed action tomorrow in Alacati, Turkey.
From the 19th to the 24th August both the men’s and women’s slalom fleets shall be returning to action for more warp speed racing as they head to the stunning turquoise waters of Alacati, Turkey. The men will be recommencing battle for the first time since competing in Costa Brava – in June – whilst the women will be fighting it out for the final time this season.
Six days of furious slalom as the women’s title race draws to its conclusion in their final event of the year, whilst the men’s title campaign continues to gather pace in their penultimate event of the season as they battle it out for those crucial world tour points.
Who to watch for the men? Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) will enter the event as the favorite, and currently leads the rankings. His fellow teammate Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) currently sits in second, with Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Point-7) wrapping up the top three. Also sitting in the top ten are some big names no doubt looking to improve there position. Notably Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails), Josh Angulo (Angulo / Gun Sails), Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti) and more.
On the women’s side, things will be intense as this event decides the titles for the 2013 slalom season. Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) currently leads and looks to wipe the bad taste of last season out of her mouth after she narrowly missed the title. Looking to upset the leader is Twenty-two year old Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde) currently occupies second place. Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Chriz Benz / Maui Ultra Fins) the 2011 title holders joins the tour late having missed the first event. With so much at stake the week ahead promises to be an intense event for the women.
Stay tuned for more action as it unfold in Alacati.
Just out the highlights of the 2013 Maui Race Series. Some serious slalom action that attracts top names from around the World and Maui alike.
Profesional PWA slalom sailor Kurosh Kiani bring us his latest update with this clip of his preparations to compete on the PWA slalom tour. Here are some words from the man himself:
This July episode looks into my journey to team up with a friend, Arnon Dagan to prepare for a competition. All the things that you need to be good at as a windsurfer is more than you would think. In the words of Arnon Dagan: “The mechanic, the travel agent and the marketing guy”. Through this episode I have given all of these things a thought while having the best of times with Arnon sailing and training.
I traveled from Denmark down to Israel where I spent a while in the waters of Bat Galim, Haifa, and then went onwards to Alacati, Turkey where I had some amazing days of sailing and preparing.
In these minutes of this episode, I have tried to go through just a small amount of things you need to have in place when competing as a world tour sailor.
All the while not forgetting the fun aspect of making sure you are having a good time no matter what work you do. I have also for the first time documented the “worm” which only comes out on special occasion.
Also in this episode, you will see Formula Windsurfing world champion Casper Bouman sailing with us in these beautiful spots.
All in all, another amazing month which I hope will be visible in this months episode.
The international Funboard Class Association wants to lower the minimum wind requirement for racing from 11 knots to 7 knots, in order to give event organizers certainty more races will be sailed and sailed on schedule.
We want to give our event organizers certainty that more races can be sailed, and sailed on schedule. This will make our sport more attractive to the media; they will send reporters and camera crews to report live about our events.
Increased media attention means that our sport is more attractive to potential sponsors. Better funding for events will also bring more competitors to our events.
We do not want to search for venues with just enough (7 knots) wind for organizing the IFCA Class Championships. We remain committed to our principles – we are the Funboard planing class with the motto “the more wind the better”.
In addition to the wind mimumum changes IFCA has also proposed to allow competitors to register 3 boards and 6 sails for an event up from 2 boards and 4 sails currently allowed.
The final decisions will be made until October 2013, so that manufacturers can adapt to the new rules and be ready for the 2014 season.
RRD is on the fifth version of the X-Fire hi-performance slalom board and the choice of 11 time World champion Antoine Albeau. Check out what what he’ll be riding in this years PWA slalom tour.
Greta Benvenuti (ITA-38) has been a memeber of the Point-7 black team for many years, spending time trainingg in Tenerife, during the winter. If it’s not windy she’s surfing, runnning or doing something else active, Point-7 had this to say about her, “She can’t keep still, she needs action.” Enjoy this clip by BJ Productions of Greta waveailing and slalom sailing.
a windsurfing roadtrip through Patagonia
When thinking about windsurfing in South America, the first places that come to your mind are the famous Brazilian hotspots like Jericoacoara or Icarazino. But there are so many other places to discover in this part of the continent. In this feature movie we join Austrian pro windsurfer Marco Lang and reigning IFCA Slalom windsurfing Worldchampion Costa Gonzalo Hoevel on an epic 9000km road trip through Gonzalos home country – Argentina!
On our three week trip, we found some unique windsurfing spots in the middle of the Argentinian desert, on lakes close to the Andes Mountains and in front of some of the biggest Southamerican glaciers. – Stefan Csaky (Director)
Follow Austria pro Windsurf Marco Lang and IFCA Slalom windsurfing Worldchampion Gonzalo Coasta Hoevel on an epic 9000 km road trip through Gonzalo’s home country, Argentina.
Some recent full speed slalom training from Guadeloupe featuring three friends, Tristan Algret, Lucas Darent and Johann Dargent.
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)
