Day 6: More freestyle madness on the penultimate day

The penultimate day of the PWA Fuerteventura World Cup saw the trade winds continue to blow, enabling both the men’s and women’s double eliminations to be completed in 25 to 30 knots of breeze again. After a spectacular five and a half hours of non-stop freestyle, it was Sarah-Quita Offringa who came out on top again in the women’s, whilst ‘Gollito’ Estredo also defended his number one spot by the narrowest of margins over a hugely unlucky Kiri Thode.

Men’s Double Elimination 2 - Winners’ Final

For the third time this week, Jose Estredo lined up against Kiri Thode in the winners’ final. Gollito had been a convincing winner in the opening two battles, but this time around it was an agonizingly tight call. The reigning World Champion opened the final with a huge culo, only to see Thode pop into a super smooth air funnel into funnel. The two sailors then landed paskos - with Gollito’s scoring slightly higher with the judges - before the Bonairean took his performance up a notch in a bid to finally defeat Estredo, as he launched himself into some unbelievable combos such as a brilliant burner into funnel, an amazing air bob into spock and probably the pick of the bunch an outstanding kabikuchi 360. Gollito - looking slightly underpowered - dug deep once again though as he responded with a spock into culo before adding both an exquisite no-handed burner and an ankle dry backloop out of nowhere just before the end of the heat. After a painfully long wait it was revealed that Estredo had avoided a super final re-sail by the way of a 3:2 decision from the judges.

Heat of the Day

Tonky Frans produced the performance of the day in Heat 48 against Dieter van der Eyken. The Bonairean was on fire as he received several 9.5 from the judges for his outstanding display. Frans was in such form that he could have landed practically anything he wanted at will. In the jumping department, Frans landed a superb pasko, a pushloop, an air chachoo and last but not least his trademark bongka. The 30 year old didn’t stop there either as he launched himself into a huge, fully tweaked shove-it spock and an impressive air funnel into funnel. Unfortunately though, he couldn’t quite replicate that form against Steven van Broeckhoven as the Belgian advanced from the next round and more importantly the victory over Frans secures him 3rd place for the time being due to the better last result.

Close Call

Heat 30 proved to be a tight affair on both sides as Davy Scheffers took on Adam Gavriel and Loick Spicher faced Yarden Meir. In the end it was Scheffers and Meir who advanced, but for both of them the next round was as far as they would go in the double as Amado Vrieswijk and Adrian Beholz proved too strong.

Phil Soltysiak also produced an excellent display of sailing to finish sixth in the double elimination as he defeated Adrien Bosson and Taty Frans by landing a combination of bongkas, futures and superb spock-culos to name a few.

Women’s Double Elimination 2 - Winners’ Final

The winners’ final saw Sarah-Quita Offringa and Arrianne Aukes resume their ongoing battle this week, but eventually it was Offringa who was able to come out on top again. Aukes made a solid start to the heat as she rotated her way through a super smooth clew-first puneta and a clean forward loop. At the same time Offringa opened with an e-slider and a brilliant burner to move into the lead - a position she wouldn’t relinquish. Aukes also landed a big flaka on the outside, but it wasn’t enough as Offringa went on to land a regular kono and a stunning shaka to keep her at the top of the podium.

Oda Johanne Brodholt - who is competing in her first ever PWA event - enjoyed a fine day as she won three heats in a row in the double elimination to fight her way into 5th place. The Norwegian firstly defeated Francesca Floris followed by Maxime Van Gent and Maaike Huvermann as she particularly impressed with her switch konos. Olya Raskina proved to strong in Heat 48, as the Russian claimed 4th place again as Yoli de Brendt successfully defended her third place finish in the next round.

After the completion of two double eliminations there are several sailors who are currently tied for positions meaning that there will be sail offs in both the men and women’s division if the conditions are suitable tomorrow. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM.

Results after Double Elimination 2 - Men’s Freestyle

1. Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo

2. Kiri Thode

3. Steven Van Broeckhoven

4. Tonky Frans

5. Dieter van der Eyken

Results after Double Elimination 2 - Women’s Freestyle

1. Sarah-Quita Offringa

2. Arrianne Aukes

3. Yoli de Brendt

4. Olya Raskina

5. Maxime van Gent

Day 5 of the PWA Fuerteventura World Cup saw the wind arrive from the word go, allowing both the men’s and women’s second single eliminations of the week to begin at 10:30 AM. With winds between 25 and 30 knots, the day was filled with freestyle of the highest quality of the contortionists of the windsurfing world showed exactly what they are capable of. After an intensive five hours of competition Jose Estredo and Sarah-Quita Offringa once again came out on top after another superb display of sailing.

Men’s Single Elimination 2 - Winners’ Final

The men’s winners’ final saw a rematch of yesterday’s double elimination winner’s final as Kiri Thode took on Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo for the second time this week. Both sailors opened the final with explosive culos before Gollito landed a big shaka, only to see Thode go even bigger with a monstrous shaka of his own. The two men were on top of their game as they went move-for-move and blow-for-blow as they landed perfect spock-culos, huge regular konos and burners.

Gollito and Thode looked almost inseparable at this point until Thode came agonizingly close to landing a pasko, this presented the reigning world champion with an opportunity to move into a clear lead and he made no mistake as he landed an amazing trademark pasko. Thode responded with a quite brilliant air flaka into shaka and a kabikuchi, but Estredo had an answer for everything as he landed a fantastic skopu and a monumental planing toad to stay in the lead. The man from Bonaire did also launch into an audacious double culo, but with a slightly wet ending it wasn’t enough to prevent Gollito from claiming another victory.

The losers’ final also saw a rematch of yesterday’s battle between Steven Van Broeckhoven and Tonky Frans. On Day 4, Frans came out on top but this time around, van Broeckhoven was able to edge to encounter. The Belgian sailed a brilliant heat consisting of some incredible moves such as paskos, kabikuchis and massive one-handed air funnels into funnels to secure the 3rd place.

Elsewhere, Phil Soltysiak sailed his way into joint 5th place along with Taty Frans, Dieter van der Eyken and Youp Schmit. Soltysiak showed his full repertoire of tricks today and was rewarded as he dispatched of Oscar Carmichael and then Amado Vrieswijk in a closely fought affair, before Kiri Thode ended his run. Mattia Fabrizi fought his way into the Top 10 as well - joint ninth - to put the disappointment of going out in the first round of the opening double elimination firmly at the back his mind. The Italy first defeated Christofer Kalk, followed by Adam Gavriel as he landed technical spock-culos and perfect konos.

Women’s Single Elimination 2 - Winners’ Final

Sarah-Quita Offringa and Arrianne Aukes once again met in the winners’ final for the third time this week. Aukes made a strong start to the final as she rotated through a stylish funnel, before later adding a forward loop and a big flaka, but Offringa showed exactly why she is the 5x PWA Freestyle World Champion. The Aruban gem landed a powerful toad, a superb regular kono and a brilliant burner to leave no doubt in the judges' minds as to who had won and it wasn’t long before the news was official.

Yoli de Brendt successfully defeated Olya Raskina in the women’s losers’ final with a combination of a stylish flaka and puneta variations. Today also proved to be a good day for Maaike Huvermann as the fifteen-year-old won her first ever heat on the PWA World Tour as she defeated Svetlana Martynova.

It’s worth noting that the second single elimination currently only counts for 50% until the second double elimination is completed. The forecast for tomorrow looks promising to see yet more amazing action on the water. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the first possible start at 10:30 AM. Don’t miss a thing by tuning into PWA World Tour!

Results after Single Elimination 2 - Men’s Freestyle

1. Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo

2. Kiri Thode

3. Steven Van Broeckhoven

4. Tonky Frans

5. Dieter van der Eyken

6. Youp Schmit

7. Philip Soltysiak

7. Taty Frans

9. Anthony Ruenes

10. Amado Vrieswijk

Results after Single Elimination 2 - Women’s Freestyle

1. Sarah-Quita Offringa

2. Arrianne Aukes

3. Yoli de Brendt

4. Olya Raskina

5. Maxime van Gent

From the outset of Day 4 the conditions looked much more promising and this is exactly how the day played out as the Men’s double elimination was resumed at 11:30 AM. By 2:45 PM, both the Men’s and Women’s double eliminations had been completed as Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo and Sarah-Quita Offringa successfully managed to defend their single elimination crowns. The day was concluded shortly after 5 o'clock with the wind becoming increasingly gusty.

Men’s Double Elimination - Winners’ Final

Kiri Thode fought his way back through the double elimination to earn his place in the winners’ final. The Bonairean first successfully defended his 4th place finish in the single elimination by holding off Dieter van der Eyken, before going on to defeat both the 2011 PWA Freestyle World Champion - Steven Van Broeckhoven - and Tonky Frans. Waiting for him in the final was the formidable figure of Gollito - who remains unbeaten since the start of the 2012 season. Both sailors showcased their world-class abilities as they landed almost their full repertoire of tricks in a closely contested final.

Thode made a strong start as he launched himself into a big shaka, whilst Gollito opened with a perfect high burner. The Bonairean then upped his technical difficulty with an exquisite culo into spock and a super quick skopu 360. At this point it looks as though Thode may be edging the tie, but the five-time world champion dug deep to show his title winning credentials by landing a brilliant spock culo before launching into a massive skopu seconds before the end of the heat, which may have proved pivotal in swinging the decision in his favor.

Seventeen-year-old Amado Vrieswijk enjoyed an excellent day of competition as he achieved his best finish to date after finishing the double elimination in joint 7th place with Youp Schmit. Vrieswijk took his biggest scalp so far as he overcame fellow Bonaire man Taty Frans in Heat 45. Vrieswijk demonstrated exactly what he can do today as he landed stunning kabikuchis and skopus and massive air flakas.

Dieter van der Eyken also excelled today - particularly in Heat 47 - the Belgian maestro linked together a superb set of moves consisting of fully planing air flakas, a perfect spock-culo, an air bob and a quick skopu to defeat Anthony Ruenes.

Women’s Double Elimination - Winners’ Final

Sarah-Quita Offringa faced Arrianne Aukes in the winners’ final once more after the Dutch woman edged the duel in Heat 50 against Yoli de Brendt. Offringa made a strong start to the final as she quickly landed a text-book e-slider and a radical air flaka. Aukes responded with a spock 540 on the outside of the course, but unfortunately couldn’t quite repeat her high level of performance that she showed against de Brendt. Meanwhile, Offringa, went on to land an excellent shaka and puneta, which proved to be enough to defend her crown.

Olya Raskina staged an excellent come back in the double elimination as she won four successive heats to fight her way into 4th place. The Russian defeated - Francesca Floris, Svetlana Martynova, Karin Jaggi and Maxime Van Gent - as she landed perfect clew-first and regular punetas, grubbys along with great shuvits and sick flakas.

Tomorrow’s forecast looks good meaning we should see the start of both the men’s and women’s second single eliminations. The skippers’ meeting has once again been called for 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM.

The third day of the PWA Fuerteventura World Cup looked as though it may be a frustrating affair as gusty winds plagued the event for much of the day, however at 4 PM, the wind filled in allowing the men’s double elimination to begin. After almost three hours of competing the opening two and a half rounds were completed and we’ll now have to wait until tomorrow to see the conclusion of both the men’s and women’s doubles.

The opening round of the men’s double elimination saw some big names involved, such as Davy Scheffers, Adrian Beholz, Björn Saragoza, Yegor Popretinskiy and Yarden Meir - as they looked to fight their way back up the ladder. Thankfully for them, they all survived the opening round unscathed, but the next round would be the end of the road for several of them as the sailors went head-to-head in Round 2.

First off, Yarden Meir took down Davy Scheffers in Heat 35 with a terrific display. The Israeli maestro landed clean burners and a brilliant air flaka into flaka to book his place in the third round, before Björn Saragoza advanced beyond Yegor Popretinskiy in Heat 37. The Bonairean produced a solid heat which also featured the move of the day - a perfectly executed pasko - to end the Russian’s hopes.

Amado Vrieswijk delivered the goods in Heat 40 to end Adrian Beholz’s fight back. The Bonairean sailed a brilliant heat as he landed kabikuchis, skopus, ponches and a culo 360 - Vrieswijk will be someone to look out for tomorrow. The B-Side of Heat 40 also saw Max Matissek’s comeback ended as Julien Mas proved too strong.

The final heat of the day saw Anthony Ruenes turn on the style as he rotated his way through a superb pasko and a super stylish no-handed flaka to book his place in the next round. Meanwhile, Saragoza unleashed another effortless pasko - among other moves - to defeat Max Rowe and also advance into Heat 43.

Tomorrow’s forecast offers more wind than today meaning we should be in store for an exciting day on the water. The skippers’ meeting will be held at 10 AM with the first possible start at 10:30 AM. Make sure you don’t miss a thing!

The opening day of competition at the PWA Fuerteventura World Cup delivered the goods as both the men’s and women’s single eliminations were completed in 20 to 30 knots of wind. Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo proved that the injury he sustained to his knee a couple of days ago isn’t affecting his sailing, as the world champion put on a breathtaking display to take the single elimination crown, whilst Sarah-Quita Offringa dominated in the women’s to claim her regular place at the top of the podium.

Men’s Single Elimination - Winners’ Final

Tonky Frans lined up against Gollito in the opening winners’ final of the week and the two men put on a stunning performance. Frans opened the heat with a brilliant burner 360, whilst Gollito chose to begin with a perfectly stomped culo, from here the level only continued to go skywards. The duo both launched into paskos, but the reigning world champion just edged that dual with additional height on his rotation. Frans then set about pleasing the crowds on the beach as he pulled a silky smooth lollypop diablo in his own unique style. With the two sailors still neck-and-neck Gollito took matters into his own hands as he delivered a perfectly executed air chachoo, a superb spock into culo and a radical backloop to march into the lead. Frans tried to respond with an exquisite air chachoo of his, moments before the end of the heat, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tie in his favor.

Steven Van Broeckhoven saw off Kiri Thode in the losers’ final to claim third place in the single elimination. The Belgian landed an outstanding pasko and a quite brilliant pushloop to edge out Thode, but it could’ve been a different story had the Bonairean’s double culo counted. Unfortunately for Thode, he had already completed his score sheet and he’ll now have to wait until the double elimination to try and gain revenge.

Elsewhere in the single elimination Dieter van der Eyken put an end to the hopes of his fellow teammate Amado Vrieswijk with a fine performance to move into equal 5th place alongside Youp Schmit, Taty Frans and Adrien Bosson.

Women’s Single Elimination - Winners’ Final

The familiar face of Sarah-Quita Offringa lined up in the winners’ final once more, as Arrianne Aukes seized the opportunity - in Laure Treboux’s absence - to book herself a place in her first ever winners’ final having dispatched of Yoli de Brendt. The reigning world champion made the better start to the final as the Aruban gem quickly rotated her way through a perfect funnel. However, Aukes, responded with a brilliantly landed forward loop and an e-slider to bring herself back into contention. Unfortunately for her, Offringa then began to step up her game as she landed a one-handed puneta, before later adding a switch kono and a fantastic shaka to put the final nail in the coffin of Aukes. Words from the winner Sarah-Quita Offringa:

“I sailed two really good heats before the final, so I was a little bit disappointed with how I sailed in the final, but I’m still very happy to be on top here in Fuerteventura. Congratulations to Arrianne [Aukes], Yoli [de Brendt] and Maxime [Van Gent].”

Women’s Single Elimination - Losers’ Final

After narrowly missing out on a place in the winners’ final - after a close battle with Aukes in the semi-finals - Yoli de Brendt quickly erased any lingering disappointment from her mind to secure her place on the podium as she defeated Maxime Van Gent by landing a forward loop, a radical air flaka and a clean e-slider. The seventeen year old won’t be too disappointed though as today marks the first time she has finished in the Top 4.

The forecast for tomorrow looks good again, so with this is mind the skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the double eliminations beginning from 10:30 AM if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into the PWA World Tour to follow all of the action live!

The inaugural day of the PWA Fuerteventura World Cup saw both the Men’s and Women’s freestyle fleets registering for the upcoming week of competition between 1 PM and 2 PM. Many of the sailors took the opportunity to fit in a final training session before the single eliminations begin tomorrow with ideal winds blowing throughout the day. Today also saw a trial heats take place at 3 PM to decide the final two places in the men’s draw.

Trials

The trials heat saw Oliver Stauffacher take on Antoine Albert and Francesco Cappuzzo in a 6-minute battle this afternoon. In the end it was the sixteen year old Italian - Cappuzzo - who stole the show as he demonstrated his repertoire of power moves, consisting of a brilliant planing culo, a clean ponch and a nicely rotated shaka, to win the heat, whilst Albert clinched the all important 2nd place to secure the final qualifying position. The man from New Caledonia landed a culo, regular kono and a switch kono to advance to leave Stauffacher disappointed.

A Race Against Time

The reigning PWA Freestyle World Champion - Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo - now faces a race against time to be fit for the next 6 days of competition. The five-time title winner suffered a knee injury yesterday evening, whilst training. After initially trying to sail off the injury it soon became evident that he needed to return to the beach for further medical attention.

Gollito isn’t the only sailor who is trying to overcome injuries as Canada’s Phil Soltysiak and Britain’s Adam Sims are also battling to be fit. Soltysiak suffered a dislocated shoulder, whilst Sims has injured his foot - with suspected ligament damage - trying a switch ponch.

We also caught up with Kiri Thode who has finished the past 2 seasons as the vice-world champion. Will this year be the year that Kiri goes one better?

PWA: Where did you spend your winter training?
KT:I spent the whole winter at home in Bonaire, not just training freestyle but also slalom.

PWA: Have you been landing any new moves / combos?
KT:I’ve been landing a lot of combos, but I think my best and most difficult so far has been spock into kabikuchi and also spock into air bob into culo! Hopefully I will be able to land some of them in my heats, depending on the conditions.

PWA: Which equipment will you be using?
KT:My 2013 Starboard Flares combined with my 2014 Gaastra Pures.

PWA: Thanks Kiri and good luck tomorrow.

Tomorrow will see the single eliminations begin and with a forecast that is similar to today’s we should be set for an incredible day of freestyle at its finest. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM. Be sure to follow all the amazing action live!

Who’s going to come out on top in the battle of the contortionists?

After the PWA Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival last week, our attention now firmly turns to the wonderful world of freestyle ahead of the PWA Fuerteventura World Cup, which will be running from the 20th to the 26th July. The beautiful golden sand beaches of Sotavento, Fuerteventura, are some of the most famous in the windsurfing world thanks to the its glorious year round sunshine and strong consistent winds, which create spectacular conditions for windsurfing. Now we take you through a run down of the top contenders.

Top Contenders

With the second stage of the PWA Freestyle World Tour under a week away we take a look at the top contenders for both the male and female titles:

Reigning PWA Freestyle World Champion Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo has won the last four events in a row; including the opening event of the year in Austria and the Venezuelan goes into the event as the clear favorite. Gollito was present in Pozo and whilst the wave conditions may not have been suitable, the twenty-four year old was freestyling out on the water whenever possible, landing an explosive repertoire of moves such as monster shakas, stunning no-handed burners and his trademark paskos to name a few.

Steven van Broeckhoven was the last man to beat Estredo in his world championship winning year - 2011 - on the shores of Fuerteventura. The Belgian maestro excels in the extreme conditions which Sotavento is so often graced with, and as a result he stands as one of Gollito’s biggest threats.

Team Bonaire will also be a force to be reckoned with next week, spearheaded by the unquestionable talent of Kiri Thode, who has finished in the overall Top 3 for the past six years. Along with Thode will be the likes of Taty Frans and Tonky Frans, Amado Vrieswijk and Björn Saragoza.

Having been unbeaten for the last five years on the PWA Freestyle World Tour, it’s hard to see how anyone will be able to stop the formidable force of Lady Sarah-Quita Offringa; who was knighted in May this year (article available here!). The Aruban gem has the talent to make many of the men shudder as she rotates her way through the latest power moves such as phenomenal culos, burners and konos.

With vice-world champion Laure Treboux absent from the entry list, all eyes will now be turned towards the freestyle talents Arrianne Aukes who finished third last year and is ever improving and Yoli De Brendt who has finished 4th or better for the past four years - including 2nd place overall in 2010.

Make sure you tune in from the 20th July to follow all of the amazing action live at the PWA World Tour website! and daily reports on the Starboard website

- Text and pictures are courtesy of the PWA World Tour -