Dieter van der Eyken is victorious, Sarah-Quita Offringa is the Queen again and Albeau extends overall lead.

Fuerteventura lived up to its strong wind reputation to produce nine brilliant days of action packed windsurfing. The freestyle fleet opened the event in explosive style and there was a turn up for the books with the results as Belgian maestro Dieter van der Eyken produced the best performance of his life to win his maiden event on the PWA Freestyle World Tour, whilst Sarah-Quita Offringa was at her irresistible best to claim an incredible 8th World Title in a row. Meanwhile, Antoine Albeau proved exactly why he has won 22 world titles as he dominated here in Fuerteventura to extend his lead at the top of the overall rankings.

Men’s Freestyle

With Steven Van Broeckhoven missing from proceedings many thought it would be Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo standing at the top of the podium come the end of the event. However, the reigning world champion wasn’t at full fitness after coming down with an ill-timed bout of chicken pox, which saw Gollito withdraw from the contest after the first double elimination.

This opened the door for a number of other candidates to take the event crown and it was Dieter van der Eyken who rose to the occasion as he consistently produced the best performances of his life, heat-after-heat. The Belgian qualified for his first winners’ final ever in the second single elimination, losing out to team mate Kiri Thode, before getting the bit between his teeth in the second double as he set his sights on a maiden event victory. The Belgian was simply unstoppable as he landed perfect spock into culos, monster air skopus and kabikuchis to defeat Amado Vrieswijk twice and earn the sweet taste of victory for the first time, whilst also heading to the top of the overall PWA Freestyle World rankings.

Kiri Thode won the opening double elimination as he combined more explosive combos to take down his rivals. However, there was nothing he could do to stop Dieter van der Eyken in the second double and so had to settle for third place, which sees the 2013 PWA Freestyle World Champion rise into second place overall. Thode is heavily in contention for another world title going into the final event of the year - currently tied on points with Dieter van der Eyken.

Nicolas Akgazciyan sailed better than ever in Fuerteventura as he secured the final place on the prestigious podium. The Frenchman finished in the top five in both double eliminations as he sailed with power, speed and style to earn his best result. Akgazciyan also landed an absolutely incredible ankle-dry shifty - which was one of the moves of the entire contest. Third place in Fuerte sees Akgazciyan rise to joint fourth in the overall rankings.

Having finished the opening double elimination in joint ninth - Amado Vrieswijk - came out with all guns blazing in the second double. The Bonairean had been hampered with a slight knee injury, but threw caution to the wind as he landed trademark air kabikuchis and double culos to win his first ever single elimination - before finishing second in the second double. Vrieswijk takes home fourth place overall in Fuerte, which sees him rise to third overall in the world.

Tonky Frans sailed in his usual super stylish manor to return to the top ten after a slightly disappointing start to the season in France. The Bonairean pulled off trademark bongkas, backloops, paskos and pushloops on the way out as he showed off his jumping supremacy. Frans now sits in 5th place overall.

Antony Ruenes was desperately unlucky to finish in sixth place in the end. The Frenchman had been in irresistible form in the single - finishing third - before injuring his foot whilst freesailing. Ruenes sailed through the pain barrier in the second double and was still able to win two heats - defeating both Max Rowe and Bjorn Saragoza - as he rotated through technical regular stance chachoos and one-handed clew-first flakas to name just a couple. Fully fit there’s no doubt Ruenes would’ve gone further and he will now focus on making a full recovery before the final event of the year in Sylt.

Phil Soltysiak sailed superbly in the second double elimination as he won three successive heats - first taking down Nic Hibdige, Nick van Ingen and finally Taty Frans in what was one of the closest heats of the contest to take home 7th place.

Davy Scheffers made the podium in the second single elimination, before just losing out to Kiri Thode in the double. Seventh place in Fuerte sees the Dutchman occupy joint sixth with Taty Frans in the overall rankings at the moment.

The top ten was completed by Balz Muller and Taty Frans, who share joint ninth.

Women’s Freestyle

Sarah-Quita Offringa proved once again that she is the undisputed Queen of Freestyle over the course of the event as she won every single heat. The Aruban gem combined smooth sliding moves with the latest power moves exploding through perfect burners and culos to claim an emphatic victory, which sees her claim an incredible eighth successive world title.

Oda Johanne finishes the year as the PWA Freestyle Vice-World Champion again having also claimed second in 2014. The Norwegian landed big shakas and flakas to defend her place against Maaike Huvermann.

Maaike Huvermann showed plenty of progress again this year and the seventeen year old was rewarded with another place on the prestigious podium - as well as being crowned the PWA Youth World Champion. Huvermann finished sixth last year here but continues to learn moves and looks as though she’ll be an even bigger threat in 2016.

Yoli de Brendt finished in fourth place overall for 2015 as the Venezuelan combined her stylish sliding moves to progress. Arrianne Aukes was upset with her performance here in Fuerte after finishing fifth, but you can be sure that the Dutch beauty will be back stronger than ever next year, whilst Maxime van Gent completes 2015 in sixth place.

Men's Slalom

Antoine Albeau dominated in Fuerteventura as the reigning world champion cemented his place at the top of the overall rankings with a commanding performance. AA won three out of the eight eliminations completed, whilst qualifying for all but one winners’ final as he sent out a clear warning sign that he’s going to be incredibly hard to beat over the remainder of the season.

Antoine Albeau speaks after another brilliant performance in Fuerteventura:

“Fuerte for me is one of the best places for windsurfing. I always look forward to coming here because you have good wind everyday here, which makes for a great event, so thanks again to Rene Egli and his team who make a huge effort to bring us back each year. It’s a real pleasure to come back and every time it’s another big battle with the guys, so I’m super happy to have managed to win here again. Well done to both Matteo and Ross for fighting back onto the podium yesterday. I hope to be back next year. Thanks to everyone again.”

Ross Williams moves up into second place in the overall world rankings after another great performance in Fuerteventura, which is the Brit’s second podium finish in 2015. The Brit has found the kind of consistency required to compete at the very top of the sport this season and qualified for over half of this weeks winners’ finals top another great event.

Matteo Iachino backed up his maiden event victory in Costa Brava with a solid second place in Fuerte as he moves into third place in the overalls. The Italian was in superb form as he continued to look lighting quick, which saw him qualify for the first six finals out of six. At this point Iachino and Albeau were almost inseparable, but he then missed out on the finals in the next two eliminations, but will still be delighted with his work this week.

Pierre Mortefon and Ben Van der Steen finished level on points - missing out on the podium by just 0.7 of a point. The Frenchman finishes just ahead of Van der Steen in fourth with a better count back. Mortefon drops back one place into fourth in the overalls, whilst Van der Steen remains in seven place.

Taty Frans secured a top ten finish in the slalom as well as the freestyle as he claimed 6th place overall in Fuerteventura. The Bonairean also won his first ever elimination in the 6th race after timing another start to perfection as he led from start to finish and qualified at least in top sixteen all but once as he produced his best form ever at a slalom event.

As always, the French featured heavily in the top ten with Cyril Moussilmani, Cedric Bordes, Julien Quentel and Pacal Toselli finishing 7th to 10th respectively.

Finian Maynard finished 24th in Fuerteventura, which is especially commemorative of the late and great Peter Volwater - H-24. Maynard was especially close to Peter as a best friend over their 18 years together on the PWA tour.

“This week was particularly hard to compete as Peter was always on the mind, especially on Day 1; very difficult indeed. Fuerte was one of his favorites over the years. The result of 24th is not what I aimed for but it is such a sign from above to finish on Peter’s sail number, a 1.9% chance! We all miss and love you Peter and thinking of you everyday.”

Fuerteventura re-enhanced its reputation as one of the most exciting events on the tour after another epic nine days on the 30th anniversary of the event. The PWA World Tour now moves directly to Tenerife for the third stop of the waves, which runs between the 3rd and 9th of August. You’ll be able to follow everything as it happens by tuning into PWA World Tour.com.

Day 9: Antoine Albeau on the verge of victory in Fuerte after dominating penultimate day

The penultimate day of the 2015 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam saw the conclusion of round seven - before a further elimination was completed in winds of around 10 to 20 knots as Sotavento continued to deliver conditions. Antoine Albeau won back-to-back eliminations to take a commanding lead at the top of the event rankings and it will now be almost impossible for anyone to catch him with just one day to go.

Men's Slalom Elimination 7 - Winners’ Final

Pascal Toselli made the best start in the opening winners’ final of the day, but it was Antoine Albeau who led the way ahead of Antoine Questel, Toselli and Ross Williams as the fleet jibed around the first mark. AA made no mistakes over the remainder of the course as he took full advantage of Matteo Iachino’s absence to assert himself at the top of the rankings. In the meantime Questel was able to keep Toselli at bay to finish in second place, whilst Ben van der Steen out maneuvered teammate Ross Williams to claim fourth.

Men's Slalom Elimination 8 - Winners’ Final

The second final of the day saw both Pascal Toselli and Ludovic Jossin disqualified after both sailors jumped the gun. With two elimination victories in the bag Antoine Albeau continued to apply the pressure and even though Steve Allen made the best start, it was Albeau who led at the first again - just like the in previous winners’ final. Allen held onto second place, with Williams, Cedric Bordes and Malte Reuscher just behind. Albeau extended his lead over the remainder of the course to claim his third bullet of the event and his lead now is almost unassailable. Meanwhile, Williams was able to overtake Allen for second place, with the Australian finishing in third place ahead of Bordes.

Jordy Vonk enjoyed a better day today as the Dutchman won both of his opening heats to earn his best result so far at this event - 15th.

Whilst the top two places look secured for Albeau and Iachino - barring disaster for either of them tomorrow - the battle for the final place on the heralded podium is incredibly tight. At the moment Ross Williams occupies third but Pierre Mortefon, Ben van der Steen and Taty Frans are all still in contention with just 0.7 of a point separating Williams from Mortefon and Van der Steen, whilst Frans is also just 2 points away, so there is no room for error for any of them if they want to clinch the final place on the podium.

The forecast looks light for tomorrow, but there’s still a chance of wind if Sotavento’s local affect kicks in. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 11 AM with the action commencing from 11:30 AM. Don’t miss any of the final day by tuning into PWA World Tour.com.

Day 8: Race 7 whittled down to the top sixteen before the wind shuts down

The sailors had to play a bit of a waiting game to begin with today as heavy cloud cover prevented the wind from filling in properly early on. However, shortly after lunch the wind kicked in, although lighter than on previous days with around 10 to 20 knots of breeze. Almost the whole seventh round was completed, but unfortunately the wind dropped with just two heats to go.

Men's Slalom Elimination 7

For the first time this week Matteo Iachino was knocked out of an elimination - before today the Italian had qualified for all six winners’ finals, but failed to qualify from Heat 10 as Enrico Marotti, Ethan Westera, Julien Quentel and Malte Reuscher advanced. The Italian will be able to discard the result once the road is complete, but Antoine Albeau will have an opportunity to extend his lead in the winners’ final tomorrow.

In Heat 11 Ross Williams made a storming comeback to defy the odds and make the next round. The Brit looked out of contention after the first jibe, but somehow managed to battle back to pip Kasper Larsen into fourth place as they crossed the finish line.

Cyril Moussilmani looked to have his place in the final secured, but Pascal Toselli came flying down the final leg to grab the final qualifying place. Meanwhile, Taty Frans, Antoine Questel and Ross Williams completed the top four.

Maciek Rutkowski enjoyed his fair share of bad luck yesterday - after being taken out twice when in a qualifying place - but today things clicked as he navigated his way into his first winners’ final of the week after coming second in Heat 13 - Italian Malte Reuscher also booked his place in his opening winners’ final of the event after holding off Julien Quentel for fourth. Antoine Albeau safely secured his place in the final again after a convincing victory, whilst Ben van der Steen also qualified.

The winners’ final was started which resulted in Taty Frans being disqualified for a premature start. One more attempt was made to sail the final, but the wind dropped just before the green flag. After a short period on hold the fleet was released for the day at 5:25 PM.

The forecast looks lighter than today and with the gradient wind predicted to be more from the North it could prove tricky to complete further races tomorrow. With cloud also being predicted for the morning the skippers’ meeting has been called for 11 AM with the action commencing from 11:30 AM. You’ll be able to follow all of the action as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker at PWA World Tour.com.

Day 7: Three races, three different winners including a first victory for Taty Frans

The Fuerteventura wind machine continued to blow for the seventh consecutive day creating another epic day of slalom as a further three races were completed in howling winds again. The level on the slalom tour is incredibly high at the moment, which was illustrated by the fact that a further three different sailors compared to yesterday won each of today’s racing - proving that there are countless numbers of sailors capable of winning on any given day. Pierre Mortefon claimed the first bullet of the day before Ben van der Steen stole the show in Race 5, whilst Taty Frans was clearly delighted with his performance in the final race as he claimed his maiden elimination victory.

Men's Elimination 4 - Winners’ Final

Nineteen year old Benjamin Auge and seventeen year old Ethan Westera both qualified for their first winners’ final on the PWA Slalom World Tour as they sailed with expertise beyond their years and Auge made the best start of the pack. However, after screaming down the opening reach Pierre Mortefon moved into the lead with Matteo Iachino and Taty Frans also prominently placed. The top three raced clear of the rest of the pack as Ben van der Steen caused chaos at the opening mark after dropping his jibe. From here, Mortefon continued to put his pedal to the metal and he was soon taking the checkered flag to claim his first victory of the week. Behind him Frans was able to overtake Iachino to finish second and third respectively, whilst Antoine Questel recovered to finish fourth.

Alexandre Cousin, Enrico Marotti and Nick van dem Eerenbeemt all received a bye into the quarterfinals after John Skye, Valentin Brault, Alejandro Alcazar and Fernando Martinez were all disqualified from Heat 3.

Julien Quentel was also disqualified from the round after being adjudged to have interfered with the start of Heat 8 as the man from Saint Maarten was preparing for the start of Heat 9.

Men's Slalom Elimination 5 - Winners’ Final

The second winners’ final started in dramatic fashion as Ross Williams jumped the gun and was disqualified for a premature start. Upon the restart Ben van der Steen made no mistake in his second final of the day as the flying Dutchman opened up a decisive lead by the third buoy to win his first elimination of the year, whilst Pierre Mortefon and Antoine Albeau both benefited from Josh Angulo’s shaky jibe at the last as they moved up into second and third place respectively - with Angulo having to settle for fourth.

Tempers flared in Heat 11 after Cedric Bordes jibed into Maciek Rutkowski at the final mark. Bordes attempted to jibe inside the Pole as he desperately tried to snatch the final qualifying place, but in the end neither man qualified as Antoine Questel was waiting in the wings to take advantage of any mistake.

Men's Slalom Elimination 6 - Winners’ Final

Taty Frans had been looking blisteringly quick all day and in the winners’ final the Bonairean was able to link all of the pieces of the jigsaw together to claim his first ever elimination victory on the PWA Slalom World Tour. Taty Frans led from start to finish as he burned away the rest of the pack with his pace and textbook jibing sending him clear and he was clearly delighted as he crossed the finish line. Matteo Iachino concluded another fine day with a solid second place, whilst Albeau finished third - which means there is just one point separating the two sailors at the top of the event rankings now. Meanwhile, Ross Williams was able to navigate his way past Sebastian Kördel to complete the top four.

Current Standings After Elimination 6 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom

1st Antoine Albeau2nd Matteo Iachino3rd Pierre Mortefon4th Ben van der Steen5th Taty Frans6th Ross Williams7th Micah Buziani8th Cyril Moussilmani9th Cedric Bordes10th Julien Quentel

Day 6: Antoine Albeau claims first bullet of the season after an exhilarating day of slalom

Today saw an action packed start to the slalom with sailors reaching for their smaller sails and small boards as winds of 25 to 35 knots created a full day of warp speed slalom. Conditions were challenging to say the least with the extremely choppy water and small waves making jibing treacherous and there was a number of massive catapults as Sotavento tested the slalom sailors mettle. By the end of the day, three rounds had been completed and reigning world champion Antoine Albeau takes an early lead after qualifying for every winners’ final - including claiming his first bullet of the season in the last race of the day.

Men's Slalom Elimination 1 - Winners’ Final

Josh Angulo made the best start to the winners’ final, but couldn’t hold onto his lead into the first mark as Micah Buzianis came storming down the first reach to move into first place, however Pierre Mortefon was ruled out of contention after jibing into the buoy. The American’s lead didn’t last long though as he dropped his second jibe. Just behind Buzianis was Matteo Iachinoband the Italian seized the opportunity presented before him to pick up exactly where he left off from in Costa Brava to claim the opening bullet of the week - after doing well to hold off Antoine Albeau at the third jibe. Meanwhile, Ross Williams, continued his excellent start to the season as the Brit finished third, whilst Antoine Questel came fourth.

Men's Slalom Elimination 2 - Winners’ Final

The second race of the day saw an amazing battle between Micah Buzianis and Taty Frans with only 30 centimeters separating the two sailors as they crossed the finish line. Frans had looked to have burnt the American off on the penultimate reach, but Buzianis came absolutely flying down the final leg to snatch victory from Taty’s grasp, which more than made up for his error in the previous final. Pierre Mortefon made no mistakes in his second winners’ final as he claimed third place with Antoine Albeau just behind in fourth.

Three of the contests youngest sailors also showed they are already capable of mixing it with the best in the world as Ethan Westera (17), Aron Etmon (17) and Miguel Bruggeman (19) all managed to advance into the quarterfinals.

Men's Slalom Elimination 3 - Winners’ Final

The French continued to dominate the slalom scene with six out of the eight sailors in the winners’ final being from France. Antoine Albeau capped off a great day with his first elimination victory of the year as he led from start to finish in the last race of the day. AA sailed with blistering speed and superb control in the choppy waters to blow the rest of his rivals away, whilst rising to the top of the event rankings. Behind him Matteo Iachino continued his fine form as he backed up his earlier bullet and sixth place with a second. The top four was completed by Julien Quentel and Ben van der Steen, who sits fourth in the event rankings after the first day of racing. Pierre Mortefon was desperately unlucky after his mast snapped on the second leg resulting in a massive wipeout for the Frenchman.

John Skye achieved his best single result in a slalom elimination today as the Brit finished second in the losers’ final to finish tenth overall in the third round. Skye produced a textbook third jibe to maneuver his way into the top two - with fellow countryman Ross Williams winning Heat 15.

Tomorrow promises to be another action packed day with more strong wind being predicted on the latest forecast. The skippers’ meeting has once again been called for 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM. Don’t miss any of the adrenaline fueled racing by tuning into PWA World Tour.com. Here you’ll be able to follow all of the amazing action as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Current Standings After Elimination 3 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom

1st Antoine Albeau2nd Matteo Iachino3rd Pierre Mortefon4th Ben van der Steen5th Cyril Moussilmani6th Cedric Bordes7th Julien Quentel8th Alexandre Cousin9th Taty Frans10th Micah Buzianis

Day 5: Dieter van der Eyken victorious, whilst Sarah-Quita Offringa is crowned the freestyle Queen for an incredible 8th time!

Today will stay in Dieter van der Eyken’s memory for the rest of his life after the Belgian maestro defeated teammate and friend Amado Vrieswijk twice in the second double elimination to claim his inaugural event victory on the PWA Freestyle World Tour after a scintillating display. Meanwhile, Sarah-Quita Offringa, continued to sail at her imperious best to be crowned the 2015 PWA Freestyle World Champion - which is the Aruban gems 8th successive world title.

Men’s Freestyle Double Elimination 2

Dieter van der Eyken is without a doubt the man of the moment after claiming a thoroughly deserved victory, which is the first time he has stood at the top of the podium. Van der Eyken came into today leading the event, but as Kiri Thode started to storm back through the double, the rankings changed and not in Van der Eyken’s favor. The Bonairean was on fire today as he defeated Antony Ruenes, Tonky Frans, Philip Soltysiak, Davy Scheffers and finally Nicolas Akgazciyan with trademark air bobs, stunning kabikuchis and clew-first backloops. This moved Thode into third place in the double elimination and meant that Dieter van der Eyken would now need to win the elimination to win the event.

Van der Eyken and Kiri Thode faced each other in Heat 50 in what was one of the biggest heats of the day. If Thode advanced he would be the champion, but if the Belgian could claim victory his dream of winning the event would still be alive - so both sailors had plenty on the line. Thode has been on fire, but van der Eyken was clearly pumped up and came out sailing like he was on another planet. The Belgian landed an explosive culo before landing an incredible air skopu and from here he continued to land his whole repertoire of moves with spock into culos, kabikuchis and a massive shaka too. The verdict was soon given that it was Van der Eyken who advanced and Amado Vrieswijk was waiting next.

Men’s Freestyle Double Elimination 2- Winners’ Final

Van der Eyken sustained his incredibly high level in the winners’ final against Amado Vrieswijk, whilst his Bonairean teammate didn’t quite find his groove after making a brilliant start to the final with a ridiculous air kabikuchi. For one reason or another Vrieswijk couldn’t build upon the good start whilst Van der Eyken went from one level to the next as he again exploded through an extensive repertoire of mind-blowing moves. It was soon revealed that the event would be going all the way with Dieter van der Eyken winning to force a super final.

The Super Final was the biggest heat of Dieter van der Eyken’s career and he would have been forgiven for seeming nervous, however the Belgian held himself together admirably, but at the same time Vrieswijk also found his form. After having a few minutes to regather his thoughts on the beach, Vrieswijk again came flying out the starting blocks with another ridiculous air kabikuchi and a clean skopu. In the meantime, Van der Eyken rotated through a perfect spock culo and a stylish one-handed burner 360. Unfortunately for Vrieswijk he then landed a kono outside for the contest area, which cost him dearly with only 3 moves to count of port tack. This swung the advantage in Van der Eyken’s direction and he duly obliged as he ended the heat with a shuvit spock to reign victorious.

Phil Soltysiak was in fine form today as he won four consecutive heats. The Canadian first dispatched of Nic Hibdige before going on to beat Nick van Ingen. Soltysiak was then involved in an incredibly close heat with Taty Frans, with the latter originally being given the verdict. However, Soltysiak’s opening move had been adjudged as a skopu, which was incorrect and as a result the result was over turned. Soltysiak then faced another Bonairean in the shape of Youp Schmit and it was another close heat with both sailors on fire. The verdict again went in the Canadian’s favour as he advanced by way of a 2:1 decision after landing sick skopus, smooth burner 360s and a spock culo. Next up for Soltysiak was Kiri Thode and the duo endured another hard fought affair that again went down to the wire. Soltysiak came out with all guns blazing as he landed another sick spock into culo and a radical skopu 360. After much deliberation from the judges it was revealed that Thode had won by way of 2:1 decision - with the final scoresheet having just half a point difference.

Antony Ruenes sailed through the pain of his foot injury today as the Frenchman bravely battled his way through two heats - but actually had to sail 3 times due to a missed move much to his displeasure. However, in the resail of Heat 38B, Ruenes came out on top at the second time of asking to defeat Max Rowe before also advancing past Bjorn Saragoza as he turned on the style with smooth regular chachoos and super technical one-handed, clew-first flakas, whilst also shouting in pain.

Women’s Freestyle Single Elimination III - Winners’ Final

The usual suspects of the past five days appeared in the last winners’ final of the event as Oda Johanne again lined up against Sarah-Quita Offringa. The now eight-time world champion already had the 2015 world title wrapped up, but as always delivered a flawless performance consisting of a floaty shaka and a rapid air flaka before also rotating through a sick culo, burner and a regular kono to show off her latest power moves repertoire. The Queen of Freestyle also attempted a spock culo, but couldn’t pull it off on this occasion. Her Norwegian opponent also sailed well as she landed a great shaka 360, planing flaka and came agonisingly close to stomping a burner. However, there was nothing Johanne could do to prevent Offringa from claiming another emphatic victory. Oda Johanne though will be delighted with her weeks work as she takes home the title of the 2015 PWA Women’s Freestyle Vice-World Champion.

Maaike Huvermann sailed superbly again today as she took home third place in the third double elimination, which secured her spot on the heralded podium for the second year in a row. The seventeen year old has improved significantly over the past year and she will be an even bigger danger next year and in years to come.

Fuerteventura once agin delivered the goods to allow five frantic days of freestyle, however the attention now turns to the race course as the world’s fastest sailors prepare to battle it out in the howling winds from tomorrow onwards. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM. Make sure you tune into PWA World Tour.com to follow the warp speed slalom live with Ben Proffitt. Antoine Albeau currently leads the way, but will he still be leading come the end of the next five days?

Day 4: A day to savor for Amado Vrieswijk as Dieter van der Eyken moves to the top of the event rankings and Sarah-Quita Offringa shines again.

It was another intense battle on the penultimate day of the freestyle in Fuerteventura as the second double elimination of the women’s contest was completed first thing - with Sarah-Quita Offringa maintaining her 100% record with another supreme display. However, on the men’s side of the draw it was all change as Amado Vrieswijk turned the double elimination form on its head to claim his first ever single elimination victory on the PWA Freestyle World Tour, ahead of Dieter van der Eyken, who continued his excellent form to make his second winners’ final in a row, whilst also moving to the top of the event rankings for the first time in his career.

Men's Freestyle Single Elimination 2

Amado Vrieswijk didn’t allow a couple of mistiming errors, which caused two of his heats to be resailed, affect his focus today as he transformed his double elimination form. Vrieswijk had mentioned earlier in the day that his knee had felt better than at the start of the contest and it clearly showed as he replicated the kind of form both witnessed and expected by him in the recent past. The Bonairean began his storming comeback by defeating Max Rowe, before dispatching of one of the standout sailors of the double - Yentel Caers. Vrieswijk then caused a major upset as he defeated the - at the time - current event leader - Kiri Thode. This setup a duel against Nicolas Akgazciyan, but the Frenchman could do nothing to stop Vrieswijk setting up a final against Dieter van der Eyken. Whilst Vrieswijk will obviously be delighted with his days work, Dieter van der Eyken may be even happier as he heads to the top of the event rankings, after another scintillating display. The Belgian is now on the cusp of not only his first overall podium finish, but also hist first event victory!

Men's Freestyle Single Elimination 2 - Winners' Final

Over the past couple of year’s both Amado Vrieswijk and Dieter van der Eyken had been threatening to break into the top two and today both of them deservedly featured in the winners’ final. Van der Eyken continued his supreme form, whilst Vrieswijk found his groove to create a scintillating final. The Belgian made the better start to the final as he glided through a shaka 360 and a powerful culo, which he quickly followed up with a perfect spock into culo. However, Vrieswijk soon found his stride to respond with an exquisite double culo and from here the momentum shifted. Van der eyken was still able to land a kabikuchi, but Vrieswijk soon landed a trademark, almost air kabikuchi, to edge the duel.

Davy Scheffers also turned the past on its head as he forgot about the form book of past year’s to claim third place in the single today. The Dutchman used to be known for his light wind, sliding moves expertise but has proven over the course of the last four days that he can go big, if not bigger than anyone else. Scheffers threw himself into air chachoos together with combos such as spock culos and culo spocks to defeat Nicolas Akgazciyan in the losers’ final.

Women's Freestyle Double Elimination 2 - Winners' Final

Oda Johanne and Sarah-Quita Offringa faced each other for the third time in four finals after the Norwegian narrowly defeated Maaike Huvermann in the previous heat. Offringa opened with a smooth e-slider before adding a shaka 360 and an amazing culo, which was landed ankle-dry. Even a wardrobe malfunction, after landing a forward loop, couldn't stop Offringa from marching to her fourth successive victory of the week - and an eighth world title now looks inevitable for the Queen of Freestyle. Oda Johanne performed well with a big shaka and a regular kono, but it wasn’t enough to upset SQ Offinga’s domination.

The opening round of the men’s second double elimination was also concluded before the close of the day and tomorrow promises to be another intriguing day. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM. Don’t miss any of the action by tuning into PWA World Tour.com.

Day 3: Dieter van der Eyken storms back through the double but can’t quite stop Kiri Thode, whilst Sarah-Quita Offringa dominates

The women took center stage first on day 3 of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam as the double elimination was completed in 20 to 30 knots of breeze and slightly flatter water as the remaining top five girls put on a great display. However, there was still no stopping Sarah-Quita Offringa, who powered to an emphatic victory in the double elimination and also the second single elimination. In the men’s, Dieter van der Eyken was on fire, but even he couldn’t stop Kiri Thode from retaining his single elimination crown.

Men's Freestyle Double Elimination

The real standout today was Dieter van der Eyken, who won a total of six heats in the double elimination - with four of those victories coming today. The Belgian maestro took on the reigning world champion - Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo - first and he came flying out of the starting blocks exploding through a pasko 360, an amazing planing spock into culo and stylish one-handed burners on both tacks. Gollito sailed extremely well too, especially considering the fact he has under the weather with an ill-timed bout of chicken pox. The six-time world champion spun through a super stylish no-handed burner, which was probably the pick of his tricks, before suffering a broken mast on the landing of a backloop. Luckily Mattia Fabrizi was on hand to sail a new set of kit out to him and Gollito was able to land a spock culo of his own to end the heat. In the end there almost nothing between the two sailors with two tie breaks on the judges score sheets, but van der Eyken was given the nod.

The Belgian then faced Tonky Frans, but even a timing error - meaning the heat had to be resailed - couldn’t knock Dieter out of his stride as he progressed again. Nicolas Akgazciyan suffered the same feat before Antony Ruenes also felt van der Eyken’s wrath. Ruenes wasn’t happy with his own performance in the heat, but realistically the Belgian maestro would’ve beaten anyone in the world with the way he sailed in Heat 50 as he accumulated the highest score of the whole contest with an incredible 58.5 points from a possible 60. Van der Eyken again landed perfect spock into culos, stylish one-handed ponches and stunning paskos, but it was his amazing air skopu which really stole the show and goes down as the standout move of the day.

Men's Freestyle Double Elimination - Winners' Final

Waiting in the final was Kiri Thode and the Belgian looked to be continuing his outstanding form into the final as he made a better start than his rival as he flew through a shaka and sailed away from another spock into culo, whilst Thode crashed a massive shaka before dropping what would’ve been a sick culo. However, Kiri Thode then started to find his groove as he landed a culo and shaka on his second attempt before quickly rattling off a burner and a ponch.

At this stage van der Eyken may have been edging the duel as he added a pasko and a backloop, which was landed cleanly. However, the pendulum then swung as the Bonairean landed an exquisite air kabikuchi, which he planed out of before finishing with a high kono. Both sailors completed their score sheets with a minute to spare so it was then down to a nervous wait for the judges verdict. In the end, Thode came out on top as he successfully defended his single elimination crown to take a strangle-hold over the event title. Van der Eyken though will be absolutely delighted with his work today and was rewarded with his best result ever in a double elimination as he sailed his way into second place with a scintillating display.

Women's Freestyle Double Elimination

Yoli Freites de Brendt picked up where she left off from yesterday as she clinically dispatched of Arrianne Aukes in Heat 48. The Venezuelan rotated through clean spock 540’s and punetas together with fluid flakas and shakas to progress by way of a 3-0 decision.

However, next up for Freites de Brendt was Maaike Huvermann. Unfortunately Freites de Brendt couldn’t replicate the form she showed in the previous heat, but Huvermann was in great form as she enjoyed the lighter winds and flatter water to advance. The seventeen year old then dispatched of Oda Johanne as she landed flakas and shakas on both tacks as well as spocks and switch konos, whilst also attempting regular konos.

Women's Freestyle Double Elimination - Winners' Final

Huvermann’s reward for winning against her Norwegian rival was a duel against Sarah-Quita Offringa, who was once again in a league of her own. The Aruban gem is on the verge of an eighth successive world title and was never going to give her opponent even a slight chance of victory as she combined amazing burners and culos with a double flaka and big shaka to take the double elimination crown.

Women's Freestyle Single Elimination 2 - Winners' Final

Just as in the first single elimination it was Oda Johanne who navigated her way into the winners’ final to face Sarah-Quita Offringa again, but she was powerless to stop Offringa from marching to another emphatic victory. Johanne landed a nice shaka and a switch kono, but it wasn’t enough as SQ Offringa again exploded through flakas, shakas and ponches together with a planing e-slider and a stylish burner to once again stand at the top of the podium.

Women's Freestyle Double Elimination 2

The second double elimination was started, but will be completed tomorrow after the evening wind became more patchy.

The forest promises further wind tomorrow and both fleets will meet again at 10 AM for the skippers’ meeting, before the action gets underway from 10:30 AM onwards. Don’t miss any of the amazing action by tuning into PWA World Tour.com - here you’ll be able to follow everything as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Day 2: Close calls, mega moves and only 6 men and 5 women left standing at the end of second day

The men’s and women’s double eliminations began on the second day of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam. The level in the men’s division was extremely high right from the opening heat of the first round with the world’s best freestylers rotating through the latest power moves. This resulted in several close calls as some of the sailors proved almost inseparable. Unfortunately, the wind dropped before the conclusion of the doubles, but there was still plenty of standout moments over the duration of the day.

Men’s Freestyle

Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo looked backed to his old supreme self today, after being slightly under the weather and slightly under par yesterday. The reigning world champion defeated Italian Francesco Cappuzzo, Adrien Bosson, Balz Muller and Julien Mas as he posted the highest scores of the day to begin his comeback through the double elimination. The Venezuelan started the day in joint 9th and will now face Dieter van der Eyken in the battle for 5th and 6th place respectively after flying through trademark paskos, pushloops and monster shakas.

Taty Frans also won four consecutive heats today as he dispatched of Paul Simmerl, Aron Etmon, Adrian Beholz and Rafael de Windt to move up to joint 13th in the double elimination. However, Julian Mas then proved too much in Heat 45 A to end the Bonairean’s come back.

Amado Vrieswijk will be disappointed to have not advanced from Heat 44 A against Yentel Caers. The Bonairean looked to be sailing in better form today but unfortunately for him two of his moves on port tack were judged to be outside the area, and therefore had an incomplete score sheet. One of those moves was a brilliant pasko, which in the end cost Vrieswijk dearly in what was an extremely close heat otherwise.

Adam Sims enjoyed a great day and even a broken extension couldn’t stop him. The Brit first defeated Marco Vinante in the opening round before also going on to dispatch of Adam Gavriel after stomping a sick pasko, big pushloop and a shaka just before the buzzer to complete his score sheet.

Move of the Day

Marco Lufen landed one of the moves of the day as he landed an ankle-dry shifty, just a Nicolas Akgazciyan did yesterday, whilst also landing the biggest shaka of the day. The German advanced one round today, before narrowly missing out to Antoine Albert in a close fought affair.

Women’s Freestyle

The women’s fleet has been whittled down to the top five women at the end of day two and it was Yoli de Brendt who came storming back through the double after navigating her way past Jazzy Zwerus and Maxime van Gent to set up a duel with Arrianne Aukes in the battle for 4th and 5th.

Looking ahead to tomorrow the forecast promises further wind, although the swell looks smaller. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30 AM with the action commencing from 11 AM onwards. Make sure you tune into PWA World Tour.com to see the conclusion of the double eliminations - who do you think is going to win?

Day 1: Sarah-Quita Offringa places one-hand on an 8th consecutive world title, whilst Kiri Thode strikes first

The inaugural day of the 2015 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam saw extreme conditions as howling winds in excess of 40 knots and super choppy waters meant the world’s best were pushed to their limits. At the end of the first day Sarah-Quita Offringa has taken a huge step towards her eighth consecutive title as the Aruban gem remained un-fazed by the tricky conditions to produce another spectacular display of sailing. Meanwhile in the men’s division Kiri Thode struck first to take the single elimination crown, as he showed the consistency needed to come out on top in a day where many of the top seeds fell earlier than anticipated.

Men’s Freestyle Single Elimination - Winners’ Final

Kiri Thode lined in up against Antony Ruenes in the opening winners final of the week. The Frenchman had been in inspired form in the run up to the final, but things didn’t quite click for him in the against Thode despite landing a trademark no-handed burner, an explosive pasko and coming extremely close to landing a massive air shaka. On the other hand, Kiri Thode sailed a near perfect heat when it really counted. The 2013 World Champion made his intentions clear right from the moment the green flag was raised as he rotated through a textbook spock into culo, before quickly adding a stylish shaka and an air funnel into funnel to his score sheet. Thode then hammered the final nail into the coffin with an exquisite kabikuchi to take the single elimination crown.

Nicolas Akgazciyan achieved his first podium finish on the PWA Freestyle World Tour, in what proved to be another fine day in the windsurfing world for the French contingent. On his way to claiming third Akgazciyan defeated Jeremy Plüss, Bjorn Saragoza and Balz Müller, before defeating Tonky Frans in the battle for third and fourth. The Frenchman sailed brilliantly over the duration of the day, but he also claimed the move of the day with an amazing ankle dry shifty in Heat 9. Akgazciyan will now look to defend his place on the podium when the double elimination begins tomorrow.

Tonky Frans was the King on the way out in Fuerte today as he showed off his extensive repertoire of jumping supremacy. The Bonairean landed several of his trademark bongkas together with backloops, paskos and pushloops to dispatch of Loick Spicher, Adrien Bosson and rising star Yentel Caers.

However, perhaps the biggest story of the single elimination involved the aforementioned Yentel Caers and reigning world champion - Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo - who sailed against each other in Heat 20 B. Many thought that with current world tour leader - Steven Van Broeckhoven - out of the equation due to injury, that victory for Gollito may be somewhat of a formality. However, things are never quite as simple as they may see. The six-time world champion was reportedly under the weather, but you can take nothing away from Caers, who caused the biggest upset of the day, whilst claiming the biggest scalp of his career thus far to defeat the reigning world champion. Earlier this year in France, Caers, had shown glimpses of how dangerous he could be and during his seven minutes against Gollito he was unstoppable as everything he tried came off, whilst oozing power and style. The twenty-year old landed skopus, paskos, monster culos, a pushloop, kabikuchi and perhaps the best of the bunch a quite brilliant double burner to earn his best result to date - 5th. In the meantime, Gollito now faces a huge uphill task to fight back from joint 9th in the single elimination.

Also sharing joint fifth at this stage of the competition are Dieter van der Eyken, Julien Mas and Balz Müller - with the latter causing one of the other biggest upsets of the day as he defeated Amado Vrieswijk in Heat 17 B. Muller knew that he would need to go big against the Bonairean to stand a chance of advancing, and go big is exactly what he did, much to the delight of the crowd on the beach. Muller exploded through a huge air shaka, clean skopu, one-handed forward - which was received huge cheers - and his trademark Chewbacca toad to progress. Vrieswijk will be another sailor looking to storm back through the double elimination tomorrow after a disappointing day.

Women’s Freestyle Single Elimination - Winners’ Final

Oda Johanne set up a tie with Sarah-Quita Offringa in the women’s final after defeating Ziva Trajbaric, Maxime van Gent and Arrianne Aukes. However, there was no stopping the Queen of Freestyle and she produced another flawless display to put one-hand on an eighth consecutive world title. The Aruban gem combined sliding moves such as funnels and punetas with powerful air flaka 360s and shakas, whilst earlier in the day landing the latest power moves such as burners and culos. Johanne also threw down some big tricks with a smooth flaka and a high shaka being the pick of the bunch. It does look as though it will take a super human effort though to knock Offringa off the top of the podium.

There was an all Dutch battle for the remaining place on the podium between Arrianne Aukes and Maaike Huvermann and this time around it was Huvermann who got the upper hand of proceedings. The seventeen year old showed great consistency throughout the day as she landed spocks, grubbys, flakas and even shakas to cement third place.

The forecast predicts more wind for tomorrow in Sotavento, although slightly less than today, which may not be a bad thing. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM. Don’t miss any of the explosive action by tuning into PWA World Tour.com - here you’ll be able to follow everything as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

- Text and pictures are courtesy of John Carter / PWA World Tour -