Hvide Sande PWA World Cup
Hvide Sande, Denmark, played host to a PWA Slalom World Cup for the first time ever over the past week and the event proved to be a great success — ultimately two further eliminations were completed in both the men’s and women’s divisions, which saw the girls world title decided and the men’s title race take another twist. The event also saw and a record number of girls competing with 31 women registering.
Women’s
Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) came into the final event of the year as the world tour leader — having claimed victory in South Korea earlier in the season. The Turkish beauty looked to be in excellent form during the qualifying heats of the opening race, but the final didn’t go to plan as Erdil had to settle for a 7th place.
This opened the door for reigning world champion — Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) — and the Aruban gem duly obliged as she claimed a clinical victory in the opening elimination to take control of not only the event, but also the race for the title.
However, with a maiden world title at stake, Erdil, dug deep and responded in the perfect fashion by securing a bullet of her own in the next race — hauling herself into 3rd place in the event rankings and firmly back in contention for the title.
On the final day of the event Erdil would need to beat former two-time world champion — Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / Gun Sails) — by one place to move up to 2nd in the event rankings, which would swing the title race in the 27 year olds favour.
Unfortunately for Erdil the wind never arrived on the last day meaning the 3rd race couldn’t be completed and after a nail biting afternoon spent on hold, Offringa, could finally celebrate successfully defending her world title as she deservedly collects her 3rd slalom world title and 12th overall at the age of just 25 — afterwards Offringa added: “I’m very happy. I was emotional when the event was officially called off because it’s been a stressful day with the conditions right on the edge, so it was pretty nerve wracking. It’s great to see so many girls competing with such a high level and hopefully that’s a good sign for the future. Thanks to all of my sponsors and much love to my family and friends for their non-stop support.”
Eventually, Erdil finished the 2016 season as the vice-world champion, while Cousin Questel completes the overall podium after 2nd and 3rd place finishes this season.
The thriving talent of 20 year old — Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Severne) — enjoyed another fine season as she was crowned the PWA Youth Slalom World Champion for the 3rd consecutive year.
Meanwhile, Fujiko Onishi (Starboard / Point-7), enjoyed her best season to date and finishes 2016 in 4th overall, while Maja Dziarnowska (RRD / RRD Sails) made a fine start to life on tour — claiming 4th place in Hvide Sande on her debut and she could be one to watch next year.
Men’s
The men’s title race looks as though it’s going to go down to the wire once again this year with Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) proving almost inseparable after the first 4 events.
Iachino, now holds a narrow lead at the top after claiming his second victory of the season, which has allowed him to discard his 7th place finish from Costa Brava. Both he and Mortefon are currently tied on 6,201 points, but Iachino leads on count-back.
However, Mortefon, may be a little disappointed to have lost control of the title race after making the perfect start to the week with a decisive victory in the opening race. Unfortunately the Frenchman then failed to qualify for the next winners’ final — after being knocked out in the semifinals, which ultimately meant Mortefon finished 2nd — The 27 year old has now recorded 3 top 3 finishes out of 4 event this year.
Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses) remains in 3rd place overall after discarding his 16th place finish here, but has Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) closing in, after the man from Saint Maarten continued his fine season with his 3rd top 5 finish of the year.
This event will live long in the memory of Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) after the German experienced a week of firsts — his first time visiting Denmark and also his first podium finish on the PWA Slalom World Tour in only his 2nd full season on tour. After the best performance of his career Kördel rises to 12th in the overall rankings.
Vincent Langer (Fanatic / NorthSails) also recorded his best result to date after finishing 4th here. The German finished 16th in the opening race of the week, before claiming an extremely impressive victory in the second race, which saw him win every heat he competed in. The manner of his victory was even more impressive as this was his first bullet on the world tour.
Reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) — remains in 5th place overall after a 9th place finish in Hvide Sande, Denmark, but will be left breathing a sigh of relief that the 3rd race couldn’t be completed as AA had been eliminated in the quarterfinals, which would have all but ended his quest for a 4th successive world title. However, as it stands, Albeau still has an outside shot at the title.
After caddying for Matteo Iachino in Fuerteventura , Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7), recorded his second top 10 finish of the year after securing 6th here, which leaves the Italian 7th in the overalls.
Meanwhile, teammates — Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) and Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde) — both recorded their first ever top 10 finishes this week — placing 7th and 8th respectively, while Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails) returned to the top 10 at an event for the first time since May 2015.
To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Where’s Next on the PWA World Tour?
The next stop of the PWA World Tour will see the world’s finest wave sailors return to Klitmøller, Denmark, for the netIP Cold Hawaii PWA World Cup, which takes place between the 19th-24th September. Make sure you don’t miss any of the world class action by staying tuned into www.pwaworldtour.com — here you’ll be able to follow all of the radical action as it happens via the PWA live stream.
Overall Ranking 2016 Women’s PWA Slalom World Tour
1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)
3rd Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / Gun Sails)
4th Fujiko Onishi (Starboard / Point-7)
5th Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Severne)
Overall Ranking 2016 Hvide Sande PWA World Cup — Women’s Slalom
1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / Gun Sails)
3rd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)
4th Maja Dziarnowska (RRD / RRD Sails)
5th Fujiko Onishi (Starboard / Point-7)
Overall Ranking 2016 Hvide Sande PWA World Cup — Men’s Slalom
1st Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails)
3rd Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)
4th Vincent Langer (Fanatic / NorthSails)
5th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)
6th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
7th Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)
8th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)
9th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
10th Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails)
Current Rankings 2016 Men’s PWA World Cup - Men's Slalom
1st Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails)
3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses)
4th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)
5th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
6th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)
7th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
8th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
9th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic)
10th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)