La Torche PWA Grand Slam
Today was the final day of the wave event, but unfortunately, the wind and waves failed to play ball again with the weather remaining extremely misty and cold throughout the day.
With it not being possible to gain a result here the men’s wave world title will now be decided in Maui, Hawaii at the NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic which kicks off on the 31st October. Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) is now the only man who can deny Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) a second world title, but in order to do so, he will have to win the event and hope that Fernandez finishes 4th or worse.
In the event of a Mussolini win and Fernandez finishing fourth the two sailors would then be tied on 6,201 points. At this point, the title would be decided with a nerve-racking sail off — if there are suitable conditions. Otherwise, Mussolini would technically win due to winning the final event of the year.
With Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) not attending the final event of the year in Maui, the women’s Top 3 is officially decided with the twins too far ahead of Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins), who completes the overall podium for the second year running. Iballa has won the Aloha Classic for the last two seasons but will be travelling to Fiji with the aim of becoming the SUP World Champion for the first time.
After finishing third in Pozo, Iballa fought back by winning the next two events to claim her third consecutive world title — eighth overall — and had this to say after being crowned the 2016 world champion: “I’m really stoked to have won one more world title. It’s a dream come true for me. We were a bit unlucky with the conditions here, but I’ve still had a fun week enjoying the waves and I hope to come back again. I’m also really happy to share the podium again with two amazing girls — my sister (Daida) and Sarah-Quita. I’ll keep training over the winter and hope to be on the podium again next year, so let’s see what happens in 2017,”
Meanwhile, Daida finishes the season in second place, so she will have to wait until next year to try and add to her 18 world titles. Between them, the Moreno twins have now amassed an incredible 26 world crowns.
The forecast looks light again for tomorrow so the skippers’ meeting for the slalom fleet has been called for 10am (GMT+1). Stay tuned into www.pwaworldtour.com to keep up to date with all the latest developments from La Torche.
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