Chile World Cup
It wasn’t the day to be ranked world number two as both Bernd Roediger (Flikka / Hot Sails Maui / Black Project Fins) and Sarah Hauser (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing) suffered shock losses at the hands of the European lefthand wave specialists.
Head high swells and mostly light wind characterised the day, where the remaining three heats of Men’s round 3 and the first three heats of the Women’s quarterfinals were held.
Women’s Quarterfinals – Heats 1 to 3
After a false start, Heat 1 saw a confident Justyna Sniady (North Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) showcase her lefthand riding expertise with some strong turns and lip hits to take the win. Coco Fouveau (Flikka / GUNSAILS) found her rhythm with good speed and an attacking style to secure second place, eliminating the gutsy junior champion from Spain, Maria Morales Novarro (Goya Windsurfing).
In Heat 2, German star, Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails), leant on her extensive competition experience to ride the right gear, read the conditions and delivered some power moves on the better waves of the heat. Fourteen year-old Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails) had some strong top to bottom rides with aggressive turns to claim the scalp of world number two, Sarah Hauser, in what was a huge upset.
The wind picked up and turned perfectly cross offshore for a cracking Heat 3. Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Duotone / Duotone Sails) powered her way through some of the most aggressive snaps and lip smacks to again earn the highest heat total of the women’s round - amassing a grand total of 14.17 points. Pauline Katz (Severne / Severne Sails) was also impressive with tight snaps and decent aerials to claim the second best heat score of the day - 13 points - as the Swiss eliminated powerful tour veteran and 2023 world number four, Maria Andrés (Duotone / Duotone Sails).
Men’s Round 3 – Heats 6 to 8
The young Spaniards took charge of Heat 6. Scores mainly sat in the mid-range level for most of the heat. But Marino Gil (JP / NeilPryde) found a fast running set, which allowed multiple aerials, in the last few minutes to take the win over good friend, Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins). With the young Spaniards thriving this leg to local hero Vincent Gonzales being eliminated, after he had battled hard to win the Challenger series. Gonzales had injured his shoulder in a wipeout yesterday, but rode bravely with huge cheers from the local crowd on the packed beach.
Heat 7 was a tight battle of the big wave shredders and current world number 2, Bernd Roediger was the unlucky casualty. Roediger had solid, critical hits on waves, but wasn’t able to connect enough hits before the waves shut down. Former world champion and big wave guru, Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails), took an early lead with aggressive snaps and critical aerials and was able to demonstrate a wide variety across multiple sections to take the win. Local charger, Diego Fabres, read the fast waves well to complete multiple aerials and slashing cutbacks to secure second place.
Plenty of tricks were pulled out of the bag for Heat 8 to gain that critical point of difference and it was Victor Fernandez (Duotone / Duotone Sails), who nailed a perfect goiter to take the lead. Julian Salmonn (Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS) and Benjamin Fabres encountered a nail-biting exchange, but Salmonn just held off Fabres with better wave selection combined with aerials and powerful, tweaked cutbacks. Fabres remained a huge crowd favourite and was still welcomed back to the beach like a champion regardless.
Finals day for Pro Men and Pro Women will be on tomorrow with a larger forecast swell and good wind forecast. Large crowds are again expected into this local fishing village to watch the action from the beach and the luxury of Hotel Surazo overlooking it all. The Chile Magic continues.
Follow the live competition scores on LiveHeats. The full Live Broadcast will be streamed on the IWT Wave Tour YouTube channel, and the official IWT event page. Follow on social media channels @IWT_Wave_Tour and @PWAworldtour.