Going Black

Lena Erdil goes black as she prepares for a new adventure

Lena Erdil (Patrik / Point-7 / Mystic / AL360) enjoyed her best season to date on the PWA Slalom World Tour as she finished on the podium at every event to end 2014 as the PWA Vice-World Champion. The 25 year old is also one of the quickest girls on the planet having set a new Turkish speed record with a blisteringly quick 45.74 knots -  just 0.09 knots off the top spot in the world. Now Erdil has some exciting news to announce, read our interview with her and Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) below to find out more:

PWA: Hey Lena, firstly congratulations on becoming the PWA Women's Slalom Vice-World Champion - how are you feeling after your best season so far?

LE: “Thanks, I’m feeling great, it’s been a good season for me this year, we finally had some nice and windy events and I was stoked to make it to the podium on every event! Coming second overall is a great motivation it’s only 1 step away from first and has really given me a lot of confidence and even more motivation to go for pole position next season!” 

PWA: What do you think the secret to your success was this year?

LE: “The secret to success was definitely training, training , training! I trained more than ever this year and felt well prepared for the racing. My parents were helping a lot in the running of my windsurf centre in Bodrum this year which enabled me to focus all of my energy on slalom training. For 2 month prior to the event in Alacati I was training with Maria Andres at my centre, having such a great friend and training partner on water and land was definitely really important specially to keep up motivation! It worked out great for both of us and I hope we can repeat it again this summer!” 

PWA: After several years on Loft Sails you are moving onto a new adventure - can you tell us some more about that?

LE: “It feels  strange actually, I have been with Loft Sails for 7 years and I feel that we have grown together and I am forever thankful for all the support they have given me over so many years! But at the same time I’m really excited to join point7 and the black team! I think change is good and am really looking forwards to some new exciting projects we have planned together.”

PWA: What was the deciding factor in making you want to complete the change to Point-7?

LE: “I think the deciding factor in the end was  the performance of the race sails. The feedback I have got from many of the riders and a few personal test have proven that they are the fastest sails on the market at the moment, and I hope that the extra speed I will get from them can make it possible for me to achieve my goal of becoming slalom world champion!” 

PWA: You aren't the typical stature for a speed or slalom sailor, but that doesn't seem to stop you... Do have any tops tips for recreational windsurfers looking to increase their top speed?

LE: “Top tips for achieving high speed for the not so massive guys would be to take smaller kit. Instead of trying to go on the biggest kit that you can possibly hold down it’s definitely better to take a sail that you can close down and focus on getting as much speed as possible from your board and fin. A small board definitely also key! Other than that I have learned from speed sailing that for really high speed you need very strong winds and very flat water, so if you are a recreational speed surfer putting in the extra mile to get to a good speed spot can quickly increase your top speeds.” 

PWA: Speaking of speed - will you be trying to break Zara Davis' speed record again in the near future?

LE: “Having missed out on the world record by 0.09 knots in the first year and actually having been able to achieve the highest female top speed, has kind of turned this speed record into an obsession for me. Knowing that i’m so close and that it's definitely possible to break the record definitely drives me to wanting to achieve higher speed! I hope that with my new sails and hopefully a fitting event calendar I will be able to go back to Lüderitz and break the world record in 2015.” 

PWA: You’re out in Cape Town at the moment, what's a typical day for you out there?

LE: “Yes I absolutely love Cape Town, it's so consistently windy and wavy that most days I wake up pretty broken from the last days session and need a can of RedBull to be able to start the day! When its windy I usually start sailing around 10-11 in sunset beach for a good couple of hours then a little lunch break and then back to either Haakgat or Bigbay till sunset. I love wavesailing and I hope to join the PWA wave tour in 2015, a project that really excites me. When I’m going wavesailing here I’m constantly trying to improve my turns and learn jumps, having joining the wave tour in mind really motivates me to train hard and improve my wavesailing in the little time I have in the waves in the winter!  I usually sail till I literally can’t carry my kit up to the car park anymore then a quick dinner and sleep…” 

PWA: When not windsurfing, what do you most enjoy doing?

LE: “On the days that it’s not windy I also have a gym routine mostly designed to prevent injuries and improve general fitness,  but sometimes it takes second place when I need some time to recover. Also Cape Town has so much on offer, from climbing Table Mountain to driving up the coastlines or to one of the many bays, or going surfing that there is always something new to discover and do! I definitely most like ‘sightseeing’ on my days off, trying to make the most of the places I’m at.”

PWA: And Andrea - what was it that made you want to bring Lena onto your team?

AC: “It was the next step for our brand. We started strong by pushing our slalom products. We created the Black Team philosophy to have new talents to train together and bring them to the podium. Alberto Menegatti and Pascal Toselli as an example where from being out of top 10, we got them on the PWA slalom podiums. In freestyle we have Nicolas [Akgazciyan] who did a great job this year, especially in the indoor event in Warsaw. Our latest challenge was bringing back Ricardo Campello on the podium to show the potential of our wave gear, and we managed together to get his first victory in a wave PWA event, exactly at La Torche. So what could be our next step, apart from now getting Maciek [Rutkowski] and Jordy [Vonk] to reach the level of Alberto and Pascal? Working on a new project regarding the windsurfing girls. Not only for the results, but we believe and see that lots of girls are windsurfing and are starting to windsurf. The gear is so much easier and there are more and more on the water. So it was a need for us to start a new challenge, and develop more this section into our brand:new ideas which we will present soon.”

 

PWA: And how do you feel to have successfully signed Lena?

AC: “Signing Lena is a new adventure for us. It worked out through the synergy between our brand and Oakley. There are a variety of different projects where Lena will be involved with her sponsors, and for us it’s a big plus. We will be happy to meet Lena also at her windsurfing centre in Bodrum to organise some events with her and our friends. Lena is motivated, professional, fast on the water,  and these are important factors to be part of the Black Team. Her life is dedicated to windsurfing 100%, just like ours. We put together a nice Pro Team with girls this year, and soon you will know more about it.”

PWA: Thanks, Lena and Andrea. Have a great winter.