Breakthrough

Dieter Van der Eyken breaks into the top 10 in the waves for the first time

Dieter Van der Eyken is the reigning world champion in Freestyle and is currently ranked 5th for 2016. However, the 24 year old is also beginning to make his mark on the wave scene and during the recent Tenerife PWA World Cup the Belgian broke into the top 10 for the first time since beginning competing in the waves. After a big breakthrough we caught up with Dieter to see what he thought of the event and performance.

Dieter: “Tenerife was amazing for me, I knew I could score good at that event but to get into the top 10 is more than I expected before the event. After I did my trials heat, which was my best heat of the event my confidence grew and although I lost in the first round straight away I had a good seeding for the double! 


I was lucky enough that we competed in probably my favorite conditions, upcoming tide and 4.4m weather with some good sets. I managed to get at least one good wave 360 every heat and stay calm till the end. I got as far as I could get in Tenerife as Köster is still out of my league for now. Im ranked 16 right now but everything is still super tight with the 25th from Pozo not really helping on that point of view, but I hope I still get close to the top 16 by the end of the year! Then I can aim for better in 2017 building step by step. I’m already looking forward to Denmark and hope we get conditions like last year! All the best Dieter.”

Thanks Dieter see you in Denmark.