schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt
The Men’s Freestyle fleet took centre stage for the first time at the 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt, powered by got2b, and the contortionists of the windsurfing world didn’t disappoint, whilst there was plenty of drama along the way as the title race took some dramatic turns. However, the main news of today involves Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), who not only qualified for his first winners’ final, but also went on to win the Single Elimination to lead the event after producing an explosive display.
Men’s
Freestyle
Today will live long in the memory of Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) after the young Greek enjoyed his best day to date on the World Tour, which saw him claim victory in the Single Elimination with a dynamic and powerful display of sailing despite the tricky conditions. The 19-year-old posted the highest scoring heat of the contest - 38.3 points - in the winners’ final against Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard / GUNSAILS) to deservedly lead the event at the close of play, while if things were to finish as they are now, Neubauer would finish 2023 as the vice-world champion.
Lennart Neubauer on winning the Single Elimination: “It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had on the water. Training or non-training. The conditions were really difficult, but moves kept happening and I felt like I could do anything. It’s an unreal feeling. This has probably been my dream for the last 10 years, I’m just really, really thankful. It’s unbelievable to win the single at the biggest windsurfing event on the planet!”
Meanwhile, Neubauer may have also played a pivotal role in deciding this year’s Freestyle world title after winning a close heat against Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde), who led the overall rankings coming into Sylt, in the round of 16, which leaves the Belgian with a mountain to climb if he is to add to his sole world title from 2019. Caers made a successful start to his comeback in the double elimination by defeating Marco Vinante (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360), but would need to fight back to at least fourth place to deny Adrien Bosson (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) - assuming the Frenchman remains in third place.
Steven Van Broeckhoven sailed brilliantly to book his place in the final and will be delighted with his top two finish in the single elimination. The Belgian didn’t enjoy his best final by his own admission against Neubauer, but he still enjoyed a fantastic day on the water.
Adrien Bosson lost out to Van Broeckhoven in the semifinals, but then came out on top of another incredibly close heat against Jacopo Testa (AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360) to secure his place in the top 3, which puts the reigning world champion firmly in the driving seat to be able to successfully defend his world title.
World title race connotations given that the worst position Adrien Bosson can now finish is 4th (9700 points), which means the Frenchman can only be denied;
- If Jacopo Testa comes back and wins the double elimination and Caers finishes outside the top 5. This would mean the Italian and Bosson would finish tied on 19,600 points, but Testa would win the world title on countback
- If Bosson was to remain in third place, then Caers would have to fight back into at least fourth place. This would see Caers and Bosson finish tied on 19,700 points, but Caers would win the world title on countback.
- In the event that Bosson was to slip one place to fourth then a fifth place finish could still prove good enough for Caers to win the world title, but only if Testa failed to then win the event. Caers and Bosson would then be tied on 19,600 points, but Caers would win on countback.
- In the event that Testa was to win the double elimination, Bosson finish fourth and Caers finish fifth then there would need to be a sail off - if conditions allowed - to decide the world title as Caers and Testa would then have identical results.
Away from the world title race the other sailor of the day was Takumi Moriya (Severne / Severne Sails) after the 17-year-old earned his best result to date with an excellent joint fifth place in the single elimination after claiming the scalp of fellow countryman - Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins) - in the opening round before also defeating Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails). Also finishing in joint fifth for the single are; Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde), Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) and Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails).
The Freestyle and Wave fleets will meet bight and early tomorrow morning with the current forecast predicting 18-28 knot southerly winds for the majority of the day. Both fleets will have a skippers’ meeting at 7am (GMT+2) - with the action commencing from 7:30am onwards. If it’s flat we will continue with the Freestyle, however, if there is enough of a bump the Wave fleets will take centre stage for the first time this event. Meanwhile, an announcement regarding the Slalom fleets skippers’ meeting will be made at 9am.
You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Also if you don’t already, be sure to follow us on our Social Media Channels:
- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
- Instagram: @pwaworldtour
- Twitter: @pwaworldtour
- YouTube: @pwaworldtour
Current Ranking 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Freestyle
1st Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | Starboard / GUNSAILS)
3rd Adrien Bosson (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Jacopo Testa (ITA | AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360)
5th Takumi Moriya (JPN | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Sam Esteve (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Antoine Albert (NC | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Youp Schmit (NB | Tabou / GA Sails)
Current Ranking 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Slalom
1st Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)
2nd Mateus Isaac (BRA | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
5th Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
6th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
8th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
9th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils)
10th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)