Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) has been in Gran Canaria for a few weeks and has been sneaking off to this spot to score some solitary DTL sailing, which you can see @ youtu.be/ejBVGkUEYUI

Antoine Albert: “The past few weeks have offered some fun swell in the Canary Islands, enough to make some peeling waves work. It has been a blast to score one of them by myself a couple of times!! 
Camera: Toya
Riders: Antoine Albert / Antoine Martin (guest appearance)."

Some of those sailors have been sending Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer Sails) some footage and he’s compiled it into one of his epic Training Diaries - despite not being in Pozo. 

Windsurfing.TV: “Episode 2 of the POZO Training Diaries is here!!!

All the low down from what’s being going on in Pozo!

To send action footage in for the next episode email to: sendit@windsurfing.tv"

You can see the latest Training Diaries From Pozo @ youtu.be/Ezq3cDTCRTM

As Maui was preparing for summer, a rare late season swell formed in the North Pacific and it was the perfect opportunity for Morgan Noireaux to connect with legendary windsurfing film maker Jace Panebianco to film this edit which includes some of Morgan's favourite waves of the winter from Pe’ahi (Jaws), Ho'okipa and Lanes, all located on Maui's north shore.

Morgan is 3x Aloha Classic champion and lives in Haiku on Maui's north shore minutes from the wave sailing Mecca of Ho'okipa beach park

You can see Morgan Noireaux’s latest edit @ https://youtu.be/1z35EK9rcKw

Ben Proffitt: “Trying to Break 40 knots at Martinhal Beach in Sagres...

Kit: 6.3 SCR Slalom sail, 96L 3XS Simmer Slalom Board and 32 Gasoil Fin”

You can see what Ben Proffitt recommends as his top tip for going faster @ youtu.be/nhkyWqASbOs

Brouwersdam is blessed with perfect flat water on the inside, thanks to a bank that protects it, and rolling swells on the outside, which makes for the perfect playground for not only the world's best, but also aspiring sailors, to hone their skills.

Recently Yentel Caers was in Brouwersdam where he scored some great conditions with strong winds and sunny weather making for a great day of explosive freestyle. 

You can see Yentel Caers' latest session from Brouwersdam @ https://youtu.be/d7jtG2aYGfY

Ricardo Campello: “Its been a while that I haven't sailed on a Freestyle board, Naish just made a new Freestyle Board and they wanted me to use it for their photoshoot, I’ve only sailed for a hour or so and I'm very rusty but I was able to do some classic tricks! Hope you like it.”

You can see Ricardo Campello jumping back on the Freestyle gear @ youtu.be/AjIvEXwqSCg

The PWA

Hi Marion, congrats on your Foil victory and second place in the Slalom in Israel… how was it to be back competing on the world tour?

I was super excited to come back on the tour! It was challenging for the organiser to make it happen during this strange period, but they made it, with a super good set up! We have seen also new faces that’s super good for the tour! 

That was your first victory on the Foil - have you been training a lot on the foil over the last 18 months?

We did only 2 event on the world tour in the women division before this one, with a 18 month break, lot of things changed! 

I trained a lot on the foil since the covid break as I have more and more conditions for this at home. I’m also loving it a lot. I like to progress on this new discipline, everyday you can learn a lot. I’m doing IQ Foil in the same time, we had trainings with the French team, so for sure I improved a lot. I’m doing also a lot of Foil courses with the Mortefon Watersports Center, that help me to understand a lot of things. 

Heading into the final day there was almost nothing between you and Helle Oppedal - how were your nerves heading into the final day? And how did you feel when you found out that Helle had missed out on the final to guarantee you the victory?

It was a big day for me as it was also super close in slalom with Delphine Cousin [Questel]. Last races were stressful. But my plan was to take race after race, first the qualification round then the final. It worked pretty well as I managed to qualify and to make a good last race in the final. I have seen that Helle was not qualifying for sure, pressure was a bit less, but it was not sure that this race was the last one, you never know then, the goal was to be focus!   

You also sailed extremely consistently in the Slalom - how happy were you with your performance there?

For sure happy with my performance! Great battle with Delphine and Sarah, Sarah was a step ahead, but I did not tell my last word. I really like the adrenaline during the slalom course as you go full on the first reach to pass the mark first. Some girls were missing because of the political and covid situation, but we still have the top level and it was a really nice event to come back on the tour. 

The conditions looked extremely tricky with massive gusts and wind shifts - just how hard was it to select to right equipment and sail there?

It was super stressful to choose the equipment, especially in foil as the conditions were super super gusty, like from 4 to 25 knots. I’m not used to sail with the same equipment in these different kind of wind! Most of the time we had the same equipment as the men. 

Gybes were super hard, I’m not training at all in this wind in foil with reaching mode. But now I know that we will do races in this, and we can really improve with trainings in theses conditions!

The next proposed event would be in a couple of months in South Korea - what will you be doing between now and then?

I came back home and work for my centre, giving some lessons. I will also train a lot for South Korea, hope Covid will not come back until the event! I’m also training in IQ Foil for the World’s in Silvaplana, so busy program :)

Thanks, Marion. Congrats again on your victory!

Antoine Albert: “Short clip of a 4 days trip to Sagres, Portugal, for a good wind and waves forecast.
Gear used: 4.2 Bounce proto & 85L Air proto (freestyle) / 4.5 Banzaï & 75L proto (wave)
Camera: Toya”

You can see Antoine Albert’s latest edit @ youtu.be/BRriJuCLabQ

Women’s

Slalom

Sara Wennekes made her debut on the world tour during the Tiberias PWA World Cup last month, however, the you wouldn’t have thought that by the way she sailed this week. Wennekes briefly lost the lead on day two to Tuesday-Lou Judd (Patrik / Phantom Sails), but after a slight break on Sunday, she never looked by as she claims her first victory. Wennekes never finished outside of the top 3, whilst she was able to win 5 out of the 12 races completed.

Tuesday-Lou Judd showed that she has fully recovered from her terrible foot injury sustained in Denmark in 2019, but she couldn’t quite find a way to topple Wennekes. However, a second place here still represents a great result. Meanwhile, Palma Cargo, completes the podium.

Foil

Having won the Slalom, Wennekes walks away from Croatia with a dominant victory in the Foil also having kept the rest of the fleet at bay. The 25-year-old finished outside of the top 2 just once to claim a clinical 4.3 point victory over Palma Cargo and Helle (Fanatic / Duotone), who complete the podium.

Men’s

Slalom

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) successfully defends his event title here from 2019, but this years victory will feel a lot sweeter with an extremely strong men’s lineup having registered. The Pole led from Day 2 of the event, and whilst there was a little wobble in Elimination 7, there was no doubting how much Rutkowski deserved the victory - having won half of the eliminations completed.

Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), was the local hope again coming into the event, and he did his home crowd proud, making Rutkowski working for the victory until the final day, however, the Croat fell short by one place - eventually finishing second ahead of vice-world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils) - who completes the podium - after edging out Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone) by just 0.3 of a point.

The top ten is completed by Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7), Bruno Martini (I-99 / Challenger Sails), Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils), Ennio dal Pont (JP / NeilPryde), Lohan Jules (FMX Racing / S2Maui) and Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails).

Result Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Slalom

1st Sara Wennekes (NED)
2nd Tuesday-Lou Judd (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails)
3rd Palma Cargo (CRO)

Result Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Foil

1st Sara Wennekes (NED)
2nd Palma Cargo (CRO)
3rd Helle Oppedal (NOR | Fanatic / Duotone)

Result Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Men’s Slalom

1st Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
2nd Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
5th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
6th Bruno Martini (ITA | I-99 / Challenger Sails)
7th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
8th Ennio dal Pont (NED | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Lohan Jules (FRA)
10th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)

Women’s

Foil

Sara Wennekes still holds the lead in the Women’s Foil heading into the final day, but the 25-year-old has seen her lead cut to just 2.3 points after Palma Cargo enjoyed a great day, which saw her claim 4 victories from the 6 eliminations completed today, whilst she was able to finish second in the other two eliminations, which allows her to discard two, 3rd places from the start of the event. With Cargo hitting top form, just at the right time, there should be a thrilling finale to the Women’s Foiling.

Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone) saw her hopes of challenging for the title fade on Day 5 as she seemed to struggle slightly in the lighter airs. The young Norwegian does remain on course for a place on the podium though as she still holds a 9 point advantage over Adela Raskova in 4th. 

With no Women’s Slalom eliminations being completed of Day 5 the top 3 of Wennekes, Tuesday-Lou Judd (Patrik / Phantom Sails) and Palma Cargo remain.

Men’s 

Slalom

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) moved a step closer to defending his event title from 2020 after another solid day on the water, which saw the Pole open the day with a 3rd place on the foil before going two places better in Elimination 9 to secure his 5th bullet of the week, which sees the 29-year-old open up a 5.9 point advantage over Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), who is likely to be the only remaining threat as third placed - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) - is further 5.3 points back.

Places 4th-6th also remain unchanged with Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone) continuing to occupy 4th ahead of Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7) and Bruno Martini (I-99 / Challenger Sails).

Elsewhere, Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils), moves into the top 10 - 7th - for the first time this week after enjoying his best day of the event so far, which saw the Foil Vice-World Champion win Elimination 8 and then back it up with a solid 3rd. 

The top 10 is currently completed by young Frenchman - Lohan Jules - Italy’s Ennio dal Pont (JP / NeilPryde) and France’s Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails).

With a light wind forecast to come for the final day, it’s likely that the remaining action will be completed on the foils. 

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Slalom
*After 12 Eliminations

1st Sara Wennekes (NED)
2nd Tuesday-Lou Judd (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails)
3rd Palma Cargo (CRO)

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Foil
*After 9 Eliminations

1st Sara Wennekes (NED)
2nd Palma Cargo (CRO)
3rd Helle Oppedal (NOR | Fanatic / Duotone)

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Men’s Slalom
*After 9 Eliminations

1st Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
2nd Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
5th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
6th Bruno Martini (ITA | I-99 / Challenger Sails)
7th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
8th Lohan Jules (FRA) 
9th Ennio dal Pont (NED | JP / NeilPryde)
10th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)

Women’s

Slalom

At the end of Day 2, Tuesday-Lou Judd (Patrik / Phantom Sails), had seized control of the lead ahead of Sara Wennekes, however, after the completion of Day 4 the Dutch girl has moved into a commanding 6.9 point lead over Judd after recording 4 bullets and two second places in the 6 eliminations completed on day four.

Elsewhere, Palma Cargo, leapfrogs Fabiënne Hoogendam (S2Maui) into third place after the Croatian was able to win two of the finals on day 4. However, Hoogendam remains in contention for the podium as she only trails by 3.6 points. 

Foil

Sara Wennekes has been untouchable on the foil thus far with the 25-year-old winning all 3 eliminations completed, which means she currently holds a perfect score of 2.1 points. Wennekes’ biggest danger remains Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone), who finished second in Israel, and has finished behind Wennekes in each elimination here, however, if the 19-year-old wants to win here she’ll need to find a way to quickly get past her Dutch opponent. 

Palma Cargo is a further 3 points behind after three consecutive third place finishes. 

Men’s

Slalom

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) continues to lead the Men’s Slalom at the end of Day 4, however, the Pole has seen his lead reduced from 5.9 points to just 2.6 points after Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) enjoyed his best day of the event so far, which saw the Croatia record one bullet and two second places. Rutkowski had started the day by winning 4th elimination in a row, but the 29-year-old was one of 4 sailors to go over early in the final of Elimination 7 to finish 8th alongside Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), Bruno Martini (I-99 / Challenger Sails) & Rytis Jasiunas (Future Fly / Point-7).

After finishing 5th in the opening elimination of the day - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) - bounced back by winning his first elimination of the week in Elimination 6, which he then backed up with a solid second place to move into 3rd place at the close of play at the expense of Vonk and Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7), who fall to 4th and 5th respectively. 

The top ten is currently completed by Martini, Lohan Jules, Ennio dal Point (JP / NeilPryde), Antoine Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) and Rytis Jasiunas (Future Fly / Point-7).

With two more days of racing to go there is still all to play for - especially with a windy looking forecast to come. The sailors will meet again at 12pm (CEST) on Tuesday with the racing commencing from 1pp onwards. 

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Slalom
*After 12 Eliminations

1st Sara Wennekes (NED)
2nd Tuesday-Lou Judd (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails)
3rd Palma Cargo (CRO)

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Foil
*After 3 Eliminations

1st Sara Wennekes (NED)
2nd Helle Oppedal (NOR | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Palma Cargo (CRO)

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Men’s Slalom
*After 7 Eliminations

1st Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
2nd Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
5th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
6th Bruno Martini (ITA | I-99 / Challenger Sails)
7th Lohan Jules (FRA)
8th Ennio dal Pont (NED | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Antoine Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
10th Rytis Jasiunas (LTU | Future Fly / Point-7)

Women’s

Slalom

Tuesday-Lou Judd (Patrik / Phantom Sails) assumes the lead in the Women’s Slalom after being able to successfully discard her 9th place from Elimination 3. The 21-year-old enjoyed an excellent second day - winning Elimination 4 and then backing it up with two solid second places, which takes her into a 2.3 point lead over Sara Wennekes, who continues to sail extremely consistently. The 25-year-old is the only sailor in the fleet not to have finished outside of the top 3. Meanwhile, Fabiënne Hoogendam (Patrik / Patrik Sails) is 3 points further back after winning the last elimination of the day.

Foil

The opening Women’s Foil Elimination was also completed on Day 2, which saw Wennekes take the first bullet of the event ahead of the hotly fancied - Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone) - who finished second last week in Israel. The top 3 is currently completed by Palma Cargo.

Men’s

Slalom

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) storms into the lead by the end of the second day after the Pole produced his best performance to date on the world tour. The 29-year-old reeled off two consecutive bullets today to complete a brilliant hat-trick of elimination victories, which sees the Pole hold a perfect record of 2.1 points after 4 races. 

Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7) is Rutkowski’s closest rival - trailing by 5.9 points - after a third and an 8th today, whilst Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) finishes the day on the same points as Jacquin - 8 - however, Vonk trails on countback having finished 10th in Elimination 3. 

Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) slips one place to fourth after a 4th and an 8th today, whilst vice-world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) - gains a couple of places which seems the Italian rise into 5th place after recording two solid second places. 

The top 10 is currently completed by Ennio dal Pont (JP / NeilPryde), Lohan Jules, Bruno Martini (I-99 / Challenger Sails), Rytis Jasiunas (Future Fly / Point-7) and Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails).

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Slalom
*After 6 eliminations

1st Tuesday-Lou Judd (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails) 
2nd Sara Wennekes (NED)
3rd Fabiënne Hoogendam (NED | S2Maui)

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Slalom
*After 1 elimination

1st Sara Wennekes (NED)
2nd Helle Oppedal (DEN | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Palma Cargo (CRO)

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Men’s Slalom
*After 4 eliminations

1st Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
2nd Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
3rd Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) 
4th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) 
6th Ennio dal Pont (NED | JP / NeilPryde) 
7th Lohan Jules (FRA)
8th Bruno Martini (ITA | I-99 / Challenger Sails)
9th Rytis Jasiunas (LTU | Future Fly / Point-7) 
10th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)
 

Women’s

Slalom

Sara Wennekes may have only made her debut on the PWA World Tour last week at the Tiberias PWA World Cup, but the 25-year-old is adapting to life on tour extremely quickly as she currently leads in beautiful Bol after recording a bullet, a second and a third in the opening three eliminations. 

However, Tuesday-Lou Judd (Patrik / Phantom Sails), could seriously reduce Wennekes’ if the 21-year-old is able to discard her 9th place from Elimination 3 as she was also able to win one race and finish 3rd in the other. After a consistent day of sailing - Fabiënne Hoogendam (S2Maui) - currently occupies second place. 

Men’s 

Slalom

In the Men’s, Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) and Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7) are currently tied for the lead after the opening two eliminations where they both finished second and third respectively. However, home favourite, Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), is poised to strike. The Croat won the opening elimination before finishing 5th in Elimination 2 to finish the opening day less than a point off of the lead.

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) is also well placed to attack the top after the Pole built upon on a solid 6th place in the opener by rattling off his first bullet of the event in the second as he looks to defend his title from last year. 

The top 10 is currently completed by Ennio dal Pont (JP / NeilPryde, Rytis Jasiunas (Future Fly / Point-7), Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil), Bruno Martini (I-99 / Challenger Sails), Ben Van der Steen (Goya Windsurfing / Loftsails) and Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails).

With an excellent forecast to come there should be more racing to come on Saturday. The sailors will meet again at 12pm (CEST) for the skippers’ meeting with the action commencing from 1pm onwards.

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Women’s Slalom
*After 3 eliminations

1st Sara Wennekes (NED)
2nd Fabiënne Hoogendam (NED | S2Maui)
3rd Tuesday-Lou Judd (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails)

Current Ranking Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup Croatia - Men’s Slalom
*After 2 eliminations

1st Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
2nd Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
3rd Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
5th Ennio dal Pont (NED | JP / NeilPryde)
6th Rytis Jasiunas (LTU | Future Fly / Point-7)
7th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
8th Bruno Martini (ITA | I-99 / Challenger Sails)
9th Ben Van der Steen (NED | Goya Windsurfing / Loftsails)
10th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)

Women’s 

Foil

Having finished second last week in Israel, Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone), will start the event here as the favourite, whilst it’s likely that Sara Wennekes, who claimed 5th, will also be pushing for the podium positions. 

Slalom

Meanwhile, the Slalom should be fiercely competitive and on paper, you would also have to think that Oppedal, Wennekes and Tuesday-Lou Judd (Patrik / Phantom Sails) would be the main candidates for the event title. 21-year-old Judd recorded a couple of top 3 places during the 7 Eliminations completed in Israel and with a little more consistency could be a real threat.

Men’s

Slalom

The Men’s fleet is littered with some of the biggest stars currently on the Slalom scene with 4 of 2019s top 10 registering and 10 of the overall top 20 on the list, which should guarantee some epic racing. Vice-World Champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) - will start the event as the favourite, but it certainly won’t be an easy job with Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails), who just missed out on the podium in Israel, looking to defend his event title from last year. 

Meanwhile, the likes of Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) and Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), who will be the local favourite, will be serious threats, as will Antoine Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui), Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7), Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails), Bruno Martini (I-99 / Challenger Sails), Malte Reuscher (Tabou / GA Sails) & Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails).

Other names who can easily push for the top 10 and beyond include 2018 Youth Slalom PWA World Champion - Damien Arnoux (Goya Windsurfing / Loftsails), Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils), veteran Ben van der Steen (Goya Windsurfing / Loftsails), Rytis Jasiunas (Future Fly / Point-7), who earned his best result in a single elimination in Israel - 4th, whilst Luka Mratovic (Fanatic / Duotone) will provide another local hope.

Whilst there won’t be a live stream available in Bol, we do intend to bring you as much coverage as possible via our Instagram Stories, so if you don’t already, please be sure to follow @pwaworldtour to stay up to date with the event. 

Antoine Albert: "I spent 3 weeks in Tarifa in June 2021 with my girlfriend, hanging around with the van, to train freestyle in strong wind, here is a little recap video of some sessions I've had down there, in between sight seeing and ranch working.

Two more videos are coming in the next following weeks, one from France and one from Portugal, so stay tuned on my Youtube channel!!"

You can see Antoine Albert in Tarifa @ youtu.be/FObSXbfe0nM

Women’s

Slalom

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) made a winning return to the Slalom PWA World Tour with a commanding victory in Israel. The Aruban finished the week with a perfect counting score of 3.5 points, but it wasn’t as straight forward as the figures would make out. After a strong start - which saw the 29-year-old win both of the opening races - Offringa then suffered a mid event dip, which saw her lose the event lead after recording a 6th and a last place. However, the 4-time Slalom World Champion fought back on the final day by reeling off an impressive hat-trick of bullets.

Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone) sailed consistently all week - finishing outside of the top 3 twice in 7 eliminations. However, after jumping the gun in the last elimination that effectively ended any hope she had of pipping Offringa to the event title.

Reigning World Champion - Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) - starts the year with a third place. The 30-year-old sailed amazingly consistent all week - finishing outside of the top 3 once, but she couldn’t quite find the right formula to unlock those crucial bullets to bring herself into contention for the title this time around.

Sarah Jackson (Fanatic / Duotone) begins the year with her best result to date on the world tour - 4th. The Brit enjoyed an excellent week - claiming her first bullet in Elimination 3 - and she will be able to take away plenty of positives from Israel, whilst showing she has the potential to challenge the best women in the world for the podium.

Sara Wennekes completes the top 5 just ahead of Tuesday-Lou Judd (Patrik / Phantom Sails), who walks away with 6th place in her first event back since breaking her foot in Denmark in September 2019.

Foil

In the Foiling, Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), walks away with the top prize after an extremely strong showing, which saw her finish the event with counting results of a first and two, thirds. The 29-year-old showed excellent pace over the last 5 days and was always in contention. Having won her first event on the world tour in New Caledonia, 2019, Mortefon will be delighted with her start to the season as she wins her first Foil event.

Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone) looked set to give Mortefon a serious challenge for the title heading into the final day after the young Norwegian put herself firmly in contention by winning Eliminations 2 and 3. However, it wasn’t to be this time around with the 19-year-old failing to qualify for the Winners’ Final of Elimination 4 - which effectively handed the title to Mortefon. You can be sure to hear a lot more of her name though and she still finishes the week with her best result to date on the world tour with a superb second place. 

Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) sailed consistently all week, which earns her a place on the podium for the first time. 

Elsewhere, Sarah-Quita Offringa finishes 4th in her first Foil event on the world tour. The Aruban’s result were a bit up and down in the Foil, but she signed off the week in style by winning her first Foil elimination as she denied Alice Read (Fanatic / Duotone) her first victory on the line in a thrilling finish. 

Men’s 

Slalom

All eyes were on the Men’s Slalom with this being the first event in which fin and foil were combined into one discipline. Prior the event it there has been plenty of debate about Fin versus Foil, but I’m not sure anyone was expecting to see what we witnessed over the last 5 days as Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) destroyed the fleet on his Foil - even in winds gusting over 25 knots. The 2019 Foil PWA World Champion was in a league of his own as he won the opening 5 Eliminations to secure the event title with a day to spare. Now everyone else will be going away from Israel and trying to work out how they can decrease the deficit to Goyard. This will go down as a historic victory with Goyard winning on the Foil against the Fins for the first time, the question now is can the Foil continue to hold its own or can the Fin fight back?

Reigning Slalom PWA World Champion - Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL) - almost went under the radar in the first half of the event. The Frenchman only failed to qualify for one Winners’ Final, but without ever really threatening to attack for a bullet. However, with Goyard disqualified in the semifinals of Elimination 6, Mortefon seized his opportunity to strike on the fin and claim his first bullet of the season, which he then followed up on the final day by securing another victory - this time on the foil - which earned the 31-year-old a solid second place on which to build upon.

Apart from Goyard, William Huppert (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), was the only other sailor to sail the entire event on a foil, which paid off handsomely for the Frenchman as the 26-year-old earns best result, and first podium, on the world tour to cap a brilliant week in which he never finished outside the top 16. 

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) produced the most consistent sailing of his life over the last 5 days, and the Pole can boast the record of being the only sailor to qualify for every Winners’ Final. However, that wasn’t quite good enough to earn the 29-year-old a place on the podium as he just misses out by 2 points. It will probably feel like a slightly missed opportunity for Rutkowski right now, but there are plenty of positives to take away from Israel and 4th place still represents an excellent start to the season. 

Like Rutkowski, Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), may feel that he missed an opportunity for the podium here in Israel. The Croat only failed to qualify for the Winners’ Final twice, and on the two occasions he did the Croat won the b-final to finish 9th. However, whilst there are plenty of positives to take away, Marotti will need to assess why he made a couple of totally unforced errors, which ultimately cost him a shot at the podium. 

One name that you probably didn’t hear about as much as you are used to is 25-time World Champion - Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) - who was given a DND (Discard Non Deductible) in Elimination 2 - which meant he was carrying a last place. However, the was rescinded on the morning of the final day and after finishing with his best result of the event in Elimination 7 - a superb second place - the big Frenchman jumped from 13th to 5th.

Vice-World Champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) - starts the event with a slightly disappointing - by his standards - 7th place. The Italian was prominently placed in second place on Day 3, but then the wheels slowly fell off through some errors and some incidents totally out of his hands, such as hitting a piece of bamboo in Elimination 5, which resulted in a quarterfinal exit. Iachino showed more than enough at this event and will be back on the podium before too long. 

Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7) is the youngest sailor to earn a place in the top 10 with the 22-year-old earning an excellent 8th place, which is the young Frenchman’s third top 10 finish at an event. Jacquin looks to improved again over the last 18 months and looks set for a very bright racing future. 

The top 10 is completed by Foil Vice-World Champion - Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) and Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), who just pips Nico Prien (Starboard / NeilPryde) to the final place on the prestigious podium.

That concludes our coverage of the 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - we hope you’ve enjoyed being able to indulge in watching windsurfing of the highest quality once again after such a long, enforced break. A huge thanks to all of the organisers, who managed to make the event happen despite the trying times of COVID still existing. We hope to see you again next year.

Where’s Next on the PWA World Tour?

The next event is just around the corner with the Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup (1 Star) taking place between 2nd-7th July. However, the next 5 star event is currently planned for September with the Ulsan PWA World Cup scheduled to take place between 3rd-8th September - COVID depending. 

Result 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
4th Sarah Jackson (GBR | Fanatic / Duotone)
5th Sara Wennekes

Result 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Foil

1st Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
2nd Helle Oppedal (NOR | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
4th Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
5th Sara Wennekes (NED)

Result 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom Boards / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL)
3rd William Huppert (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
5th Antoine Albeau (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
6th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
8th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
9th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils)
10th Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)

Women’s

Foil

Heading into the final day, Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) and Helle Oppedal (NOR | Fanatic / Duotone), were the only two women left in contentions for the Women’s Foil event title, bun the end though it reached an anti-climatic end as Oppedal, for the first time this week, failed to qualify for the Winners’ Final, meaning that Mortefon would be crowned champion, no matter what happened in Elimination 4, with the discard coming into play. 

Mortefon has been incredibly consistent all week - not finishing outside the top 3 (1 victory and two, thirds) - until today when she still finished 4th, so she thoroughly deserves to earn her first Foil victory. 

Oppedal, may be disappointed for now, having not being able to capitalise on a golden opportunity to seal her first event win at just 19-years-old, but you can be sure that she will have plenty more chances in the future. Coming into the final day, Oppedal had won the last two races and a top two result in Elimination 4 would’ve guaranteed her the event title - however it wasn’t to be on this occasion. The young Norwegian was in the qualifying positions for much of the semifinals, but couldn’t quite hold on - just missing out in 5th. This week still represents an amazing result for her and there is now a new face firmly on the scene as she walks away with a superb second place.

Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil), also missed out on a place in the last Winners’ Final of the week, but she held on to the final place on the podium, to claim her first event top 3 on the world tour. 

Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) signed off the foil contest by claiming her first bullet in the discipline, but only after an heroic effort to deny Alice Read (Fanatic / Duotone) her maiden victory on the tour. Offringa was miles back, but slowly reeled in Read, resulting in a photo finish, but the Aruban just got the nod to rise from 9th to 4th on the final day.

Read, who has been struggling with an ear infection all week, also finished with aplomb as the young Brit backed up her solid second yesterday with another today, but she must be bitterly disappointed to just miss out on her first elimination victory, which looked to be well and truly hers with two gybes to go. Read finishes the event in 6th, just behind Sara Wennekes

Slalom

Just as in the Foil, the Women’s Slalom also proved somewhat of an anticlimax with second and third-placed - Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone) & Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) both jumping the gun in Elimination 7 to all but gift Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) the victory. However, even with the event victory in the bag, Offringa showed the heart of a lion to come from miles back, once again, to deny another girl their maiden bullet on the world tour. This time it was Tuesday-Lou Judd (Phantom / Phantom Sails), who would succumb to Offringa in the dying metres. However, once you look at the result across the board, it starts to make more sense why Offringa pushed so hard, for a seemingly pointless victory, given she had already won the event. The 29-year-old is never one to be outdone and by winning the 7th elimination, she too walks away from the event boasting a perfect counting score of 3.5 points - matching a certain Nicolas Goyard’s (Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) record this week.

With Mortefon and Cousin Questel both going over the line early the top 3 remained unchanged from the start of the day with Mortefon claiming second and reigning world champion - Cousin Questel - 3rd.

Elsewhere, Sarah Jackson (Fanatic / Duotone) and Sara Wennekes both earn their best results to date - finishing 4th and 5th respectively. 

Men’s 

Slalom

With the event victory already secured for - Nicolas Goyard - enjoyed a stress free, victory lap, final day. The 25-year-old has been a cut above all week and deservedly walks away with the event victory and with it the world title lead.

The final day was all about the fight for the podium positions with the 2nd-6th place sailors still fighting for the prestigious top 3. However, that fizzled out too with Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) and William Huppert (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) both locking in their second and third places from the overnight rankings.

Mortefon had been extremely consistent in the opening three days without ever really catching the eye. However, the reigning Slalom World Champion finished the event extremely strongly. Having won Elimination 6 on the fin, the 31-year-old capped off a great performance by claiming a dominant victory on the Foil in Elimination 7 to finish 6.6 points ahead of Huppert.

Huppert, had to survive a few nervy moments on the final day after dropping his opening gybe in the Winners’ Final of Elimination 7 when well placed, but thankfully for him, Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) was unable to win the elimination, so the 26-year-olds 7th place proved more than good enough to earn him a thoroughly deserved first podium on the world tour. Huppert has sailed amazingly all week - only missing out on two Winners’ Finals - and never finishing outside of the top 16 and he can now enjoy all of his hard work training over the last 18 months. 

Maciek Rutkowski walks away with an excellent 4th place, but the Pole may feel a little bit disappointed with that as the only sailor to qualify for all 7 Winners’ Finals. Eventually, Rutkowski missed out on the podium by just 2 points, which he could’ve easily been made up for if not for being wiped out by a savage gust in Elimination 3 when just metres from the finish line and looking set for third place. And then on Day 4 the Pole was taken down at the first mark in the Winners’ Final of Elimination 6, when in second place. However, it still represents an excellent start to the season with the best consistency he has ever showed.. 

The biggest mover of the day is - Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) - who rises from 13th to 5th after the Frenchman’s DND (Disqualified Non Deductible) from Elimination 2 was rescinded by the Management Board on the grounds of COVID-19 meaning there are far less events, and the Frenchman offering to make a pubic apology. With the 25-time world champion being able to discard a 37 point last place, followed by finishing the event with a second-place, Albeau jumps into the top 5. 

Like Rutkowski, Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), must be thinking about what could’ve been, but for a couple of costly errors. The Croat was comfortably cruising for the Winners’ Final of Elimination 7, but unexplainably wiped out whilst just metres from the last mark, whilst holding a comfortable lead. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the first time that has happened this week, and whilst he still finishes 6th, it may feel like a missed opportunity. 

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) started the day in 6th, but completes the event in 7th place. The Italian gambled in the semifinals of Elimination 7 by taking a fin, which paid off on the opening reach as he broke into the lead, however, after being caught in a wind hold the vice-world champion was then overtaken by the rest of the fleet on Foils to end his podium chances.

Multiple-time Youth World Champion - Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point) - has been in the overall top 10 for the entire week, and despite a quarterfinal exit today, the 22-year-old deservedly walks away with the third top 10 performance of his career - 8th - which is a personal best so far. 

The top ten is completed by Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) - 9th - and Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOil), who pips Nico Prien (Starboard / NeilPryde) to the final place in the top 10 by just 1 point. 

Result 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
4th Sarah Jackson (GBR | Fanatic / Duotone)
5th Sara Wennekes

Result 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Foil

1st Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
2nd Helle Oppedal (NOR | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
4th Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
5th Sara Wennekes (NED)

Result 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom Boards / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL)
3rd William Huppert (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
5th Antoine Albeau (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
6th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
8th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
9th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils)
10th Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)

Women’s

Slalom

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) bounced back from a disappointing start to the day, which saw the Aruban disqualified for a premature start in the Winners’ Final of Elimination 4, to regain the event lead heading into the final day. Offringa could’ve been forgiven for letting her head drop after the disappointment of Elimination 4, but as a Lady who already has 17-world titles to her name that was never going to happen. In true champion fashion, the 29-year-old immediately hit back with two quick-fire bullets in Elimination 5 and 6 to head into the final day with a slender 1.9 point advantage over Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone), whilst Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) is just 0.3 of a point further back. Offringa has now won 4 of the 6 races completed and could take a giant step towards the event title when the second discard comes into play in Elimination 7 (looking to discard an 11th and 6th).

Marion Mortefon took full advantage of Offringa’s premature start in Elimination by claiming her first bullet of the season, which at that point saw the vice-world champion open up a 2.3 point lead at the top of the rankings. However, she was powerless to stop Offringa from reclaiming the top spot after a disappointing 6th, which she discards, and a solid third. The 29-year-old still enters the final day of the event firmly in contention, but she will need everything to fall perfectly into place to win.

Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) is just 0.3 of a point further back, so also enters the final day with a slim shot at the title, however, in order to do so, she will need to start scoring some bullets. The reigning world champion has shown amazing consistency and remains the only sailor to have not finished outside of the top 3, but with no victories thus far, it will be a big ask for her to pip Offringa and Mortefon to the title. Stranger things have happened though, so you never know. 

Sarah Jackson (Fanatic / Duotone) couldn’t quite rekindle the magic of yesterday as she went over the line early with Offringa in Elimination 4, but the Brit bounced back with a solid 3rd and a 5th to cement her place in 4th, whilst having an outside shot at the podium.

Elsewhere, Sara Wennekes, enjoyed a decent day, which sees the 25-year-old climb two spots to 5th at the expense of Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails).

Foil

Having claimed her first bullet on the world tour on Day 3 - Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone) - struck again in Elimination 3 to secure back-to-back bullets with another confident display, which sees the 19-year-old move into second place with a day to go. As things stand, Oppedal trails Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) by just 0.7 of a point, so there is still all to play for heading into the final day - especially with the discard to come after the completion of Elimination 4. 

Thus far Mortefon has recorded a first and two, thirds, but she will be aware of the fact that she really needs to secure a first or second in the opening race tomorrow, as another 3rd or worse would leave Oppedal needing ‘just’ a 5th or better to move into the lead as she currently holds two bullets (0.7, 0.7) and a 6th.

Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) remains in 3rd place, but will still need to sail well on the final day to keep Linoy Geva at bay.

Elsewhere, Alice Read (Fanatic / Duotone), deserves a special mention after recording her best result on the world tour to date, after recording a super second place. The Brit was leading Elimination 3 for a while, but couldn’t hold off the challenge of Oppedal.

Men’s

Slalom

All the talk thus far has been about one man… Nicolas Goyard (Phantom Boards / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils), and rightly so. The 2019 Foil PWA World Champion has been in a league of his own, so much so that the 25-year-old has earned a tremendous event victory with a day to spare, such has been his level of dominance here. With just the one Men’s Slalom scheduled for tomorrow, that means that Goyard is guaranteed to finish the event with a perfect score of 3.5 points from 5 counting races, which is quite incredible. The Frenchman will have a small blemish on his scorecard after going over early in the semifinals of Elimination 6, but he may have already done the maths, and at that point, many of the men were on 6.6s and fins, whilst he was trying to hang on to a 6.0 and foil, which still shows that the fin still has it’s importance once the wind starts getting to 30 knots and above. It has been an absolute masterclass by Goyard and one that you just have to admire, whether you are a pure slalom traditionalist or not. Goyard ends the day a massive 17.2 points ahead of his closest rival.

Up until today, Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL) had been steadily going about his business without really ever standing out, which is a strange thing to say about a reigning world champion. However, with the wind beginning to crank, the 31-year-old seized his moment to strike by winning the last elimination of the day, and with it, he leapfrogs fellow countryman - William Huppert (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) - into second place with a day to go. 

Huppert will be bitterly disappointed as the 26-year-old could’ve almost had second place wrapped up heading into the final day. The Frenchman had just overtaken - Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) - in the Winners’ Final of Elimination 5 and looked like securing another second place, but disaster then struck as a savage gust wiped him flat meaning he went from second to 7th. Huppert then failed to qualify for the Winners’ Final for just the second time this week as the wind began to howl and the fins started to regain the upper hand. However, to take away the positives, if you had told Huppert at the start of the week he would be competing for a place on the podium I’m sure he’d have bitten your hand off, so there’s still all to play for on Friday.

Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) is another sailor who could’ve been firmly in the top 3 at this point - and he is still just one point outside - but the Croat has made a couple of costly errors when in the qualifying places for the Winners’ Final. In Elimination 5 today, Marotti looked as though he was cruising into the top 8 before being flattened by another huge gust. The 30-year-old bounced back brilliantly to sign off the day with his best result of the week - second - and has a great shot at the podium tomorrow. 

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) has shown incredible consistency this week and the Pole is the only man who can still boast a 100% qualifying record for the Winners’ Final, however, the 29-year-old must be wondering what could’ve been if a couple of other little pieces of luck had have gone his way. In the Elimination 6 Winners’ Final, he was challenging Mortefon all the way to the first mark, but was then taken down by Antoine Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) after going for a tight gybe to challenge Mortefon, which meant he ultimately finished 7th. He too will enter the final day as a podium contender, as like Marotti, he currently stands on 28 points, just 1 point behind Huppert and 7.3 behind Mortefon. 

Matteo Iachino’s (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) day started brilliantly with the vice-world champion recording his best result of the event - second - in Elimination 4. However, things then went downhill, firstly after hitting a piece of bamboo after an excellent start in Heat 3 of Elimination 5 - resulting in a quarterfinal exit - and then being caught up in the carnage at the first mark of the Winners’ Final in Elimination 6, which all but ended his chances in that one. That results in Iachino dropping from 2nd at the start of the day to 6th, however, he too remains in contention for the podium on 29 points - setting up what should be a thrilling final day. 

The top 10 is currently completed by Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7), who signed off the day with his best result of the event - 3rd - Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils), who drops one place to 8th, Antoine Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) - 9th - who rises into the top 10 off of the back of three consecutive top 10 places today, and Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), who also breaks into the top 10 after gaining 4 places today. The World No.4 from 2018 and ‘19 qualified for his first two Winners’ Finals of the week today - taking home an excellent 3rd in Elimination 5 on the fin, whilst being a little unlucky that the wind dropped at the final mark as he had been second the whole way round. 

Elsewhere, there were a couple of standout performances as two sailors achieved their best individual results to date on the world tour. Firstly, Nico Prien (Starboard / NeilPryde) claimed a brilliant second place in Elimination 5, whilst Rytis Jasiunas (Future Fly / Point-7), not only qualified for his first Winners’ Final in Elimination 6 but went on to secure 4th, just missing out on third to Jacquin. 

The final day of the Tiberias PWA World Cup is geared up for an enthralling finish with plenty still on the line across all disciplines and you’ll be able to watch it all unravel live via the live stream. The sailors will meet again at 1pm for the skippers’ meeting with the action commencing from 2pm (GMT+3) onwards. 

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Israel — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After 6 Eliminations 

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
4th Sarah Jackson (GBR | Fanatic / Duotone)
5th Sara Wennekes

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Foil
*After 3 Eliminations 

1st Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
2nd Helle Oppedal (NOR | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
4th Linoy Geva (ISR)
5th Sara Wennekes (NED)

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom
*After 6 Eliminations

1st Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom Boards / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL)
3rd William Huppert (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
4th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
6th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
7th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
8th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils)
9th Antoine Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
10th Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)

The forecast had predicted similar conditions to yesterday, but that wasn’t the case with the wind machine turning up an extra notch to make for some thrilling racing with winds gusting well over 25 knots. 

Women’s

Slalom

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) started the day with a perfect record, but an uncharacteristic mistake at the first buoy in Elimination 3 sees the Aruban lose the event lead, for now at least, to Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone). Offringa is usually almost faultless, but after ending up in the drink at the first she could only manage a 6th place - meaning Mortefon moves into a slender 0.4 point lead after the vice-world champion finished 3rd. However, after the next elimination, the discard comes into play and you would expect Offringa to discard that 6th place and more than likely regain the lead.

Like Mortefon, Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) is yet to finish outside of the top 3 in the opening 3 eliminations after another 3rd place today, which keeps her in 3rd place for now.

We say for now, because Sarah Jackson (Fanatic / Duotone) closes to within 2.7 points of the reigning world champion after the Brit claimed a brilliant first bullet on the world tour. The 23-year-old has spent the last year training at home in Hayling Island, with former world tour legend Nik Baker acting as a mentor, and it is clearly paying dividends. Jackson started the event with her best result to date at that point - 4th - but went a few places better today and it didn’t look like a fluke. Jackson pinged the start and then showed more than enough straight-line speed to hold off a stern challenge from Cousin Questel entering the first, once safely round she looked determined to not let the opportunity slip through her grasp. After an understandably slightly stiff gybe at the last, Jackson, was then made to sweat it out as the wind dropped on the final reach meaning she had to pump for the line. Fist clenches and a few tears soon followed as the Brit claimed an emotional first win, which puts her in real contention for a shot at the podium come the end of the event.

Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) remains in 5th place but now has Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne / Sails) and Sara Wennekes breathing down her neck. 

Foil

Two years ago - Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone) - finished 5th overall on the Foil PWA World Tour at just 17-years-old. Fast forward to today and the 19-year-old is celebrating her first bullet on the world tour after a quite brilliant performance in the second elimination, in which she showed tremendous straight-line speed and smooth gybes to power to a memorable first win, which won’t be her last if today's performance is anything to go by. The young Norwegian started the day in 6th, but rises into 3rd at the end of play. 

Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) continues to lead the event after following up her win yesterday with a solid third place today. The 29-year-old currently holds a 2.3 point advantage over Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils) in second, whilst Oppedal is just 0.7 of a point further back, so there is still all to play for with two days to go.

Local girl - Linoy Geva - falls one place to 4th after a 6th Elimination 2, whilst Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Starboard Foil), who missed out on the opening Winners’ Final, climbs 4 places to 5th after finishing second behind Oppedal. 

The third elimination did begin, but after the completion of the semifinals, the decision was made to abandon the Foiling with massive gusts making the conditions too dangerous. You have to take your hats off though as most of the men were already switching to fins by that point.

Men’s

Slalom

Nicolas Goyard (Phantom Boards / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) continues to steal the show in Israel as the 25-year-old maintains his perfect record at the end of Day 3. Not only has the Frenchman won all 4 eliminations completed so far, but he has also won every heat he has sailed, such has been his dominance. However, today the reigning Foil world champion was given his sternest test yet, particularly by Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil), who threw everything he had at Goyard in the quarters, semis and final of Elimination 4, in what proved to be a real grudge match between fin and foil. With neither man willing to give in, even in the qualifying rounds, it proved for thrilling viewing with the lead often changing hands. Ultimately, however, the transition speed of Goyard proved to be the difference as the efficiency of the foil again showed its hand.  However, on another day with the right gust, or perhaps if it could get even windier, then we could see the fins back on top as Iachino chased Goyard all the way to the line in the last elimination of the day.

Goyard, who is now guaranteed to lead the event no matter what happens after the completion of the next race, due to the discard, currently holds a 5.9 point advantage at the top of the rankings. However, he has a new closest challenger in William Huppert (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), who continues to excel on the foil. The Frenchman recorded his best ever result on day two with a superb second place, and he picked up where he left off today by securing another quite brilliant second, which he then followed up with a solid 4th. With the discard coming into play Huppert drops a 12th from the first day to climb another 5 places into second, and the 26-year-old looks set to lay down a real challenge for his first event podium as he currently holds a 6 point cushion over Iachino in 3rd. 

Iachino began the day in 5th, but the Italian would miss out on his second Winners’ Final in 3 races for a less than ideal start. However, just like on the opening day, Iachino would pull it out of the bag to limit the damage by claiming 9th, whilst he sailed tremendously in Elimination 4, only narrowly missing out on his first bullet of the season as he took the fight to Goyard. That sees the vice-world champion rise into 3rd place and he looks ready to really attack in the last two days.

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL) slips one place to fourth, but he may count himself a little unfortunate after breaking his mast just before his semifinal heat in Elimination 4. Up to this point the reigning Slalom world champion had qualified for every Winners’ Final thus far, but with not much time to change equipment, Mortefon had to switch to his Foil setup - having been on his fin in the prior heats - and he just missed out on the final after finishing 5th.

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) will be left ruing a costly error in the dying stages of Elimination 3. The Pole was in a comfortable 3rd place in the Winner’s Final, but just metres from the finish line he wiped out, which saw him eventually finish 7th. If the 29-year-old could’ve held on he would now find himself in 3rd place, but instead drops from second at the start of the day to 5th, after also being disqualified from the Winners’ Final of Elimination 4 for a premature start. However, Rutkowski remains firmly in the hunt for the podium, whilst apart from Goyard, he is the only sailor who can still boast a 100% Winners’ Final qualifying record.

Away from the top 5 - Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) - falls two positions to 6th, whilst Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point) regains a couple of places from the overnight rankings to end the day in 7th after registering his second 5th place of the week. Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) remains in 8th, whilst Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) slides from 7th to 9th.

Mover of the Day

Up until now, Mateus Isaac (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) had yet to make an impact with two disappointing quarterfinal exits in the first couple of days. However, today the Brazilian started to find his form - registering a 10th in Elimination 3, before signing off the day with an excellent 3rd, which propels the 27-year-old from 19th to 10th - making him the day's biggest mover. 

 Tomorrow is expected to be windy again and the sailors will meet at 1pm (GMT+3) for the skippers’ meeting with the action commencing from 2pm - conditions depending. 

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Israel — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After 3 Eliminations 

1st Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)
2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
4th Sarah Jackson (GBR | Fanatic / Duotone)
5th Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Foil
*After 2 Eliminations 

1st Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
2nd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
3rd Helle Oppedal (NOR | Fanatic / Duotone)
4th Linoy Geva (ISR)
5th Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Starboard Foil)

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom
*After 4 Eliminations

1st Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom Boards / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd William Huppert (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
4th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL)
5th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
6th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
8th Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils)
10th Mateus Isaac (BRA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)

Women’s

Slalom

Sarah-Quita Offringa continued her perfect start to the event as the Aruban claimed another decisive victory in the second elimination. The 4-time Slalom world champion did well to hold off a stern challenge from Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) on the first reach, but once safely round the opening buoy Offringa never looked back with Cousin Questel left in Offringa’s dirty wind on the exit of the first gybe. At the close of play, Offringa has opened up a 3.6 point lead.

Cousin Questel looked much quicker today, compared to yesterday, and her second place sees her leapfrog Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone) into the top two. However, the two women are currently tied on 5 points each with all still to play for. 

Elsewhere, Sarah Jackson (Fanatic / Duotone) remains in 4th place after a 6th today, but the Brit is now joined by Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) on 10 points. 

After jumping the gun in one of yesterday’s rerun finals, Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Sails) bounced back with a solid 4th to climb two places into 6th.

Foil

Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) just held on to claim the first bullet of the week in the foiling after a scintillating late challenge by Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils) down the final reach. In the end, though it wasn’t quite enough with Mortefon leading from start to finish and looking very comfortable on the foil. 

Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) had been prominently placed in second after the opening gybe, but upon rounding the next mark she dropped off of the foil to allow her rivals to go flying past her. That led to Cousin Questel having to settle for a disappointing 7th place to start the event. 

Linoy Geva - claimed an excellent 3rd place to give the locals plenty to cheer about, whilst Sara Wennekes secured 4th ahead of Daniela Peleg and Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone). 

Men’s

Slalom

Nicolas Goyard was in a world of his own again as the 25-year-old continues to lay down the gauntlet to the rest of the slalom fleet by winning every heat he sailed today. At no point did the reigning Foil world champion look under any sort of pressure as he again showed off excellent speed and flawless, fluid gybes to continually pull away from his rivals. It’s still early days in the event, but the nature of his opening two bullets makes it very hard to see him being caught. At the end of day two, Goyard has now raced into a 7.6 point lead, whilst still boasting a perfect record. 

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) is Goyard’s closest challenger after another solid 5th to back up a 4th from yesterday. The Pole looks incredibly consistent and is well in contention as he attempts to earn his second Slalom PWA podium.

Reigning Slalom world champion - Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL) - put in a battling display to climb into the top 3 - gaining 3 places - 6th to 3rd from the overnight rankings. The Frenchman found himself in some difficult spots today but dug deep to fight his way into the Winners’ Final where he finished 4th, and he is now just one point behind Rutkowski. 

Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) started the day in second place, but will be kicking himself for dropping his third gybe in the opening semifinal when holding a clear lead and looking set for a spot in the Winners’ Final. The Croat managed to put that disappointment behind him by securing 9th place in the second elimination, but it was a slight opportunity missed, which means he drops to 4th in the event rankings. 

Having missed out on the Winners’ Final yesterday after being disqualified for a premature start in the semifinals, Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil), bounced back today by securing 3rd place in Elimination 2. That result sees the vice-world champion gain 4 places as he rises to 5th in the event rankings and now just two points outside of the podium positions. 

William Huppert (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) is the joint biggest mover alongside - Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) - after the Frenchman earned his best result to date on the world tour by claiming a superb second place in Elimination 2. Huppert was the only other man to stay on the foil in yesterday’s windier conditions and he looks a real threat. The 26-year-old should be delighted with his start to the event and he finishes day two in 7th place - having started the day in 12th. 

Fellow Frenchman - Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) - qualified for the Winners’ Final again before finishing 6th, which sees the Foil vice-world champion gain one place from the overnight rankings into 6th. 

Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) and Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7) started the day 3rd and 5th respectively, but both lose some ground after missing out on the Winners’ Final today. Daldorf drops to 8th, whilst Jacquin currently occupies 9th. 

As previously mentioned, Sebastian Kördel, was the joint biggest mover of the day, which sees the German complete the current top 10 - having started the day in 15th. Kördel didn’t get any sleep before the opening day of the competition due to some complications with immigration, so should only get stronger from here. 

It’s rare that you see 25-time world champion - Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) - getting angry on the beach, but the Frenchman cut an animated figure this afternoon after his semifinal heat started without him. Things then went from bad to worse for Albeau as he was later disqualified from the entire elimination for interfering with Heat 7 as they attempted to round the first mark, which caused a resail of the second semifinal. Albeau was already upset that the first final yesterday was cancelled after finishing in second and this won’t make him feel any better as he drops from 8th to 22nd with a sour taste in his mouth. 

Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) remains 11th, whilst Ethan Westera (Tabou / GA Sails), gains a few places to 12th ahead of Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) and Nicolas Prien (JP / NeilPryde), who sit 13th and 14th respectively, but they will be disappointed to not be slightly higher as Prien looked set to finish 10th in Elimination 2 before dropping his final gybe, which in turn took out Vonk. Thankfully, both men survived unscathed from a potentially nasty incident. Antoine Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) and Rytis Jasiunas (Future Fly / Point-7) complete the top 16.

The third Elimination has already been whittled down to the top 16, so tomorrow should hopefully see at least two more races completed for the men. 
The forecast looks similar for tomorrow, so the skippers’ meeting has once again been called for 1pm on Wednesday with the action commencing from 2pm (GMT+3) onwards.

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Israel — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After Two Eliminations 

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
3rd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)
4th Sarah Jackson (GBR | Fanatic / Duotone)
5th Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Foil
*After One Elimination 

1st Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
2nd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
3rd Linoy Geva
4th Sara Wennekes
5th Daniela Peleg

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom
*After Two Eliminations

1st Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom Boards / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
3rd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL)
4th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
6th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) 
7th William Huppert (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
8th Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
10th Sebastian Kördel (GER | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)

Women’s

Slalom

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) returned to the Slalom scene with a bang as she claimed the first bullet on the Slalom PWA World Tour since 2019. The Aruban had earlier sailed to the wrong mark when in the lead, but that was due to a massive wind shift which resulted in the final being cancelled. After two restarts due to general recalls, Offringa would gain the upper hand again, but she didn’t have things all her own way as Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone) claimed the lead as they rounded the opening buoy. Mortefon, couldn’t keep Offringa behind her for long though, as the 4-time Slalom world champion immediately pointed deep on the exit of the gybe to soon overtake the vice-world champion with a blistering turn of speed. Over the remainder of the course, Offringa would gradually edge away as she made the perfect start to the event, whilst looking dangerously fast.

Vice-world champion, Mortefon, made a solid start to the event with a clear second place, but on the evidence of today, she’ll need to try and find even more pace to try and pin back Offringa.

Defending world champion - Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) - had to settle for third in the opening elimination after finding herself in a tussle with - Sarah Jackson (Fanatic / Duotone) - who starts the season with her best result in an individual race - 4th.

Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Sails) may feel a little disappointed with today’s outcome as she was in second place in the opening final, briefly taking the lead after Offringa sailed to the wrong buoy due to the wind shift, but the Norwegian was then disqualified for a premature start. However, there’s still plenty of time to get herself back in the game.

Men’s 

Slalom

Before the start of the event, there was obviously a great deal of hype in the fin vs foil debate - with this being the first event with the new format in which sailors have to make their own choice on whether to foil or use a fin. Most were probably expecting to see the foils used in the lighter winds, but even with gusts of over 25 knots the 2019 Foil Word Champion - Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) - decided to stay with the foil. The only other sailor to do so was - William Huppert (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), who finished in 12th place.

There had been plenty of speculation to watch out for Goyard, but I’m not sure that most people were quite expecting to see the level of performance that we saw from him today. Not only did he have to win the opening elimination twice, after the first attempt was cancelled due to a wind shift, which is already impressive enough on its own. But it was more the manner, and the margin that he won both of the finals by that was quite astonishing. 

At the beginning of the day, the majority of the fleet had opted to use foils to help cope with the gusty nature of the wind, however, once it picked up as the afternoon progressed most chose to return to their trusted fins, which were seemingly expected to be quicker, in a straight line at least, once the wind approached 20+ knots. This, however, was not the case with Goyard being able to not only match their top speeds on the straights, but then literally fly through the gybes to build unassailable leads. 

If today is anything to go by then the rest of the fleet will face an extremely hard task in trying to pin him back such was the margin of his victory in the opening elimination, which also happens to be the 25-year-olds first bullet in the Slalom. Goyard has spent the last 18 months working tirelessly to take high wind foiling to another level and the early indications would suggest that he has done just that and he could reap the rewards for the rest of the event and beyond. 

Goyard’s closest challenger in the rerun of the Winners’ Final was - Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) - who will be delighted with his start to the season as he picks up where he left off in New Caledonia - where the 30-year-old finished 4th. The Croat looked extremely quick all day and if it wasn’t for Goyard he would’ve been celebrating with a bullet.

Perhaps the surprise result of the day was to see Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) claim third place in the opening elimination here. The Dutchman has qualified for Winners’ Finals before, so he definitely has the talent to challenge for top honours, but having failed to finish in the overall top 16 of an event in 2019 he slipped quietly under the radar before the event. 

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) is another sailor whose name has been on a lot of people’s lips prior to the event. The Pole enjoyed his best season to date in 2019 - winning his first eliminations on tour, claiming his first event podium and breaking into the overall top 10 for the first time in his career - 7th - and he too, like Marotti, looks to be bang in form. Rutkowski may count himself a little unlucky as he was in a clear second place in the opening attempt to run the final, but the wind shift left him, and other sailors, struggling to make the finish line, which eventually saw the final cancelled. Upon the rerun, Rutkowski was still in contention for the top places and the 29-year-old starts the event with a solid 4th place upon which to build. 

As a multiple-time Youth Slalom World Champion - Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-) - has been on the radar for quite some time and the 22-year-old delivered right from the word go here as he produced an excellent display to claim 5th place ahead of the reigning world champion - Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins), Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) and Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde).

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) didn’t quite make the start to the event he would’ve wanted with the vice-world champion jumping the gun in the semifinals, together with Bruno Martini (I-99 / Challenger Sails), to miss out on a place in the Winners’ Final. That means that out of the ‘Big Top 3’, Mortefon makes the best start 6th. Iachino then exercised the best damage limitation possible by winning the Losers’ Final after showing a tremendous turn of acceleration to blast past Martini, who completes the top 10 at the end of the opening day. 

Elsewhere, Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) made a solid start to the event by claiming 11th place, whilst Huppert as previously mentioned takes home 12th place ahead of Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone), who suffered one of the biggest wipeouts of the day after snapping a foil screw, Rytis Jasiunas (Future Fly / Point), who will be delighted with his start to the event having finished 13th. The top 16 is currently completed by Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) and Nicolas Prien (Starboard / NeilPryde).

With the wind generally kicking in around 2pm in Tiberias the skippers’ meeting has been called for 1pm tomorrow afternoon, with the action commencing from 2pm (GMT+3) onwards.

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Israel — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
4th Sarah Jackson (GBR | Fanatic / Duotone)
 5th Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Current Ranking 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom Boards / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
3rd Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
5th Basile Jacquin (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
6th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL)
7th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) 
8th Antoine Albeau (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
10th Bruno Martini (ITA | I-99 / Challenger Sails)

Tiberias is situated on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee - approximately a two-hour drive north from the capital of Jerusalem. Founded in 20 CE by Herod Antipas and named in honour of the Roman Emperor of the same name, Tiberias has great significance in both Judaism and Christianity and is steeped in history. In June of this year however, it will play host to a modern generation attempting to walk on water, albeit with the help of the latest in hi-tech equipment! Throughout the summer months, regular thermal winds generate superb flat water conditions with breezes of 18-30 knots not uncommon, which should create the perfect playground for plenty of high octane slalom and foiling.

Women’s

Slalom

Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) will start the season as the top seed having captured her 4th Slalom World title in 2019. However, the reigning world champion will face a stern test to achieve that feat with Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins), also a 4-time Slalom World Champion, returning to the fray. Between them, they have won every world title since 2013 (Cousin Questel 4x, Offringa 3x - Offringa’s other Slalom world title coming in 2011.

Statistically speaking then it would look like a two-horse race on paper, such has been their dominance. However, Offringa, will not be the only potential thorn in Cousin Questel’s side as if Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone) can pick up where she left off in 2019 then that would make the current vice-world champion a serious contender. The 28-year-old dominated in New Caledonia to claim her first victory on the world tour.

Other names who will be hoping to force their way into contention include Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who claimed her first Slalom podium in Marignane, France 2019. The British duo of Sarah Jackson (Fanatic / Duotone) and Alice Read (Fanatic / Duotone) will also be hoping to get involved, as will Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne), whilst Tuesday-Lou Judd (Phantom) will be making her first appearance on the world tour since September 2019 after breaking her foot in Denmark.

Notable absentees include 2019 world No.3, 4 and 5 - Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / Loftsails), Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) and Lilou Granier (Starboard / Phantom).

Foil

A total of 17 women have signed up for the Foiling, which remains a separate discipline for the girls, as the popularity of foiling continues to gather pace.

Delphine Cousin Questel will start as the top seed in the foiling as well after the 29-year-old won both events in Japan and South Korea in 2019. However, after more than 18 months off it will be interesting to see who makes the best start. 

Other likely candidates are former Olympic Champion - Marina Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils) - who finished runner up to Cousin Questel in 2019, Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL), who completed the overall podium in 2019, Marina’s younger sister - Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils) - and 19-year-old Helle Oppedal (Fanatic / Duotone), who finished 5th overall when just 17-years-old two years ago.

Elsewhere, Alice Reed (Fanatic / Duotone) could be a contender given that she just missed out on the title at last year’s Zoo Station Bol PWA World Cup (1 Star), whilst Sarah-Quita Offringa and Oda Brødholt will make their debuts in the Foil fleet, on the world tour, having not competed during the Asian leg of the tour last time around. 

Meanwhile, the local talents of Naama Gazit, Maya Morris, Daniela Peleg, Shachar Reshef, Linoy, Geva, Mika Kafri & Tamar Steinberg will be hoping to make an impact at their home event.

Men’s 

Slalom

The fight for the 2021 Men’s PWA Slalom World Championship is also expected to be fiercely contested - especially if the previous title race in 2019 is anything to go by. That one went right down to the wire, with the last elimination, of the final event deciding the fight between - Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / LOKEFOIL) & Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne / Starboard Foil). On that occasion, Mortefon came out on top as the Frenchman finally got his hands on the sport's most coveted prize - having come so close, multiple times before. You can expect to see Iachino and Mortefon going rail-to-rail with each other again.

Of course, you can’t forget the other member of the ‘Big Top 3’, who needs absolutely no introduction - Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) - who has dominated the Slalom scene for the last two decades and remains one of the powerhouses of the racing world despite approaching 50-years-old. In surfing terms, he is the Kelly Slater of the sport. Can Albeau add to his 25 world titles? You wouldn’t bet against it, but let's see. 

However, whilst the ‘Big Top 3’ have rightfully earned their reputation as the most formidable in the business, this year’s competition will be quite different from years gone by as for the first time ever Slalom and Foil will merge together to create an intriguing new format. Each sailor will be given the choice between whether they want to use fin or foil, which should make for fascinating viewing, whilst potentially throwing the title race wide open. For this reason 2019 PWA Foil World Champion - Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) - could be a major contender for the top place on the podium. 

Meanwhile, there are a whole host of contenders waiting in the wings to take their shot at dismantling the ‘Big Top 3’ as the level on world tour continues to go through the roof. 2019 saw 5 men claim their first elimination victories on the Slalom tour - namely Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone), Bruno Martini (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails), Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails), Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) and Ethan Westera (Tabou / GA Sails) and you can expect all of them to be flying out of the traps here as they look to pick up where they left off.

The draw has opened up slightly too with 3 of 2019’s overall Slalom top 10 not competing in Israel. Firstly World No.5 - Julien Quentel, who announced a shock retirement from racing last month, Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails) and Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins / Starboard Foil), who is expecting to become a father within the next few weeks.

Other notable names to watch out for include Foil vice-world champion - Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils), who only missed out on the 2019 world title on countback, whilst as previous winners’ of Foil events, both Mateus Isaac (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils) and Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils) could play major roles, whilst Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / Severne / Starboard Foil) should also be in the mix. 

The strength in depth on the tour right now is quite incredible, so there are also a bunch of other sailors, who could easily be vying for the top 10 and beyond; Austria’s Marco Lang (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins), the Frenchmen of Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails), multiple-time Youth Champions - Basile Jacquin (FMX Racing / Point-7) and Damien Arnoux (Goya Windsurfing / Loftsails). If Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) can find some consistency he too could be challenging for the top 10.

As local chances go their main hope will likely rest on the shoulders of Arnon Dagan (Future Fly / NeilPryde), who is Israel’s highest profile sailor with a wealth of experience - Dagan also played an integral part in bringing the event to Tiberias. 

With the change in format in the Men’s, it is going to be fascinating to see who chooses fin or foil depending on the conditions and how that will potentially affect the top of the leaderboard come the end of the week. Will the dominant top 3 continue to lay down the hammer? Or will we see somebody else heading the rankings at the end of the next 5 days? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The never ending wait is finally almost over with the Tiberias PWA World Cup starting tomorrow, so make sure you stay tuned to www.pwaworldtour.com - here you’ll be able to follow the racing as it happens via the PWA live stream. Don’t miss any of action! Who’s your money on?

Schedule For Day 1 (All Times GMT+3)

- Registration: 10-11am
- Skippers’ Meeting: 13:00
- First Possible Start: 14:00

Recap Overall Ranking 2019 PWA World Tour - Women’s Slalom

1st Delphine Cousin Questel (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)
3rd Maëlle Guilbaud (FRA | Patrik / Loftsails)
4th Lena Erdil (TUR | Starboard / Point-7 / AL360 / Chopper Fins)
5th Lilou Granier (NC | Starboard / Phantom Sails)

Recap Overall Ranking 2019 PWA World Tour - Women's Foil

1st Delphine Cousin Questel ( FRA - FMX Racing / S2Maui / Starboard Foil)
2nd Marina Alabau (ESP - Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
3rd Marion Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
4th Blanca Alabau (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Starboard Foil)
5th Helle Oppedal (NOR - Fanatic / Duotone)

Overall Ranking 2019 PWA World Tour - Men’s Slalom

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)
2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne)
3rd Antoine Albeau (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Fanatic / Duotone)
5th Julien Quentel (SXM | Patrik / GUNSAILS)
6th Ross Williams (GBR | Tabou / GA Sails)
7th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
8th Tristan Algret (GPE | Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)
9th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
10th Marco Lang (AUT | Fanatic / Duotone)

Overall Ranking 2019 PWA World Tour - Men's Foil

1st Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails Phantom Foils)
2nd Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
4th Thomas Goyard (FRA | FMX Racing / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) 
5th Sebastian Kördel (GER | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
6th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL)
7th Julien Bontemps (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
8th Sebastian Kornum (DEN | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil)
10th Mateus Isaac (BRA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils)
*Equipment updated to reflect current sponsors

Delphine Cousin Questel: “I am really happy to be back on the tour after all this time. I heard only good things about Tiberias and looks like it could be windy! I am super excited to be back on the starting line with all women in Foil and slalom and I feel I’m ready to compete and defend my World titles!”

Pierre Mortefon: “I am just super happy and excited to be back on track! I was like a kid preparing again my racing board bag and getting ready for the event, a bit lost ! This new discipline will be super interesting, not the easiest to deal with, but it will offer more days of racing and some new action! I worked a lot on it since the beginning of the year and it’s still hard to say which one is better when! Lets see, it will be an interesting week of racing in a new place for everyone! And be sure I will for sure push my limit… 

I really want to thank the organiser to keep pushing the event and work hard to let us sail in the famous Tiberias Lake. Arnon share with us some great action and it’s looking like a windy place.”

You can listen to the latest Windsurfing Podcast @ youtu.be/YikF7n6dTdw

Lennart Neubauer: “BOOOM. I’ve always loved the idea of windsurfing with ramps! Opportunities are unlimited with a small kicker under your board stoked to share with you a few minutes of pure ramp action from my latest project “Lennart’s Wind Park”. 

You can see ‘Lennart’s Wind Park’ @ www.redbull.com/gr-el/videos/lennart-neubauer-wind-park-video

Photo Credit: Alex Grymanis

Hey Arnon, how are the final preparations for the event going?

“Everything is going very well! The beach is being prepared, a lot of work is being done to welcome everyone. Organising a PWA event is not easy and now with covid regulations even harder, but everyone involved is doing an amazing job and I'm sure the event will be fantastic.” 

This is a totally new stop for the world tour… can you tell us a little bit more about Tiberias - especially how the wind is working there? And what kind of strength it normally is and what size equipment you expect most people to be on?

"Tiberias is a cool city close to the famous lake of Galilee where Jesus first windsurfed on the water (-: The PWA coming here is like a breath of fresh air and one of the projects which are meant to use the biggest asset of this place which is the lake.

The lake is a thermal wind machine, which works for about 4 month a year nonstop with very good and strong winds.

We expect to have 18 to 30 knots every day during the event from the west direction. Dekel (palm tree) beach is located close to the city.  The wind hits it from side off direction from the left. It is very hard to predict what gear will work since we are going to have the foil vs fin battle and it is something totally new.

Sometimes the wind is a bit further from the beach and sometimes it comes closer. So, depending on where the course will be set, I think we can even find ourselves using foils with strong winds small sails. I do not expect people to be using 8.0 and 9.0s' here, not with fin and not with foils. It is going to be super interesting and even with my vast experience I just don't know what to expect. I would not be surprised if someone like Goyard will show up and clean up on his small sail, small foil gear. On the other hand, there are many days with 5.8, 6.6m full power slalom fin here. Again, mega exciting and interesting to see how things will unfold. Ah last thing its mega hot here so bring your speedo’s."
 
It’s been over 18 months since the last Slalom World Cup - how are you personally feeling about the event and competing again?

"Yes, it's been a long time not competing and my focus has shifted to other directions being my family, running Future Fly boards, bringing back the Storm rider wave event, which was a great success, making some music and now working on the PWA here. I was very active. 

I have mixed feelings about competing, I'm not ready and didn't train much at all so I'm definitely not happy about it. The lake is not my home spot as well.  At the same time, I feel fast and strong, so who knows. I'm just going to enjoy this very big moment where the legends of the PWA and my friends are going to show up and rip it up here like nothing else!”

Thanks, Arnon. Best of luck with the rest of the preparations and the event!

The 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup takes place between 21st-25th June and you’ll be able to follow the action as it happens via the livestream with Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer Sails) back behind the mic to guide you through the racing.

You can watch Pons' latest edit by visiting @ https://vimeo.com/560640371

Nico Prien: “0:00 Get ready for Tarifa 30 knots
1:11 Introduction: Ludovic Jossin (Chopperfins)
2:15 These are my fins
3:22 Carbon vs. G10 Fins and characteristics
5:00 Action!! 
6:15 First test runs 
7:14 TESTING THE NEW FIN 
9:38 Why are do carbon fins cost so much?

Filmed on Lumix S1H
Leo → www.instagram.com/leo.hochgra...

Edit by: www.alexmertensvisuals.com"

You can see Nico Prien testing out fins ahead of the 2021 Tiberias PWA World Cup @ youtu.be/9OszAH_ak1U