KIA COLD HAWAII PWA WORLD CUP

Event Preview: Cold Hawaii ready for edition five as the elite of the wave sailing world prepare to descend

From the 15th to the 21st September the world’s most radical jumpers and wave riders will be heading for the hallowed shores of Cold Hawaii, as Klitmoeller gears up for the fifth instalment of the now legendary KIA Cold Hawaii PWA World Cup. The elite of the wave sailing world are ready for battle round three after previous stops in Pozo, Gran Canaria and El Medano, Tenerife earlier this year.

Over the past four years Cold Hawaii has produced a different champion on each of those occasions, such is the task of trying to tame the ferocious North Sea. Cold Hawaii has thrown a whole spectrum of conditions at the competitors over the years - from howling winds and big powerful waves, to float and ride in glassy, peeling waves on both port and starboard, which is one of the main reasons Cold Hawaii is such a challenging location to conquer. Will one of the previous champions be able to reign supreme again or will we see another new name at the top of the podium?

Klitmøller itself is located in Northern Jutland, just ten kilometers southwest of Hantsholm. What once was a quaint little fishing village is now being heralded as one of the wave sailing gems of Europe. Its reputation is such that, Klitmøller, is now more commonly known as Cold Hawaii, due to the fact that it bares the brunt of the biggest storms in Northern Europe. Although this makes life incredibly tough for the fisherman, it is also the prime reason for Cold Hawaii’s growing reputation within the windsurfing, and surfing, world. From perfect stunt ramps to powerful, gnarly, waves Cold Hawaii provides the perfect platform for the world’s most radical sailors to showcase exactly what they are capable of. 

Ones to Watch

As the current leader of the PWA Wave World Tour - Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC) - will be desperate to cement his place at the top of the rankings. The Spaniard has performed brilliantly in Cold Hawaii in the past with three podium finishes out of four, but with a first world title in his sights since 2010, Fernandez will be going all out for secure the event crown this time around. Expect to see perfect double forwards, combined with some of the most fluid and dynamic wave riding on the tour as he looks to do just that.

Just behind Fernandez in pursuit for the title is the ominous figure of Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who already has two world crowns to his name. Köster hasn’t finished outside the top two in Denmark for the past three years, meaning he is a sure fire bet for the battle at the top. The twenty year old clearly enjoys sailing in the challenging conditions that Cold Hawaii throws at him, so we can expect to see more trademark double forwards, one-handed goiters and massive front and backside 360s.

Jaeger Stone (SSD / Severne) may have only just returned to the PWA World Tour after three years away, but you wouldn’t know it from his opening two events in 2014. The Australian has burst back onto the competition scene and currently occupies third in the world rankings. Stone has been wowing the crowds and the judges with his explosive style of wave riding and he’ll be sure to be delivering more stunning riding over the duration of the week as he aims to keep in place in the top three.

Germany’s Klaas Voget (Fanatic / Simmer / MFC) has enjoyed a fine start to the year after storming to two joint fifth places in Pozo and El Medano and he will be looking to continue his rich vein of form. Voget has spent plenty of time in Cold Hawaii over the years and he’ll be trying to use his additional local knowledge to dispatch of his rivals with powerful hacks and stunning jumping.

Reigning world champion - Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) - currently finds himself in fifth place overall, but the Brazilian will be a prominent figure over the next week. Brawzinho claimed his first ever wave victory here last year and he’ll be hoping he can produce a similar performance as he looks to kick start his title charge in Denmark again, just as he did in 2013.

As another previous champion of Cold Hawaii - Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) - will be a major threat. The Frenchman comes into the third event of the season off the back of magnificent second place finish in Tenerife, so confidence will be extremely high. Traversa is well known for being one of the best in business when it comes to howling winds and big waves, but he’s also extremely versatile as he showed by claiming victory here in 2012 in float and ride conditions during the super final. Expect to see TT challenging for top honours again come the end of the event.

Dany Bruch (Starboard / Challenger / AL360) possesses some of the silkiest wave riding skills in the world and he will be trying to wow the judges again with his prowess on the wave. Bruch is equally adept in the air and we can expect to see his trademark one-handed, one-footed backloops being unleashed as he tries to break back into the top five, having finished sixth in Tenerife.

After an explosive start to the season Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) suffered a disappointing 17th place finish in Tenerife. However, you can be sure the Brazilian will be returning with a vengeance when the event kicks off. Campello has shown glimpses of magic in the opening two events and we can expect to see more double forwards together with insane one-handed, one-footed forwards as he goes in search of recapturing his place on the podium.

Completing the overall top ten at this stage of the season are Britain’s John Skye (RRD / RRD / MFC) and Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins / SWOX), with the latter being tied in joint tenth alongside Spain’s Omar Sanchez (Patrik / Loft Sails / Dunkerbeck Eyewear) and Germany’s young emerging talent Moritz Mauch (Starboard / Severne / MFC). 

Of course last year’s vice-world champion - Alex Mussolini (Tabou / GA Sails) - cannot be forgotten. The Spaniard has endured a tricky start to the 2014 campaign, but there’s no doubt that Mussolini’s class will shine through, making him a serious threat for the week ahead. Also in contention are the likes of the crazy, no fear Frenchman Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde) and Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde), who has now fully recovered from an ankle injury, as well as Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde) and teammates Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / North / MFC) and Adam Lewis (Fanatic / North / SWOX).

Do you think one of the past champions will succeed again or will Cold Hawaii see a fifth new face in a row at the top? Either way there’s only one way to find out and that’s by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com. Here you’ll be able to follow the amazing action as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Crowd Funding

Before the event kicks off you can make a massive difference by taking a few moments of your time to create an account with Airbnb here, who have teamed up with the team in Cold Hawaii for this year. For every new free account created Airbnb will donate €13 to the fantastic KIA Cold Hawaii PWA World Cup, helping ensure the event for next year and beyond. For all the details please click here. That’s it, it really is that simple. Please also visit www.airbnb.dk/?af=2953517&c=coldhawaii.

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