Alacati PWA World Cup

A look at the prominent figures in this year’s slalom world title races

With just a few days to go before the start of the next stage of 2015 PWA Slalom World Tour, which will be held in Alacati, Turkey, we take a look at the top ranked sailors so far, who are likely to be heavily involved again as both the men’s and women’s title races continue to gather pace.

Men’s

Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) cemented his place at the top of the rankings with a flawless performance in Fuerteventura - demonstrating the pace and power that has made him such a successful racer over the years. AA has an excellent record in Alacati with two victories and a second place over the last few seasons and he will enter the event as the favourite as he goes in search of back-to-back victories - and his third overall victory for 2015.

Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) is Albeau’s closest challenger as things currently stand after another fantastic performance in Fuerte, which saw the Brit continue his fine start to the season to claim his second podium finish of the year. However, that could all change with the discard coming into play after the event in Turkey - and it is Italian Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North) who stands to benefit from it the most. The Italian currently has a first and a second place and will be looking to discard the seventh place he holds from Korea. Iachino has been one of the most consistent sailors on the tour this season and he’ll be looking to use his blistering pace and textbook gybes to secure another podium finish.

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) is tied on points with teammate - Matteo Iachino - and the Frenchman will be a major threat again in Alacati. The Frenchman usually sails well in Turkey - excelling on the flat waters and should once again be a key figure over the course of the week. 

We will take a full look at the remaining candidates in the full event preview.

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) currently leads the way on the women’s world tour after securing a narrow victory in the first event of the year over Lena Erdil (Patrik / Point-7 / Mystic / AL360). Offringa has dominated in Turkey with three emphatic victories in the last three years and will be an ominous force to stop.

It’s likely that Erdil will once again be at the forefront of the title challenge again and after a strong start to the season in Korea the Turkish beauty will be desperate to go one better on her home waters. Erdil is more motivated than ever and will need to be watched carefully. 

Also in contention will be fellow Turk Fulya Unlu (Starboard / Severne) who comes into the event on the back of her first podium finish ever. Unlu was crowned the PWA Youth Slalom World Champion last year and has clearly made significant progress again and looks to be maturing into a real threat. 

You can also expect to see a strong performance from reigning world champion - Delphine Cousin (Starboard / Gun Sails) - who will be looking to kick start her season after a disappointing fourth place in the first event of the year. 

Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com from the 17th-22nd August to stay up to date with all of the latest action from Alacati via the PWA live ticker. Unfortunately there will be no live stream this year with the sponsors opting out of the option through their own choice.