Alacati PWA World Cup
From the 17th-22nd August both the men’s and women’s slalom fleets shall be returning to action for more warp speed racing as they head to the stunning turquoise waters of Alacati, Turkey. The men will be taking to the race course for their fourth time this season - meaning a discard will come into play after the event, which could cause a few shakeups in the rankings, whilst the women will be readying themselves for their second battle of the year as both title races begin to gather pace.
Alacati is located on the Cesme peninsula, just a thirty minute drive from the bustling city of Izmir. Primarily known for its stunning natural stone villas, chic boutiques, traditional cafes and fantastic restaurants, Alacati has started to experience a change in cliental, in recent years, as thousands of windsurfers, from all around the globe, flock to the stunning shores of Alacati to take advantage of the beautiful turquoise waters and clockwork like Meltemi winds, which blow consistently between the months of May to October. Combine this with the gorgeous local scenery and cosmopolitan vibe and you can quickly understand why Alacati is continuing to enhance its reputation as not only a windsurfing Mecca, but also as the must visit destination in Turkey, so much so that it is now challenging Bodrum for the title of Turkey’s most stylish Aegean resort.
Ones to Watch
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 a superb 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. Expect to see Albeau gunning for the top again come the end of the week.
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. Williams is enjoying one of his best ever seasons so far and has performed well in Turkey in the past - and there’s no reason that he shouldn’t be heavily involved again in Alacati.
Williams’ may be Albeau’s closest rival at the moment, but that could all change with the discard coming into play after the event in Turkey and it is Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North), who stands to benefit from it the most. The Italian currently holds a first and a second place and could potentially dislodge Albeau from the top of the rankings, but only if he is able to earn victory in Alacati, which is a real possibility with the way he has been sailing this year.
Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) is tied on points with teammate - Matteo Iachino - and threatened to win the event in 2013 when he led the rankings going into the final day. The twenty-five year old loves the mirror flat water of Alacati and he should be in contention again. Expect to see Mortefon challenging for top honours come the end of the week.
After a disappointing opening result in Korea - 20th - Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) has re-established himself in the world’s top five after fifth and seventh place finishes in Costa Brava and Fuerteventura, respectively. The vice-world champion is usually one of the most consistent sailors and you can expect to see him challenging for a top five finish again.
Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) will arrive in Alacati with fond memories after winning his maiden event on the PWA Slalom World Tour this time last year in Turkey. Quentel is incredibly quick and will be determined to defend his event title, so you can expect to see a big performance from the man from Saint Maarten.
Ben Van der Steen’s results have improved in each of this year’s events and he looks to be approaching top form after his latest fifth place finish in Fuerteventura. The flying Dutchman won his opening elimination of the year in Fuerte and has performed well here in recent years with a second, fifth and ninth place finishes over the last three seasons. Van der Steen should be challenging for the top five again and with his blistering speed has the potential to go all the way.
The top ten is currently completed by France’s Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic), Australia’s Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne) and American Micah Buzianis (JP) - all of whom will be hoping for another top ten finish.
As always there’s plenty of other names that are more than capable of pushing into the top ten and beyond and you can expect to see the likes of Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails), Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7), Josh Angulo (Angulo / Gun Sails), Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails), Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Point-7) and Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) as well as many others fighting hard for a place in the top ten. Also keep a look out for Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) who earned sixth place in Fuerteventura.
Women’s
Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) currently leads the way on the women’s world tour after snatching a dramatic late victory in Korea, when she won the final elimination of the event to steal victory from the claws of Lena Erdil (Patrik / Point-7 / Mystic / AL360). Offringa has been unstoppable in Alacati over the past three years - claiming three emphatic victories and she’ll be the one that everyone else has to try and stop - however if Offringa continues her superb form then those efforts maybe in vein.
Having come so close to achieving her maiden success on the PWA Slalom World Tour in the opening event of the year - Lena Erdil - will be more determined than ever to go one better this time around. The twenty-six year old has been incredibly consistent over the last year and she’ll be hoping she can produce another big performance on her home waters to keep her title challenge alive.
Also in contention will be fellow Turk Fulya Unlu (Starboard / Severne) who comes into the event on the back of her first podium finish. 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 big 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.
There will be a strong Turkish turnout in the women’s fleet and aside from Lena Erdil and Fulya Unlu - Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Severne) is the next closest contender and should be involved in the top five come the end of the week.
A total of 29 girls have registered for the second slalom event of the year and among those you’d expect to see multiple time world champion - Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou / GA Sails) - bounce back from a slow start to the season, whilst the likes of Ayako Suzuki (Starboard / GA Sails), Maria Andrés (Fanatic / North / Mystic) and Marion Mortefon (Starboard / Severne) should be pushing for the top ten and beyond.
The forecast is currently looking quite light for the opening couple of days of the event, but as we’ve just seen in Tenerife anything can happen. The latter half of the week then looks better with the return of the normal weather pattern for Alacati, which should ensure more close-quarters, adrenaline fuelled slalom. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com between the 17th-22nd August to stay up to date with all of the latest developments from Turkey via the PWA live ticker. Unfortunately there will be no live stream provided for this years event at the choice of the sponsors.