Hvide Sande PWA World Cup

64 Men and 22 Women registered for the 2017 Waterz Hvide Sande PWA World Cup on a calm opening day in Denmark, which saw the sailors rigging up and preparing their equipment for what promises to be a windy next 5 days.

Today was basically the calm before the storm with an area of low pressure expected to arrive from tomorrow - strengthening each day until Wednesday - which could see winds reach in excess of 40 knots to guarantee more exhilarating racing.

During a low key first day we briefly caught up with 23-time world champion and current world tour leader Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde):

Hey, Antoine, you’re leading the world tour just over halfway through the season - how are you feeling coming into Denmark and what have you been up to since Fuerte?

AA: “I’m feeling good coming into Denmark. The first day has been a waiting game with no wind, but the weather forecast looks really good for the next days with low pressure on the way we should get strong south, southwest and west winds over the next 5 days, so hopefully, we can complete a lot of slalom here.

Here’s a really good event as well as we have the girls competing again. Since Fuerte, I’ve just been at my place in Îl de Ré looking after my windsurfing and sailing school, so I haven't been sailing so much, but I’ve enjoyed working in my center.”

When you were checking the forecast for here and it showed strong winds did this make you think about different equipment options?

AA: ”No I didn’t change anything because we have to register our chosen equipment at the start of the year, so the decision is already made. I am hoping that we can use our small sails and boards again though.”

The other day there was a photo with you and your son, Alani, windsurfing… future world champion in the making?

AA: “I don’t know… we should put him on the board with a small sail, which was pretty funny.”

Thanks, Antoine and good luck for the contest.

After a quiet start, the forecast looks promising for tomorrow with the wind expected to increase throughout from 14-18 knots to 18-24 knots by the evening, which should hopefully allow the first races of the week to be completed. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am with the action commencing from 11am (GMT+2) onwards.

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