2022 Gran Canaria PWA Windsurfing World Cup

Event Preview: For the First Time in 3 Years the World’s Best Wave Sailors Are Set to Compete in Pozo Izquierdo

It’s been a long time coming, but finally, after 3 long years the wait is almost over and the most radical windsurfers in the world are preparing to once again do battle in Pozo Izquierdo as the Gran Canaria PWA World Cup finally returns between the 9th-17th July. This edition will look slightly different to the previous ten years as the Moreno Twins, who did a stellar job when organising the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival, hand over the reins to the legendary figure of Björn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails).

The next 10 days promise to be unbelievable as wave sailing returns to the home of some of the biggest jumping in the business, whilst you can expect to see the off-the-lip antics go through the roof after a three year break. We are talking backloops and double forwards off-the-lip, air takas, goiters, you name it you’re likely to see it at some point over the next 10 days, so you aren’t going to want to take your eyes off of the action. 

Pozo Izquierdo is internationally famed in the windsurfing world due to its unrelenting wind and steep waves. The combination of these two factors creates the perfect playground for the world’s most extreme sailors to defy gravity and perform the biggest stunts on the planet. The local effects mean that even the slightest breeze can soon be accelerated to nuclear strength, with the wind peaking at around 50-60 knots, which often results in the guys and girls reaching for their smallest equipment, which even then, sometimes isn’t small enough.

Wave

Women’s

The Moreno Twins - Daida (Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Iballa (Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) - have dominated women’s windsurfing for the last two decades, but Daida’s level of domination in Pozo Izquierdo is next level with the multiple-time world champion having won the event here every year since 2000 - except 2012 - when Iballa won. Those incredible stats mean that Daida will start this year’s event as the favourite, but she will no doubt be made to work hard in order to earn another victory. 

First of all, as the only other woman since 2000 to have beaten Daida in Pozo, Iballa should be her usual threat, meanwhile, defending world champion - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) - will be chomping at the bit to try and claim her place at the top of the podium come the end of the event, as will the likes of Justyna Sniady (North Sails), who claimed a fantastic second place here in 2019, whilst Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails) returns to Pozo for the first time since 2018 and the 25-year-old is usually challenging for the podium positions, so you can expect her to be there or there abouts.

With 19 girls lining up for the start of this year’s Gran Canaria PWA World Cup it will also be interesting to see if any of the other girls can push their way into the top 5 and beyond - particularly the youthful talents of Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins), Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing), and Julia Pasquale (Fanatic / Duotone), all of whom look bright talents and with an extra 3 years of training under their belts, since the last edition, they could well cause a surprise or two. 

Men’s

Ricardo Campello (Naish / Naish Sails) is the reigning event champion from 2019, but he will face an incredibly tough challenge to successfully defend that event crown with so many sailors all amped and ready to do whatever it takes to claim that coveted top spot on the podium.

Firstly, reigning world champion - Philip Köster (Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) - will be eager to get his hands back on the top spot here in Pozo. The 5-time world champion failed to complete his jump scoresheet during the 2019 edition, which cost him dearly, and you can expect him to be challenging for top honours again. Since 2009, the 28-year-old has won the event 7 times, whilst he has finished outside the top 2 just once in that time (5th in 2014) - in 2013 there was no result. 

The other name that immediately jumps out is Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing). The 3 aforementioned sailors made up the podium positions in both 2018 and ’19 and the one thing they all had in common during those two editions were that they all consistently land stalled and regular double forwards, plus the all important pushloop forward, which looks like being an almost necessity to make the podium again this year. 

However, since there has been 3 years since the last edition, there are a few other names who would like to throw their name into the hat. Firstly, local boy - Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing) - who has posted plenty of videos of him stomping pushloop forwards, as has Marc Paré (Fanatic / Duotone), who looks to have survived a slight injury scare before the competition. Both sailors will be hungry for success to prove they can mix it at the top end of the business. Other notable sailors who possess the pushloop forward in their arsenal include another local - Josep Pons (CS Custom Boards / Point-7 / Black Project Fins), Antoine Martin (Starboard / North Sails) and Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / SWOX), so if everything clicks into place they too could be ones to watch.

It remains to be seen whether Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Duotone) has added the pushloop forward to his repertoire of moves, but if he has then you can expect to see the Spaniard challenging for the podium again. The 3-time world champion narrowly missed out in 2018 and ’19 - placing 4th on both occasions. 

Although it seems as though the pushloop forward will be necessary to be able to fight for the event victory there are a plethora of sailors, who will be vying for their place in the top 10 and beyond such as 2014 world champion - Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails), who finished 3rd here in 2017, local boys Alessio Stillrich, Omar Sanchez (Tabou / GA Sails) and the returning Aleix Sanllehy (Goya Windsurfing), Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde), Julian Salmonn (Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS), Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails), Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde), whilst it will be interesting to see how the Japanese duo of Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins) and Takara Ishii (RRD / RRD Sails) fair after both sailors made bright starts in Cabo Verde. This will obviously be a completely different test. Eyes will of course also be on Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project), the son of the legendary Björn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails), who is now the event organiser of the Gran Canaria PWA World Cup.

As well as the pro Men’s and Women’s contests, the next 10 days will see the most promising youths in the world battling it out in the first Youth PWA World Cup of the season. Just like the pro contests, you’ll be able to follow all the action as it happens via the PWA live stream.

The stage is now set for the 2022 Gran Canaria PWA World Cup, so all that’s left to do is sit back and enjoy the action as the best wave sailors in the world go all out in their pursuit of glory.

Make sure you stay tuned to www.pwaworldtour.com over the next 10 days to see how the action unravels via the PWA live stream. Who’s your money on for the respective men’s and women’s titles? Let us know in the comments. 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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Schedule For Day 1: (All Times GMT+1)

- Registration: 10-11am

- Skippers’ Meeting: 12pm

- First Possible Start : 1pm

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