Day 5 in El Médano was non-stop action, and the Wind and Waves Festival delivered exactly that! 30-45 knots of wind and head-high waves set the perfect platform for an epic day of competition for the Pro Men and Women, where we finished up to the Quarter Finals of the Men and the Semi Finals of the Women, as well as the conclusion of the Junior and Pro Junior Boys.
Pro Men:
In the Men, 32 riders started the day left in the draw, but by the end only 16 remained. Tenerife is running on a "Dingle" system whereby there is no double elimination like we are used to, but rather redemption rounds where eliminated riders get a second chance to fight back and remain in the competition. This meant that the top eight riders from the seeding round advanced straight to the quarter finals, whilst the rest needed to battle through two redemption rounds to see who would survive.
The standout rider from the Seeding Round was undoubtedly Julian Salmon (Goya / Quatro), posting a two-wave and one-jump heat score of 21.50 - 1.50 points higher than the next best, Marc Paré Rico (Simmer Style). Julian was on fire - he has a trademark style, refined by years of living in El Médano, and today this shone through as he passed straight to the semi-finals. Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) was perhaps the shock advancer of the round as he took down two big names in Morgan Noireaux (JP Australia / NeilPryde) and Dieter Van der Eyken (Severne) to book his place straight in the quarter finals. His freestyle talents are world-renowned, but this is the first time we've really seen him transferring his craft into waves, especially when it comes to wave riding.
Then it was on to the first redemption round, and the biggest upset came from the young British charger, Lucas Meldrum (North Sails / Quatro), who has really grafted his way through the 3 and 4-star events over the last couple of years. He put down a solid 6.08 wave with a big 360 and some nice turns to eliminate the Pozo boys - Mike Friedl Morales (Duotone) and Moritz Mauch (Simmer Style).
In Round 3, the tension was building, and the level was turned up about three notches - only eight of the 16 riders in the round would advance, and you could see this in the way the riders were attacking the heats. It was do or die! Heat 1 saw Josep Pons (Point-7) comfortably into the last 16, but the fight for second place was wide open. Carlos Kiefer Quintana (PATRIK) had been pretty much ruled out after dislocating his shoulder earlier in the week, but with five minutes to go, he showed up, stomped a massive double forward, a stalled forward and two solid waves to see himself through to the next round. Heat 2 saw Jules Denel (Goya Windsurfing) put down his trademark one-handed backloop to secure his place in the quarter finals alongside Miguel Chapuis (North Sails / Flikka Boards), taking down the ever-stylish Alessio Stillrich (PATRIK), who couldn’t quite find enough points on the waves to challenge his compatriot. Heat 3 was perhaps the heat of the day and saw a back-and-forth fight between the top three of Dieter Van der Eyken, Victor Fernandez (Duotone) and Morgan Noireaux. Fernandez led for much of the heat, his double forward giving him the edge with Van der Eyken comfortably in second. Noireaux was missing a jump and with 15 seconds to go it looked like he was facing an exit in Round 3, but alas, the hard training paid off as he landed a double and jumped into first place, eliminating Van der Eyken and securing his place in the top 16. Heat 4 saw a charging Marino Gil (JP Australia / NeilPryde). Upset by not winning his seeding round heat, he meant business and put down by far the biggest heat score of the day, with a push forward and a double meaning he scored over 15 points in jumps alone! He is joined in the quarter finals by Arthur Arutkin (GUNSAILS / Flikka).
Pro Women:
Three rounds were also completed in the Pro Women's division today, which leaves them down to the semi-finals. Following the same structure as the Men, the top rider from the seeding round passed straight to the semi-finals, whilst the rest had to battle through the redemption rounds.
From the seeding round, the standout riders were Sol Degrieck (Severne) and Alexia Kiefer Quintana (PATRIK). Both of them were riding with power and style beyond their years, with Sol pulling off a smooth taka on one of her waves whilst Alexia combined powerful turns with a perfect trademark backloop to send them straight through to the semi-finals alongside Lina Erpenstein (Severne) and Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins).
In the first redemption round (Round 2), Maria Morales Navarro (Goya Windsurfing) put down an incredible 19.46 heat score - the highest of the women's competition so far - to show why she is one of the women to beat in El Cabezo. The local rider has dropped off the tour over the last couple of years to focus on other things, but she turned up today and showed she still has all the skills when needed. She advanced alongside Denmark's Line Bang Wittrup (Goya Windsurfing). Lisa Wermeister (Duotone) is one of the most talented wave riders coming through the ranks and is a regular on the podium in Maui, but when it comes to jumping she's really had to put the time in over the last couple of years, and this hard work is paying off as she passed Round 2 alongside Milanka Linde, who put in a buzzer-beater forward loop to eliminate Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde).
In Round 3, the level rose once again. Four riders would advance and four riders would be sent home. In Heat 1 there was a clear distinction between the top two of Justyna Sniady (North Sails / Flikka) and Tour Leader Maria Behrens (Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins), and Maria Morales and Milanka Linde. Sniady was flawless in the jumps - with a 4.00 push loop and a huge 5.45 backloop she soared into the semi-finals. Maria Behrens excelled more on the wave scores, but her 4.50 backloop was the difference maker, whilst Morales couldn’t find a second jump to really put pressure on the German. Heat 2 saw lead changes throughout the heat. Lisa Wermeister opened up the scoring with two early waves but couldn’t quite find the form of earlier in the day. Line Wittrup and Pauline Katz (Severne) were separated by only 0.16 points in second and third. Wittrup landing a backloop towards the end of the heat made it look like she was advancing, but a forward loop on the buzzer from Pauline Katz gave her the edge and secured her spot in the semi-finals. Heat winner Marine Hunter (Goya / Quatro) focused on her strength - wave riding - and racked up over 10 points on the waves before switching to jumping. The strategy paid off, booking her place in the semi-finals.
Pro Junior Boys:
When it comes to the Canaries, Carlos Kiefer Quintana (PATRIK) is always the one to beat. With an uncountable number of wins across the age groups, the youngster from Gran Canaria proved again today that despite having a dislocated shoulder, he is a cut above the rest! Scoring 8.22 for a double forward was the difference maker. Anton Richter (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) put up a good fight and actually beat Carlos in the wave scores, but the double forward is the move that matters, and despite a big one-footed backloop, he couldn’t match Carlos in the air and had to settle for second. In third was Gregory Stathopoulos (Goya Windsurfing / MFC), and again it was the double forward that was Gregory’s downfall. He did land it, but it was very wet, and without a second good jump score he was left in third place. Ryu Noguchi (Starboard / Severne) finished in fourth place with the best wave scores of the final, but like the others he couldn’t match the air game and finished off the podium here in Tenerife.
Junior Boys:
Last year's Junior Boys World Champion, Javier Escribano (Goya Windsurfing / MFC), has very much established himself as the man to beat in this category. With podiums all around the world, he is pushing for back-to-back World Titles, but his winning streak in the Canary Islands was brought to an end today by Peter Gobisch (Duotone). Unlike the Pro Junior Boys, this final was decided on the waves, with Gobisch focusing all his attention there at the start of the heat. With a 5.12 and 5.62, even with a better air game, Escribano couldn’t outdo the German and had to settle for second. In third place it's a name you need to learn because this kid, followed by his brothers, is a name for the future: Yannik Kolb Gonzalez (Simmer Style). Winning multiple events at U13 and U15 level, this is Yannik’s first podium at a 5-star event in the U18 division, and he’s only 14 years old!
You can watch all the highlights from today here.
Tomorrow looks like another epic day, with the forecast predicting even stronger winds than today, so stay tuned to the livestream for what is set to be an epic finals day!
Event Page: https://www.pwaworldtour.com/events/detail/2026-tenerife-grand-slam/