PWA Pozo World Cup - Moreno twins dominate home spot

by Chris Yates on 20 Jul 2014 The penultimate day of the PWA Gran Canaria Wind and Waves Festival saw the juniors return to action for the final time this week, whilst only the winners’ and losers’ finals remain in the women’s fleet. Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) once again proved unstoppable at their home spot as they set up another mouthwatering tie to decide the Queen of Pozo.

The quarterfinals witnessed Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) advanced past Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Mystic) in race 13a, whilst Iballa Moreno proved too strong for Carmen Afonso Martin on the b-side. The second quarterfinal saw Amanda Beenen (Tabou / GA Sails) take on Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / North) and the Dutch girl successfully defeated her French counterpart to advance into the final four for the first time in her career. Meanwhile, Daida Moreno comfortably dispatched of Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD).

The a-side of the semifinal saw Steffi Wahl line up against Iballa Moreno, but unfortunately for the German there was no stopping Iballa who rotated through a perfect backloop and a high forward, whilst earning the highest wave score of the day - 8.5 points - combining aggressive fluid turns with a stunning frontside aerial to advance into another final. Iballa may have earned the highest wave score of the day, but her twin sister, Daida, stole the show in the air as she landed a brilliant one-handed backloop - staying one-handed for the entire rotation - before also stomping a massive forward. Daida’s superb jumping performance earned her the highest overall score of the day - 22.375 points - to setup another brilliant final between the two legendary twins.

Earlier in the day the juniors took to the water for the final and they once again excelled, showing that windsurfing is in safe hands with the next generation thriving under the pressure of competition. Marc Paré stole the show again today with a phenomenal jumping performance, which saw the sixteen year old a fully planing back and forward loop and several perfectly landed pushloops. Paré (Patrik / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins) also showed his flair on the wave as he rotated through a smooth taka to take not only the elimination victory, but also the overall crown as top youth. Loick Lesauvage (Goya Windsurfing) clinched second place today and overall with his best display of the week. The fourteen year old showed great wave riding skills and looked confident in the air as he landed a big backloop. Completing the podium today was Tim Van Dam Sanchidrian (Starboard / Severne).

The conclusion of the 2014 Gran Canaria Wind and Waves Festival looks as though it will go right down to the wire in a race against time to gain a result in both the men’s and women’s divisions. The forecast for tomorrow is for strong winds again, but there is a change in the swell as it changes to northeast, which runs directly into the bay of Pozo. This should hopefully mean bigger waves tomorrow, creating a nail biting finish to the week. To make the absolute most of the final day, the skippers’ meeting has been called for 7am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 7:30am.

Overall Results - Junior’s
1st Marc Paré (Patrik / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Loick Lesauvage (Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Arthur Arutkin (Fanatic / PWA World Tour