PWA Surf World Cup Podersdorf – Epic freestyle conditions on Day 2

by Vivienne Masters on 28 Apr 2013 PWA Surf World Cup Podersdorf second day of action got underway in Austria shortly after 10:30am. Yesterday’s stunning sunshine was replaced by a much moodier scene as the clouds moved in, but more importantly the sailors were greeted with 25-30 knots of wind, making for epic freestyle conditions.

The man of the moment, Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / North), picked up exactly where he left off from last season as he marched to the double elimination title. In doing so Gollito maintains his unbeaten record and puts himself in a great position, as he goes in search of an incredible sixth world championship crown.

Single Elimination - Winners’ Final
Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo and Kiri Thode (Starboard / Gaastra) came face-to-face once more as the pair continued their duel for the top spot. The reigning world champion successfully defeated Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Different) in the semi-finals to secure his place in the opening winners final of the year, whilst Thode stopped an on form Anthony Ruenes (Tabou / Gaastra) to book his place in the final. Gollito set the tone right from the word go as he launched into a massive shaka, only to see Thode respond with an equally good shaka of his own. With the final remaining evenly poised the Venezuelan stepped up his game as he landed a super smooth skopu followed by a radical full speed ponch, to transfer the pressure on to the man from Bonaire. Thode responded with a huge culo and a brilliant air funnel, but after flaming his final move the decision went in Gollito’s favor.

Elsewhere in the single elimination Adrian Beholz (Fanatic / Sailloft Hamburg / Maui Ultra Fins) was the man to watch as he enjoyed his best finish to date by claiming joint seventh. The German knocked out several big names along the way, with the first upset of the day coming when he clinically dispatched of Nicolas Akgazciyan (Starboard / Point-7 / Maui Ultra Fins), before defeating Dutch maestro Davy Scheffers (Tabou / Gaastra). Beholz was only stopped when he bumped into the formidable force of Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo.

Double Elimination - Winners’ Final
Steven Van Broeckhoven showed he’s a man on a mission as he battled back in the double elimination to book a place in the second winners’ final of the day. In the semi-finals the Belgian produced a near perfect heat - receiving several tens for diversity and style from the judges - to set up a mouth-watering battle with Gollito, having defeated Kiri Thode.

The final was a spectacle to behold as both sailors threw caution to the wind and unleashed their most explosive repertoire of tricks. The Belgian supremo announced his arrival in the final with a superb one handed air funnel before also landing a stunning planing culo and a perfect shuvit spock. Unfortunately for him, the reigning world champion was in no mood to be beaten and the twenty-four year old soon responded with a plethora of mind-blowing tricks. Gollito turned on the style factor as he delivered an incredible one-handed burner, in a style that only he can, before popping an outstanding one-handed flaka. Knowing that the battle was not over yet, Estredo didn’t rest on his laurels as he exploded into a divine one-handed shaka before finishing off the heat with a one-handed bob. Gollito did also try an audacious no-handed shaka, but even he couldn’t pull it off this time around. Despite a close final, the five-time world champion had done enough to convince the judges that he was the worthy winner as he successfully defended his single elimination crown.

Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo speaking after winning the double elimination: 'I’m super happy to have won the double elimination. It was a long day, but the conditions were really good and I’m pleased with how I sailed and the result. Lets see what happens for the rest of the week.'

After a, somewhat, disappointing performance in the single elimination Davy Scheffers had a point to prove, and that is exactly what the Dutchman managed to do. The twenty-one-year-old came rampaging back through the double elimination in phenomenal form as he won five successive heats, before eventually finishing in fifth place, as Anthony Ruenes proved too strong to defeat. On his way to sixth Scheffers defeated Andy Lachauer (JP / NeilPryde), the super talented Youp Schmit (JP / NeilPryde), before taking two Bonaire scalps in the form of Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) and Bjorn Saragoza (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui). Scheffers was simply on fire as he reveled in the evening winds, the Dutchman consistently landed radical culos and konos, huge air funnels and amazing no-handed burners. Scheffers could have continued his rampage through the double, but unfortunately for him in his final heat against Ruenes he landed a couple of moves outside of the competition area, which proved crucial as his French rival came out on top.

Taty Frans and Amado Vrieswijk (Starboard / Severne) enjoyed a close fought battle in heat forty-five as Frans eventually just edged to competition after a 2:1 decision in his favor. A ridiculous backloop and a powerful, clean one-handed ponch were the separating factors as Frans marched on.

Lastly today also saw several incidents on the water as several sailors picked up injuries. Firstly, Choco Frans, who had been sailing superbly, suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder, which resulted in the man from Bonaire being taken to hospital. A few minutes later Mattia Fabrizi (Fanatic / North / MFC) was also in the war zone as he landed a ponch badly, which left the Italian stranded in pain on the water. Thankfully the injury doesn’t look as bas as first feared as he was sailing again in the double elimination, where he advanced from the first round. The final injury of the day involved Adam Sims (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg), who is well accustomed with injuries, having visited the hospital on more than one occasion over the winter due to windsurfing related injuries. In the first heat of the double elimination Sims launched into a big forward loop, but soon found himself out of control, which resulted in a high speed head first crash with the water leaving him dazed and unable to continue. This allowed fellow Brit Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers (JP / NeilPryde) to advance through the opening round, before also defeating Russia's Vladimir Yakovlev (JP / NeilPryde) as Chambers clawed his way back into seventeenth place.

The forecast for tomorrow is for lighter winds than today, but as previously mentioned Austria is an unpredictable location, so anything can happen. With today’s competition last well into the evening, the European tow-in event was postponed, which means that the first round may be run during the day tomorrow, so they’ll still be plenty going on.

Results after the single elimination
1st Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / North)
2nd Kiri Thode (Starboard / Gaastra)
3rd Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Different)
4th Anthony Ruenes (Tabou / Gaastra)

Results after the double elimination
1st Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / North)
2nd Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Different)
3rd Kiri Thode (Starboard / Gaastra)
4th Anthony Ruenes (Tabou / Gaastra)
5th Davy Scheffers (Tabou / Gaastra)