2015 PWA World Cup heads to Tenerife
by ISAF on 3 Aug 2015
Philip Köster - PWA World Cup 2015 PWA
2015 PWA World Cup – From the August 3-9, the world's most radical sailors will return to action for their second meeting of the season in El Medano, Tenerife.
Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) stole the early season advantage as both of them remained unbeaten in Pozo, Gran Canaria. Now they will both be looking to cement their place at the top of the rankings. Can you see anyone stopping the current world leaders?
El Médano is situated on the South East coast of Tenerife, just minutes away from the airport. Furthermore El Médano's beautiful golden sand beaches are blessed with glorious sunshine, regular trade winds and pumping waves year round, which make this amazing spot a windsurfers haven. The week ahead is guaranteed to be packed with unbelievable action, as the elite of the wave sailing world take full advantage of the world class conditions to wow the both the crowds and the judges.
Ones to Watch
Men's
Philip Köster claimed an emphatic victory in Pozo after producing a mesmerising display of sailing. The twenty-one year old exploded through amazing planing double forwards, bolt upright pushloop forwards and even attempted a triple forward as he blew the rest of the competition away. Köster is without doubt the man to beat in Tenerife, but it's going to take a super human effort to do just that as he has never been beaten here.
Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC) finished second in the opening event of the year after storming back through the double elimination. The Spaniard sat in joint fifth after the single but found his groove - landing numerous perfect doubles, monstrous backloops and radical goiters to battle back. Fernandez has finished on the podium in three out of the four events in Tenerife and you can expect to seem him pushing for another top three finish come the end of the week.
Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD) completed the podium in Pozo in his first event since changing sponsors to RRD. The Spaniard will be an even bigger threat in Tenerife with El Cabezo being his home spot and you can expect to see more explosive frontside threes and fluid wave riding as he looks to continue his fine start to the season.
The same can also be said of Dany Bruch (Starboard / Challenger Sails / AL360) - who calls El Cabezo home too. Bruch made a great start to the year after finishing fourth in Pozo after landing massive stalled forwards and one-handed, one-footed backloops. Bruch is also one of the silkiest wave riders in the game and should be pushing for the top positions again.
Reigning world champion - Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) - finished fifth in Pozo and will now look to properly kick start his title defence in Tenerife. The Frenchman claimed second place here last year, forcing a super final against Köster in the double elimination. Traversa is renowned for his wave riding and will also be boosting massive backloops and tabletop forwards as he looks to go one better this year.
Jaeger Stone produced an amazing comeback in Pozo to eventually finish in sixth place overall. Stone proved he has the potential to beat anyone after defeating Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC), Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins / SWOX) and Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC). The Australian has performed well in Tenerife in the past - completing the podium in 2011 and finishing fourth here last year on his first year back on tour. Expect to see Stone pushing for another top five finish.
We can also expect to see big performances from both Ricardo Campello - seventh in Pozo - and Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) - 13th in Pozo - who will be out to prove a point and exact revenge against their opponents. The two sailors possess all the weapons in their arsenals and you would expect to see them pushing for the top.
Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde / MFC) made a solid start to the season in Pozo finishing in joint seventh and will look to continue his fine start to the year. Martin has a no-fear approach to windsurfing and is capable of producing moments of magic making him real danger.
Also keep an eye out for Robby Swift, Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / North / MFC), Omar Sanchez (Angulo / KA Sail / Dunkerbeck Eyewear) and Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) all of whom completed the top ten last time out.
Women's
Daida Moreno produced a flawless display in Pozo as she claimed her 16th victory there. Daida will now look to defend her Tenerife crown, whilst cementing her place at the top of the rankings with more outstanding jumping and wave riding.
However, Daida, will face stern competition from Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) - who won here in 2012. The twins set the standard in women's wave sailing and you'd expect to see them battling it out with each other in the final again. Iballa had only just returned to the water when Pozo began so should also be better prepared for the second event of the season.
Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) earned her second ever podium finish on the PWA Wave World Tour in the opening event of 2015 and will be hoping to at least defend the third place she achieved here last year. Offringa has added pushloops to her repertoire and is continually improving her wave riding as she continue to progress. Confidence will also be sky high after clinching her eighth successive freestyle world title in Fuerteventura.
Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) is one of the most stylish wave riders and beat Offringa with her wave scores in the opening battle of the year, but was edged out in the jumping department meaning she had to settle for fourth place. Wahl is usually there or thereabouts come the end of the event and should be involved again.
Amanda Beenen (99NoveNove / Point-seven) will be looking to return to the top four and beyond after finishing fifth in Pozo. Beenen takes one of the most aggressive approaches to sailing and will be determined to show off what she can do at a spot where she has spent a lot of time.
Also Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / North) - third overall last year - will be hoping to kick start her year in Tenerife after finishing seventh in Pozo, also looking to get involved in the action will be Ingrid Larouche (Fanatic / North), Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Mystic) and Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD / Maui Ultra Fins), who comes into the event on the back of her best result yet - sixth in Pozo.
The forecast currently keeps changing, but has improved from the original outlook and it looks as though there are several days with potential now. As always you'll be able to follow all of the incredible action as it happens by tuning into
website - where you'll find the PWA live stream and live ticker.
Current PWA overall ranking Wave Men 2015
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