Tenerife Windsurfing World Cup 2026 - Day 6
by International Windsurfing Tour 6 Aug 03:50 PDT
31 July - 29 August 2026
Marc Paré Rico wins a historic third straight Tenerife title with the highest heat score of the event; Sarah-Quita Offringa goes back-to-back as Women's World Champion
The World Wave Tour crowned Spain's Marc Paré Rico (team Simmer) and Aruba's Sarah-Quita Offringa (team Neil-Pryde) as champions of the Playa Sur Wind & Waves Festival today, as some of the biggest and most powerful conditions of the season produced one of the highest level finals days the sport has seen.
The 5-STAR Unified Wave World Tour event, sanctioned by the PWA and recognized as a World Sailing Special Event, ran July 31-August 9 at El Cabezo, Tenerife - one of windsurfing's most iconic wave arenas.
Men's final: Spain's Paré makes it three in a row
Marc Paré Rico (ESP) delivered a flawless performance in the men's final, posting the highest heat score of the entire event - a commanding 36.63, highlighted by a perfect 20-point ride for jumping - 2 x perfect 10's - to win Tenerife for the third consecutive year.
The victory continues a remarkable arc for Paré: his 2024 Tenerife win marked his first title since recovering from a Lisfranc injury, and 2025 delivered his first win in the same year he claimed the World Title. Now, three in a row.
"It was an incredible performance from Marc Paré Rico in the final," organizers said. "Congratulations, Marc, on a flawless performance."
He was chased hard by a stacked finalist field:
Philip Köster (GER) - 2nd place. The five time Wave World Champion looked untouchable all week, winning every heat by a comfortable margin. His semifinal alone featured a near perfect 9.88 push loop forward, a perfect 10-point double forward, and wave scores of 8.12 and 7.00 - one of the strongest heats of the event. In the final, an 8.95 double forward and a one footed back loop weren't quite enough to match Paré's near perfect scoring.
Marino Gil Gherardi (ESP) - 3rd place, his third consecutive Tenerife final appearance. One of the Canary Islands' most loved local riders, Gil put on a masterclass of push loop forwards all week, including back-to-back 10-point rides in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and a massive 9.43-point push loop forward in the final.
Lennart Neubauer (GRE) - 4th place, and a milestone result: his first ever final at a 5-STAR Wave World Cup. Arriving in Tenerife fresh off a Freestyle victory in Fuerteventura, Neubauer won both of his early heats before finishing runner-up in the semifinals, landing double forwards and push forwards scoring over eight points along the way.
Quarterfinal and semifinal storylines:
Competition was fierce from the earliest rounds. Brazil's Marcilio Browne and Spain's Miguel Chapuis were eliminated in the quarterfinals, while tour No. 4 France's Antoine Martin - a two podium rider this season - missed the semifinals by just 0.07 points, and Germany's Julian Salmon fell just 0.08 points short in a separate heat. In what felt like a final in its own right, Spain's Liam Dunkerbeck and Víctor Fernández were eliminated alongside eventual finalists Paré and Gil in Quarterfinal H4 — a heat featuring four riders who have all previously reached Canary Islands finals.
The semifinals produced several breakthrough results, with Takuma Sugi, Arthur Arutkin, Josep Pons, and Jules Denel all recording their best-ever finishes at the event by advancing that far.
Women's final: Aruba's Offringa goes back-to-back
Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU) defended her Tenerife title in dramatic fashion, sealing the win with a tweaked pushloop in wild, powerful conditions to become back-to-back Tenerife World Cup Champion.
"It was an event that alluded her for many years, but last year she cracked it and finally got the victory - and in 2026 she has done it again," organizers said, "taking the victory in some crazy conditions."
She was joined on the podium by:
Lina Erpenstein (GER) - 2nd place, a standout return to form after battling injuries in recent seasons. Erpenstein won her opening heat outright, then delivered one of the performances of the event in the semifinal with an 8-point wave - tied for the highest single wave score of the entire women's competition. In the final, she combined a powerful push loop with a signature back loop for a 7.60 score, edging out Alexia Kiefer by less than a point.
Alexia Kiefer-Quintana (ESP) - 3rd place, her third straight Tenerife podium (2024, 2025, 2026) and second podium of the 2026 season already, following a 3rd-place finish in Gran Canaria. With three more 5-STAR events remaining, Kiefer is emerging as a serious contender for the world rankings.
Justyna Sniady (POL) - 4th place, her fourth career Tenerife World Cup final. Sniady continues to raise her own bar year after year, this week sending bigger back loops with one-footed and one-handed variations, backed by powerful, vertical wave riding.
Semifinal storylines:
The level in Tenerife was described by organizers as "sky-high," with several of the tour's strongest riders falling agonizingly short of the final. Current tour leader Germany's Maria Behrens and junior standout Belgian Sol Degrieck - fresh off a final in Pozo - both missed out in Semifinal H1. In an even more stacked Semifinal H2, Switzerland's Pauline Katz (five finals across the last three seasons) landed an outstanding 8-point back loop but narrowly missed the cut, and World No. 2 France's Marine Hunter also came up just short after a brilliant quarterfinal run. Remarkably, that semifinal produced the two highest heat scores of the entire Pro Women's event.