Crozon Morgat PWA World Cup
Event Preview: The stage is set in Crozon Morgat for the penultimate PWA Wave event of 2015
Things are really hotting up in the race for the 2015 PWA Wave World Championships with just two events to go. Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra) and Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) currently lead the way in the men’s and women’s divisions, but there’s still all to play for. Next up for the wave sailing elite is a return to France, after last year’s superb event in La Torche, for the Crozon Morgat PWA World Cup, which runs between the 16th-22nd October.
Crozon Morgat is also located in Finistére, but is situated about 75km north of La Torche. However, it still offers the same world class waves that the Bretagné region is renowned for thanks to the punchy Atlantic swells, which constantly hit northwest France.
Roaming
The Crozon Morgat PWA World Cup will see the return of a roaming event with competition being possible at two locations — hopefully ensuring that the best possible conditions are captured during the contest.
Ones to Watch
Women’s
Daida Moreno holds a perfect record so far this season with two event victories out of two and could have the title race sewn up with another victory here. Daida has been at her imperious best throughout the season with an extensive jumping repertoire and aggressive wave riding on display, but she will face stern competition again from Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra), who has been sailing through the pain barrier for much of the year and will be determined to keep her title challenge alive as she looks to defend her world crown.
Between the legendary twins there’s a ferocious battle developing for the final place on the prestigious podium between — Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) and Amanda Beenen (99NoveNove / Point-7) — and the two women will be firing on all cylinders again over the week ahead.
Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) also remains right on the tails of Offringa and Beenen and will be looking to apply the pressure by taking advantage of any mistakes that may be made by either Offringa or Beenen.
Behind the top five it’s still incredibly close with Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / North) and Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Mystic) tied on points in joint six, whilst Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD / Maui Ultra Fins) is still firmly in contention. The Italian has been looking more and more dangerous at each event and will be setting her sights on improving on her current eighth place.
Men’s
Philip Köster and Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC) are set to resume their epic battle in a few days time. The duo have been almost inseparable so far this season and as a result they are currently tied on points. However, it is Köster who holds a slender lead thanks to recording two event victories, compared to the Spaniard’s one.
The upcoming duel promises to produce another enthralling fight between the current top two in the world and the stakes couldn’t be higher with both sailors knowing that any mistake now could cost them a shot at this year’s title — even though they could discard their result here it would then place massive pressure on them to excel in Maui.
Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne) is still only in his second full season back on tour — after a break for a couple of years due to injury and finishing his studies — but has already established himself a regular top 5 and beyond sailor. Stone has impressed throughout the year with his trademark wave riding and one-handed, one-footed backloops and he’ll be looking to further cement his place in the overall top three come the end of the event.
Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD) is the next closest contender in fourth place at the moment and he’ll ideally be looking to discard his ninth place finish from Denmark. The Spaniard is regarded as one of the most stylish wave riders in the world — combining gouging turns with signature frontside 360s to dispatch of his opponents and he’ll be calling upon those skills again.
Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) may have not been too happy with his results so far this season — such are the level of the high standards he expects from himself — but the Brazilian/Venezuelan still occupies an excellent fifth place in the overall standings coming into the penultimate event of the year. Campello always catches the eye whenever he’s on the water due to his radical approach to sailing and you can be sure he’ll be more fired up then ever when the green flag is raised as he looks to record his best result of 2015.
Reigning world champion — Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) — comes into Crozon in sixth place. The campaign may have not gone quite how he would have wanted so far, but you can expect a big performance from TT in his homeland of France. Traversa loves the Brittany coastline and if the conditions fire then he’ll be one of the biggest threats out there as he really comes into his own when things start turning gnarly.
Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) has consistently improved at every event so far his year and his latest performance in Denmark saw the Brazilian return to the podium. Browne will come into France full of confidence, whilst looking to continue his rise through the rankings. A top ten finish or better would allow Brawzinho to discard his thirteenth place in Pozo and based on how he has been sailing you’d think that would be somewhat of an inevitability.
The current top 10 is completed by Britain’s Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins / SWOX) — who has achieved three top 10 finishes out of three so far this season — and German’s Dany Bruch (Starboard / Challenger Sails / AL360) and Klaas Voget (Fanatic / Simmer / MFC) — who comes into the event on the back of his best result this year — 5th in Denmark.
It looks as though we may need a little bit of luck over the week ahead with northeasterly winds and small waves currently being predicted on the latest forecast models. However, things can change quickly in Europe at this time of year and a week is a long time in forecasting terms, so hopefully with a bit of luck we’ll see more spectacular action in the penultimate wave event of the year. As always you’ll be able to follow everything as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker @ www.pwaworldtour.com.
