PWA Slalom Costa Brava 2016

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The opening slalom event of the season in Ulsan, South Korea, only provided one complete race, which makes the second event of the season very difficult to predict — in the sense that it is still difficult to gauge exactly who is flying and will be challenging for the top overall — apart from the usual suspects.

The second stop of the tour sees the PWA Slalom World Tour Men’s fleet heading to Costa Brava, Spain, between the 7th-12th June. Costa Brava has the potential to provide nuclear Tramontana winds, but in recent years competitors have been faced with light winds, and the range of conditions Costa Brava can produce makes this event one of the toughest to prepare for.


A taste of what Costa Brava can produce

Costa Brava

The picturesque town of Sant Pere Pescador is located 150 km to the north-east of Barcelona and is blessed with twelve kilometers of jaw dropping white sand beaches and the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The Gulf de Roses has become a world renowned destination due to its clockwork like sea breezes, which frequently grace Costa Brava with their presence during the summer months. However, whilst offering an astonishing backdrop, the Pyrenees Mountain’s can also transform Costa Brava into a white knuckled assault course - when the ferocious Tramontana wind whistles down the mountain range in excess of thirty knots - ready to test the mettle of any world class sailor. Either way we are guaranteed to see more exhilarating, close-quarters racing.

Ones to Watch

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) struck first blood in the opening event of the year to take an early season advantage in this year’s title race. The Italian was a prominent figure in 2015 — leading for the majority of last year before just falling short — and the 26 year old showed he has had no problem adjusting to his new equipment after a change of sponsors during the close season. Iachino won here last year and is sure to be challenging for top honours again come the end of the event.


Matteo Iachino

The 2015 PWA Vice-World Champion — Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) — bounced back to his best after a slightly disappointing 2015 to claim 2nd place in Korea. The fiery Frenchman finished last year with a flourish with a dominant 3rd place in New Caledonia and he looks to have carried that form into the new season, so you can expect him to be challenging for the top also.


Cyril Moussilmani

Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) picked up where he left off in 2015 to secure another podium finish — making it 4 top 5 finishes out of the last seven events he has competed in. Williams recorded his best overall result in slalom in 2015 and with the Brit now concentrating on purely one discipline he looks set to be an ever greater threat.


Ross Williams

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) came agonisingly close to a maiden world title in 2015 as he finished level on points with reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde / Chris Benz) and the Frenchman looks set to mount another title challenge this year. Mortefon started the season with a solid fourth place and will undoubtedly win a title at some stage during his career — the question is will 2016 be his year?


Pierre Mortefon

Another sailor to have changed sponsors over the course of the winter is — Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) — and the man from San Maarten made a bright start to the year with a 5th place finish. Quentel has been in the miix for top honours over the last few seasons and it will be interesting to see if he can sustain his positive start to the season. The 30 year old finished 2nd here in 2013 and he should be in the thick of things again.


Julien Quentel

Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) has started to look a real threat over the last couple of seasons and the Italian showed again that he can be a real danger and potentially one of the top contenders after claiming 6th in Korea. Reuscher is starting to combine his experience and raw talent and looks set to be a major force in the next few seasons. Reuscher revels in gusty conditions, which he may well find in Costa Brava and an even better finish is on the cards for the 26 year old.

Malte Reuscher

Reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau — may have only taken a 7th place finish in Korea, but he was evidently happy with that due to the flukey winds and tricky conditions that Korea produced. AA is aiming for a 4th consecutive world title and he’ll be competing for top honours again come the end of the event. Albeau has all the experience and skills and you have to feel the more races that are completed the more the tie falls in his favour such is his consistency.


Antoine Albeau

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7) was unlucky during the winners’ final in Korea and currently sits in 8th place overall. However, that could have been much better for the Argentinian had he not been taken down at the first mark, when occupying 3rd, by Julien Quentel. Costa Hoevel showed excellent pace during the opening event and is sure to feature heavily again.


Gonzalo Costa Hoevel

The top ten is currently completed by Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails), who won the losers’ final in Korea and Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne).


Pascal Toselli

Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) just missed out on a top 10 finish — 11th — but will be pressing on the door of a top 10 finish again having achieved his first podium finish in the slalom during the final event of 2015.


Taty Frans

Also the likes of Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) — 5th overall last year — Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails), Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails), Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) and Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic) will be looking to bounce back having missed out on the top 10 in the opening event of the year.


Ben Van der Steen

Elsewhere the likes of Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) and Bruno Martini (Starboard / Point-7), who qualified for the winners’ final in race two in Korea, will be looking to build upon that form — together with other young hotshots such as Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne), who almost knocked out Albeau in the semis before eventually finishing 16th, Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North), Matteus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde), Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne) and Ethan Westera (JP / GA Sails), who will be making his first appearance of the season.


Bruno Martini

The current forecast looks as though the opening few days will see the usual sea breeze kick in, before a change in wind swings northeast over the weekend. The next 6 days promise to see another intriguing event and you’ll be able to follow the event live by tuning into http://www.pwaworldtour.com/

Current Ranking — 2016 PWA Men’s Slalom

1st Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)
2nd Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)
4th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North)
5th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)
6th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde)
7th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
8th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7)
9th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)
10th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)

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After a week of waiting in South Korea it was a welcome relief to see the wind kick in early on the opening day of the 2016 Catalunya PWA World Cup, which caught a few people by surprise with the forecast not looking brilliant on paper. However, racing was soon underway with the wind picking up to between 8-16 knots shortly after 1pm and the opening race of the week produced a few upsets along the way, while Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) struck first blood to claim his opening bullet of the season.


Pierre Mortefon cranks a gybe

Elimination One

Winners’ Final

The winners’ final was completed at the second time of asking after Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) was a little too eager for a good start and was unfortunately disqualified for jumping the gun. As the remaining top 7 sailors approached the opening buoy it was Pierre Mortefon who managed to steal a narrow lead over Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails), who produced an excellent first gybe to leapfrog past Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne) and Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North). In the light winds the tussle for the top positions after the first gybe often proves crucial and this proved to be the case again as Mortefon made full use of the clean wind on offer to build a healthy lead as they rounded the final mark — before flying down the home straight to claim an emphatic victory, which moves the vice-world champion to the top of the rankings at the end of day one. Meanwhile, Toselli finished in a clear second ahead of Algret, who managed to out manoeuvre Vonk for 3rd place, but all four sailors will be delighted with their starts to the event — with the latter two recording their best results in a single race. Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) and Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) claimed 5th and 6th respectively ahead of Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7), who had to settle for 7th place after slamming on the brakes to avoid going over early.


Pierre Mortefon celebrates taking a bullet

Elsewhere the opening race threw up several upsets and none were bigger than reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde / Chris Benz) — taking a quarterfinal exit after getting covered on the exit of the first mark, which left AA powerless to avoid an early exit.


Antoine Albeau in the pack

The first race proved to be a tough affair for the current top 10 as only half qualified for the semifinals. Together with Albeau the likes of Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne), Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails), Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7) all too took quarterfinal exits.

Ethan Westera (JP / GA Sails) was the youngest sailor to qualify for the semifinals as the Aruban qualified from his first three heats — before the 18 year old went on to finish 6th in the losers’ final — 14th overall — as Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) won Heat 15 ahead of Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails) and Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne).


Ethan Westera

The second elimination was started but the wind soon started deteriorate as a thick layer of cloud rolled in to put a kink in the works. The sailors were released shortly afterwards at 5pm and will now prepare for another day of racing tomorrow.

The forecast looks excellent for the second day in Costa Brava and it looks as though we should see a full afternoon of racing. The sailors will meet again tomorrow at 9:30am (GMT+2) for the skippers’ meeting with a first possible start of 10am. Make sure you tune into http://www.pwaworldtour.com/ to stay up to date with all of the latest developments from the event.

Current Standings Catalunya PWA World Cup — Men’s Slalom

1st Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North)
2nd Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)
3rd Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic)
4th Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North)
5th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
6th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins)
7th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)
8th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)
9th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
10th Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails)

Ich glaube er ist zur IFCA Slalom WM. Da ist wenigstens ein realer Weltmeistertitel zu vergeben...

Immer wieder geil, wie die Termine gelegt werden.

War bis vergangenen Sonntag der Fall...

Die Bilder sind so vorgegeben und seitens der PWA verlinkt.
Wir hatten das Thema bereits im letzten PWA Thema.
Entweder so, oder ganz ohne Bilder oder gar keine PWA News oder ich müsste einen Moderator dabei nehmen, der das manuell macht.
Ich kann nicht alles machen...

Das Übel bei der Sache ist eigentlich, dass die ja wie gesagt nur verlinkt sind und wahrscheinlich in x Wochen weg sind.
Das Beste wäre natürlich schon, dass wir die hier ins Forum hochladen. Dann sind sie für die Ewigkeit da.
Aber ich schaffe das momentan nicht, da wir an einer neuen Version fürs Forum arbeiten.

The promising forecast never quite materialised with the wind lingering right on the race-able limit — 7-12 knots for the majority of the afternoon — which led to a slightly frustrating second day in Costa Brava.

Over the duration of the afternoon a further three heats in the second race were completed — meaning the first round is now complete. Timing the starts proved crucial again to ensure a top four position was held after the first gybe, otherwise the competitors faced an uphill challenge to qualify.


Startline action

In the opening heat of the day Andrea Rosati (RRD / North) led from start to finish to comfortably qualify ahead of Tomas Malina (Fanatic / North), Ludovic Jossin (Patrik / NeilPryde) and Enes Yilmazer (Starboard / Severne), who did brilliantly to overtake Andrea Ferin (RRD / Challenger Sails) to claim the final qualifying place.


Andrea Rosati

Heat 3 was completed at the second time of asking after the initial effort had to be cancelled due to a drop in the wind. Upon the restart Kurosh Kiani (Starboard / Point-7) made the best start and began his comeback after being disqualified from yesterday’s semifinal due to sailing in the wrong heat, which saw the Dane relegated to last place. However, he has displayed excellent pace on both days and looks ready to come back. Behind him were fellow Point-7 teammates Michal Aftowicz (RRD / Point-7) and Nicolas Goyard (RRD / Point-7), while the top four was completed by Coen Swijnenburg (JP / NeilPryde).


Kurosh Kiani

Heat 4 proved to be the final heat of the day and it was German Gunnar Asmussen (Starboard / North) who came out on top ahead of Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde), Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) and local boy Marc Paré (99NoveNove / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins), who clinched the final qualifying place.


Gunnar Asmussen

Earlier in the day we caught up with Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins), who finished 6th in yesterday’s final and made a change to his quiver for the 2016 season — changing his biggest registered sail from 8.6m to 9.2m — a move which evidently paid off and the Bonairean had this to say: “It was the first time I was using such a big sail in the slalom and it’s actually kind of crazy. The racing was really good yesterday with steady winds, I also made a few of the guys angry with some aggressive, tactical gybing close to the mark, but for me that’s part of racing and if you don’t push the limit enough you’ll never make it to the top four. I just want to race and whatever happens it’s their problem or my problem — that’s just the way racing is.

I think changing up to the 9.2m was a positive move for me because we’re racing in lighter conditions and I’m also slightly heavier than I was. With the 9.2m I’m able to exit the gybes more easily and overall I think it really helps a lot even though it doesn’t necessarily feel like it to begin with.”


Taty Frans

The forecast for tomorrow shows the possibility of Tramontana wind in the morning so with this in mind the sailors will meet bright and early tomorrow morning for a 6am skippers’ meeting — with the action commencing from 6:30am (GMT+2) — if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into http://www.pwaworldtour.com/ to stay up to date with all of the latest developments from the event.


The sailors will be up early for sunrise tomorrow

To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click%3D249%26cHash%3D3e5e96955758c810a3adc2a5d29302ba"]HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

No show!

The competitors and race crew faced another challenging day on day four of the Catalunya PWA World Cup. A 6am skippers’ meeting in the hope of the Tramontana wind showing its face didn’t pay off, but it did arrive, just later than expected, and for a while it looked as though some good quality racing was going to be on offer. Unfortunately, however, the gusty nature of the wind enabled only a further heat to be completed.


Sunrise - 6am Skippers' Meeting

As the morning progressed the wind swung onshore on a day of two halves, but unfortunately neither wind direction delivered suitable racing conditions with the breeze again teasing competitors as it hovered between 5-12 knots for the majority of the afternoon.


Adriaan van Rijsselberghe flying high

Heat 5 was the only heat that it was possible to gain a result for and Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) made the best start of the pack and he led the fleet as they rounded the first buoy ahead of Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) and Adriaan van Rijsselberghe (Starboard / Avanti). Over the remainder of the course Williams was able to overtake Maynard to claim first place, while Maynard, van Rijsselberghe and Josh Angulo (Angulo) also safely advanced into the quarterfinals.


Ross Williams safely advances

Numerous efforts were made to complete heats 6 and 7, but the wind refused to co-operate and the sailors were eventually released at 6pm.

The forecast doesn’t look as promising on paper as the last two days, but as the first day showed anything can happen here no matter what the forecast predicts and Saturday still holds hopes of a stronger Tramontana wind funnelling down the Pyrenees Mountains. The skippers’ meeting tomorrow will be held at 9am with the action commencing from 9:30am (GMT+2) — if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?…waworldtour.com to stay up to date with all of the latest developments from the event.

The forecast always looked tricky for today and that’s the way the day unfolded. After a cloudy and still start the wind swung onshore over the course of the morning and then teased competitors again with winds of 5-11 knots throughout the afternoon — meaning it was possible to plane but unfortunately not suitable for competition racing.


A stunning start to the day in Costa Brava

The sailors were once again released at 6pm and attention now turns towards the penultimate day and there’s a strong chance that racing will be able to resume with the current forecast still predicting Tramontana in the region of 22-28 knots.

Earlier in the day we quickly caught up with Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North) - who is currently sat in 4th place after replicating his best single result in a race since 2013 and the flying Dutchman had this to say: “It feels great to have the best result in my pocket again as it was 3 years ago since I managed to finish 4th in Sylt. I’m feeling confident and solid with all my gear, so I’m really looking forward to some more racing and hopefully the thermal wind will come back soon so we get back out on the race course.”


Jordy Vonk tuning up for tomorrow

The forecast for tomorrow means the sailors will be in for another early start with the skippers’ meeting being called for 6am and the action commencing from 6:30am (GMT+2) — if conditions allow. And after the way the Tramontana kicked in out of nowhere yesterday it is likely the fleet will remain on short announcements for much of the morning — to ensure no suitable conditions are missed. Make sure you tune into http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?…waworldtour.com to stay up to date with all of the latest developments from the event.

To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click%3D249%26cHash%3D3e5e96955758c810a3adc2a5d29302ba"]HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

For a long time on the final day it didn’t look like it would be possible to complete anymore racing in Costa Brava with the conditions remaining extremely light throughout the day. However, as has happened on a few final days here in recent years the wind kicked in, in the dying hours of the event to produce a frantic finale, which began with several sailors desperately scrambling their equipment to the beach in order to make their heats — with the arrival of the wind catching many off guard.


Winners' final action

With the way the event rankings stood some sailors had everything to lose, while others had everything to gain and as the second elimination was completed the rankings changed quite substantially with just 3 out of the original top 10 sailors holding their position from the first race. Crucially though one of those sailors who managed to defend their positions was Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North), who had led the event since the opening day and the Frenchman claims his first event victory of the year, while also taking the lead in the race for the 2016 PWA Slalom World Championship.


Mortefon clinches victory in Spain and No.1 in the world

Winners’ Final

Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) held a narrow advantage over Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7), Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North) and Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) as the fleet rounded the opening buoy, while Pierre Mortefon found himself at the back of the fleet. However, after the third gybe the positions took a major change with several sailors struggling to exit the gybe, which allowed Cucchi to burst into a significant lead, while Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) and Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) moved into second and third place respectively. Mortefon benefitted the most as he moved from last to fourth after pumping his heart out. With a clear advantage Cucchi safely navigated the final buoy to claim his first bullet of the season — which sees the Italian claim the final spot on the podium, which is his maiden top 3 finish. Behind him Williams secured second place ahead of Dagan, third, and Mortefon successfully defended off the challenge of Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) to finish fourth. 23 year old, Vonk, was possibly the unluckiest on the exit of the third and the Dutchman misses out on a maiden podium finish by an agonising 0.3 of a point.


Andrea Cucchi secures his maiden podium after 20 years

In the losers’ final Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) led from start to finish to complete an excellent for the President of the PWA. Diaz has looked sharp on his starts over the couple of completed races and earns 6th place overall. Steven Allen (Patrik / Severne) finished behind the Italian ahead of Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7), who now occupies 2nd in the overall rankings, and Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails), who finished 4th in Heat 15.


Jimmy Diaz happy with his weeks work

Elsewhere, Nicolas Goyard (RRD / Point-7), performed excellently as the 20 year old qualified for the semifinals after showing excellent tactical awareness, and the ability to perform under pressure, when being pursued by Julien Quentel. Goyard eventually finished the round in 14th place.


Nicolas Goyard

After a frantic finale the closing ceremony was held shortly after 6pm where Pierre Mortefon was crowned the champion of Costa Brava alongside Arnon Dagan and Andrea Cucchi.

Overall Result 2016 Catalunya PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North)
2nd Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
3rd Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
4th Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North)
5th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)
6th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)
7th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)
8th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)
9th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)
10th Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic)

Current Overall Ranking PWA Men’s Slalom World Tour

1st Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North)
2nd Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)
3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)
4th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)
5th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
6th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)
7th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
8th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)
9th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
10th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
10th Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails)

The 2016 Catalunya PWA World Cup started with a flourish as the wind kicked in early on the opening day to allow the first elimination of the week to be completed. However, the sailors then faced a stern test of their patience as the wind took a break for a few days, before returning in the dying hours of the final day to provide a nerve-racking finale as the second race was finished.

Close quarters racing

Ultimately, Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North), who won the opening elimination — his first bullet of the season — held his nerve to be crowned the King of Costa Brava and the 26 year old now seizes control of the title race. Mortefon sailed well under pressure in the second race, keeping his cool in Heat 12 when he was outside of the qualifying positions after the first mark to eventually book his place in the semifinals after clinching 4th. Mortefon came agonisingly close to securing a maiden world title in 2015 — finishing level on points with Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) — and looks set to mount a serious challenge again.


Pierre Mortefon takes the event victory

Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) returned to the podium for the first time since 2014 as he secured 2nd place in Costa Brava. The Israeli looked lighting quick throughout the event and he qualified for both winners’ finals where he recorded 2nd and 5th place finishes respectively. Dagan’s latest result sees him rise to 5th in the overall rankings.


Arnon Dagan celebrates with his expectant wife

Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) has been competing on the PWA World Tour for 20 years, but the Italian had never managed a top 3 finish until now. Cucchi clinched 3rd place in Costa Brava to earn a maiden podium as he pipped Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North) into 3rd after storming to victory in the second elimination. After the second event of the season Cucchi rises to 7th overall.


Bullet time for Andrea Cucchi

Jordy Vonk equalled his best performance to date, in a single race, as the flying Dutchman secured 4th place in race one — emulating his 4th place finish in Sylt in 2013 — and was a little unlucky in the second winners’ final when he held 3rd place as he rounded the penultimate gybe only to be covered by the rest of the chasing pack, which resulted in a slow get away and a drop back to 6th. Vonk will still be delighted with his performance in Costa Brava, but may be a little disappointed, having agonisingly missed out on a podium finish by just 0.3 of a point.


A happy Jordy Vonk

Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails) continued his fine start to the season by securing 5th place in Costa Brava, which sees the Frenchman climb to 4th overall. Toselli finished second in the opening race, looking blisteringly quick throughout, but was knocked out in the semifinals which cost him a shot at the podium. Toselli has bounced back after a slightly disappointing campaign in 2015 and will be full of confidence heading into the next event having gained back-to-back top 10 results.


Pascal Toselli cranks a gybe

Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) will be delighted with his weeks work in Costa Brava as the President of the PWA recorded his first top ten finish since 2013. Diaz qualified for the winners’ final in race one, but was a little too eager to start with a bang which unfortunately resulted in a premature start. Diaz continued his excellent form into the second elimination where he finished 9th after claiming a clear victory in the losers’ final, which saw him earn 6th place overall here.


Jimmy Diaz returns to the top 10

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) slips to 2nd in the overall rankings after a 7th place finish. The Italian qualified for the opening winners’ final of the week with ease, but was forced to slam on the brakes in order to avoid going over early and couldn’t recover from there. Iachino has still made an excellent start to the season and you can expect to see him challenging for the top again when he returns to action in Fuerteventura.


Matteo Iachino on the fly

Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) suffered a surprise early exit in race one as he was knocked out in the quarterfinals. However, the Brit recovered nicely in race two as he clinched 2nd place to finish 8th overall in Costa Brava, which sees Williams defend his 3rd place in the overall rankings.


Ross Williams fights back

Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne) again showed the level of consistency required to achieve top results as the Australian earned a 4th consecutive top 10 finish — 9th here. Allen has been a frequent member of the overall top 10 in recent years and he looks to continue that trend in 2016. After his performance here, Allen, rises to 6th in the overall rankings.


Steve Allen secures another top 10 finish

Meanwhile, the top 10 was completed by Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic) and the PWA Youth Slalom World Champion looked set for a maiden podium after finishing 3rd in the opening race, but the 22 year old suffered a quarterfinal exit in the next race and will have to wait for another shot at the top 3.


Disappointed for Tristan Algret

Elsewhere, reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau — was only able to finish 17th here after a quarterfinal exit in race one, before a dropped gybe resulted in 8th place in the second winners’ final. The season hasn’t gone according to plan for Albeau thus far, but you can expect to see the 23-time world champion bounce back in Fuerte.


Antoine Albeau

Fellow countryman Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) entered in the event in second place, but he too suffered a disappointing result as he walks away with 23rd, which sees him fall to joint 10th.


The highs and lows of slalom - Cyril Moussilmani

The title race is starting to gather pace and it looks as though it could be a fight for the title between Mortefon and Iachino at this early stage. Antoine Albeau has almost no room for error now in the remaining events, but you still wouldn’t bet against him as he is often at his most deadly when he’s under pressure. The slalom fleet will return to action in about 6 weeks time in Fuerteventura.

Where’s Next on the PWA World Tour?

So far this season we’ve seen the freestyle and slalom fleets in action, so now it’s time for the most radical sailors in the world to take centre stage as the wave fleet prepare to begin their title challenges in Pozo Izquierdo for the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival, which runs between the 3rd-9th July. Make sure you tune into http://www.pwaworldtour.com/ — here you’ll be able to follow all the amazing action as it happens via the PWA live stream.

Overall Result 2016 Catalunya PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North)
2nd Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
3rd Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
4th Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North)
5th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)
6th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)
7th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)
8th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)
9th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)
10th Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic)

Current Overall Ranking PWA Men’s Slalom World Tour

1st Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North)
2nd Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7)
3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)
4th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails)
5th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
6th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)
7th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
8th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)
9th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
10th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
10th Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails)