35. Fuerteventura World Cup 2023

Slalom & Freestyle set to return to Fuerteventura for the first time in 4 years to mark the 35th edition of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam

The stage is now set for the 35th edition of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam, which kicks off tomorrow and runs until 5th August. The elite of the racing and freestyle world are back in town for the first time since the pandemic and will be readying themselves for 10 epic days of competition. The opening five days will be packed with adrenaline fuelled slalom as the world’s best racers prepare for their third battle of the season, whilst the second half of the event will belong to the Freestylers, who will be making their opening appearance of the year.

Racing in 2019

Sotavento is located on the southeast coast of Fuerteventura and has developed a world class reputation due to its year round sunshine, stunning golden beaches and most importantly, as its name suggests, strong winds, which create some of the most exhilarating conditions on the PWA World Tour. Fuerteventura is one of the most challenging stops on the tour for the freestylers, but it can also be one of the most rewarding when there is a swell running as it produces the perfect stunt ramps for the contortionists of the windsurfing world to launch into the latest aerial power moves, while the slalom fleet will once again be faced with the fin or foil debate as they ready themselves to face Fuerte’s chop, which will be ready to wipe them out with barely a moments notice!

Women’s

Slalom

For the first time since 2008 Women’s Slalom will finally make its long awaited return to Fuerteventura and after the exploits in Pozo Izquierdo earlier this month, there should be plenty more exciting racing on offer over the next 5 days between the best female racers on the planet.

Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) deservedly heads up the World Tour rankings coming into Fuerte after a fantastic start to the season, which saw her build upon an excellent second place in Italy by securing her first victory on the World Tour in Gran Canaria. Alabau sailed extremely consistently in Pozo - only finishing outside the top 3 on 4 occasions in 15 eliminations and the Spaniard will look to continue that momentum here as she keeps up her charge for a maiden world title.

Blanca Alabau

Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui / LOKEFOIL) and Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone) are currently Alabau’s closest rivals and they trail the 26-year-old by 300 points after the opening two events. Lemeteyer destroyed the field in Italy at the start of the season, but couldn’t reproduce that level of performance in Pozo - finishing 5th - so she will be looking to bounce back in Fuerte. Meanwhile, the reigning world champion - Mortefon - has made a solid, if unspectacular start to the season, with back-to-back podiums, but the 31-year-old will be looking to close the gap at the top by returning to winning ways here. Mortefon claimed 4 bullets in Pozo, but some costly errors cost her a shot at the event title. If those errors can be removed she will be there or thereabouts again.

Marion Mortefon (left) & Justine Lemeteyer (right) give chase

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) claimed a solid second place in Pozo in her first appearance of the season and the Aruban takes to the lineup once again here. Offringa has 5 Slalom world crowns to her name and that level of experience showed in Pozo with the 32-year-old finishing outside the top 3 only twice in 15 eliminations. Offringa will be hoping it’s windy enough to be fully lit on the fin - if it is she’ll be genuine threat for the event title again.

Sarah-Quita Offringa

Elsewhere, Jenna Gibson (Fanatic / Duotone) comes into the event ranked 4th in the overalls and the Brit will be pushing for a podium finish here. Gibson showed blistering pace in Gran Canaria, which saw her consistently holding the lead, but the 25-year-old will need to reduce her gybing errors, which cost her dearly in Pozo. If she can do that she clearly possesses all of the speed necessary to challenge for the event title and not ‘just’ the podium. Fellow Brit - Sarah Jackson (Fanatic / Duotone) - also returns to the fleet having missed the opening two events through injury, whilst Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Mae Davico (Patrik / LoftSails / Patrik Foils) will be battling it out for the top 5 and beyond again.

Jenna Gibson

Freestyle

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) will look to produce a record extending display over the next 5 days of Freestyle (second half of the event) as the Aruban aims to secure a 14th Freestyle world crown. The Queen of Freestyle was pushed all the way here in 2019 by Maaike Huvermann (Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and it’s possible that Huvermann may prove to be Offringa’s biggest threat again. The 25-year-old inflicted Offringa’s only heat loss in 11 years back in Bonaire in 2019, but Huvermann has been unable to wrestle Offringa’s much loved crown from her grasp so far.

Sarah-Quita Offringa

It has been a couple of years since the last Women’s Freestyle event, so it will be interesting to see what’s what when the green flag goes up. Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Huvermann have encountered numerous close battles in recent years and the Norwegian, who is now fully fit again after breaking her foot, will be hoping to be able to come out on top against Huverman this time around.

Oda Brødholt

Offringa, Huvermann and Brødholt have had the podium positions locked up between them since 2014, so it’s hard to look much past them based on history, but that won’t stop the likes of Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins) and Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde) from aspiring to bring that trend to an end.

Maaike Huvermann

Meanwhile, Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails), who you’ll be more accustomed to seeing on the wave scene, will make her Freestyle debut here in Fuerteventura, whilst 23-year-old Lisa Klöster (MB-Boards / Sailloft Hamburg) is ready for battle again as she looks to improve upon her 5th place from 2021.

Men’s

Slalom

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) has made an excellent start to his world title defence with the Pole winning the opening event of the year in Italy, before finishing second to Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) in Gran Canaria. However, things remain tight at the top with just 200 points separating Rutkowski and his closest challenger - Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Phantom Foils) - so there will be no room for errors. Thus far though, Rutkowski hasn’t really put a foot wrong and the 31-year-old is the only sailor to be able to boast a 100% Winners’ Final Qualifying Record - 14 out of 14 for 2023. Expect to see Rutkowski challenging for top honours again over the next 5 days.

Maciek Rutkowski

As previously mentioned Pierre Mortefon is currently Rutkowski’s closest rival and the Frenchman has snatched a couple of top results by pulling it out of the bag when it matters most in both Italy and Gran Canaria, where he stole second and third place respectively. The 2019 world champion is perfectly poised to attack the top and has a solid track record here - since 2014 the Frenchman has a second, two 3rds and three 4ths.

Pierre Mortefon locked in battle with Antoine Albeau (middle) & Matteo Iachino (left) in 2019

The only active sailor to boast a better track record here than Mortefon is Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails), who has 3 seconds, a third, and a fourth since 2015. The Italian saw his podium finish snatched away by Mortefon in Gran Canaria and will be eager to re-establish himself in the podium positions. This is the first time since 2015, in a season with a least two events, that Iachino has failed to record a podium finish within the first two events. The 2016 world champion hasn’t performed badly, but he’ll be keen to step it up and notch and try and reassert himself!

Matteo Iachino last time out in Fuerteventura - 2019

Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) bounced back from a slightly disappointing display in Italy where a couple of costly errors saw him finish 8th, by claiming an excellent victory in Gran Canaria. The Croat has now won two out of the last three events and you’d expect to see him pushing for top honours again here over the course of the next 5 days.

Enrico Marotti

For the first time this season 2021 world champion - Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) - will be back in the fleet after concentrating on the IQ Foil and next year’s Olympic campaign so far this year. The Frenchman finished second in Japan late last year and you’d expect to see him prominently placed again come the end of the event.

Nicolas Goyard

Elsewhere, the German duo of Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) and Nicolas Prien (JP / NeilPryde) will look to continue their solid starts to the season - with the pair currently occupying 5th and 6th in the overalls. Prien will look to kick on from his best result ever in Gran Canaria - 5th - which also saw the 27-year-old claim his first bullet on the World Tour.

Nico Prien

With his summer exams out of the way - Johan Soe (FMX Racing / Point-7) - returns to the fleet having been absent in Gran Canaria. The young Dane continues to make a flying start to life on tour and only narrowly missed out on a maiden podium in Italy. Expect to see Soe pushing for a podium finish here. Other familiar names to return to the fleet include fellow Dane - Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) - Nicolas Warembourg (JP / NeilPryde) and William Huppert (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils).

Johan Soe

Other notable names to watch out for include; Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone), who was the only man to win an elimination on the fin in Pozo and will no doubt be hoping for windy enough conditions to compete on the fin, Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails), who was either winning eliminations in Pozo or crashing out - the Bonairean certainly has the potential to challenge for the win if everything clicks. Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde), who won his first elimination on Foil in Pozo, as well as Jules Lohan (FMX Racing / S2Maui), Alexis Mathis (Tabou / GA Sails), Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils), Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) and Jimmy Thieme (Fanatic / Duotone), who competed purely on fin in Pozo and earned his first top 10 result.

Jordy Vonk

Freestyle

Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins) will begin his world title defence in Fuerteventura having claimed his maiden world crown last season. The Frenchman often excels in Fuerte’s tricky choppy conditions and howling winds and will be eager to make a solid start to his campaign.

Adrien Bosson

Bosson will face many challengers for the coveted top spot though; namely vice-world champion - Jacopo Testa (AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360), who pushed Bosson all the way in Sylt with the title being decided by a Super Final where just 0.1 of a point split the two title contenders. Testa was sailing with a knee injury then, so if it’s fully fit he could be an even bigger threat this time around.

Jacopo Testa

Belgium have a knack of producing world class freestylers and the trio of Steven van Broeckhoven (Starboard / GUNSAILS), who is the reigning event champion from 2019, Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) and Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails), all of whom have won a world title to their name, will be pushing for a top result here.

Steven van Broeckhoven

Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) may have switched his main attention to racing, but the Bonairean has registered for the Freestyle here and will no doubt be a major threat with the 2021 world champion still possessing all the moves necessary to go all the way, whilst fellow Bonairean’s - Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails) and Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) will be hoping to throw their names in the mix.

Amado Vrieswijk

Elsewhere, other notable names to look out for include Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), the former Youth world champion has made a strong start to his European campaign and will be looking to transfer that form here, Balz Müller (Severne / Severne Sails), who depending how windy it is may bring his innovative foil approach to the forefront here, whilst the likes of Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails), Nicolas Akgazciyan (JP / NeilPryde), Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) and Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) will all be hoping to make it to the business end of the contest.

Antony Ruenes

The forecast looks excellent for the opening day with strong trade winds currently predicted, which should hopefully provide a thrilling start to the racing. All of the action will be available for you to watch unfold as it happens via the PWA live stream with Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer Sails) on hand to guide you through the best of the action.

Forecast for the opening couple of days in Fuerte

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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Schedule For Day 1: (All Times GMT+1)

- Registration 10-11am

- Skippers’ Meeting - 12:30pm

- First Possible Start - 1pm

Sarah-Quita Offringa makes a dream start, whilst William Huppert leads the Men’s after top seeds falter

Fuerteventura lived up to its name on the opening day of the 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam as winds gusting in excess of 30 knots greeted competitors to provide a great afternoon of racing, which resulted in 4 eliminations for the women and two races for the men being completed as Slalom made a welcome return to Sotavento after a 4 year hiatus.

Racing on the opening day

Slalom

Women’s

Things couldn’t have gone much better for Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) on the opening day of the 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam as the Aruban began by completing a clinical hat-trick as she dominated the fleet armed with a fin. The former 5-time Slalom world champion looked as though she was going to make it a four timer as she stole the lead from Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) round the last buoy in Elimination 4, but the Spaniard dug deep to snatch the victory on the line after an exhilarating drag race down the final reach, which saw them going rail-to-rail. Offringa holds a perfect score of 2.1 points at the close of play - currently discarding a second place from Elimination 4.

Sarah-Quita Offringa on fire

Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui / LOKEFOIL) is currently Offringa’s closest challenger - trailing by 5.9 points after recording two second places, a fourth and a sixth in the opening four races. Lemeteyer pushed Offringa all the way in the opener with the lead exchanging hands several times, but she couldn’t quite hold off the Aruban. However, today represents a solid start to proceedings as she looks to bounce back from fifth place in Pozo after winning the opening event of the year.

Justine Lemeteyer heads for the start

Meanwhile, Jenna Gibson (Fanatic / Duotone) is just a point further back in third after the Brit finished second, third, fourth and an 8th - which she currently discards - after being taken down at the opening buoy.

Jenna Gibson

Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone) is also on 9 points after the opening 4 races, but is in fourth place on countback. The reining world champion sailed extremely consistently today with three thirds and a fourth and will now look to kick on.

Marion Mortefon

Current World Tour leader - Blanca Alabau - finds herself in fifth place at the end of the opening day after making a somewhat slow start to proceedings which saw her finish outside the top 3 in the first three eliminations, but she bounced back with a brilliant bullet in the last to at least end the day on a high.

Sarah-Quita Offringa & Blanca Alabau go head-to-head

Men’s

The first day of racing in the Men’s fleet saw a topsy turvy day with a mixed bag of results for many of the top seeds. After the opening couple of eliminations - William Huppert (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards) - heads up the event rankings after qualifying for both Winners’ Finals where he recorded a solid fourth and fifth. This is the first time the Frenchman has led an event, so it will be interesting to see how he copes with that pressure heading into day two.

William Huppert

Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) is just two points off the top, but the Bonairean will be ruing his luck in the opening Winners’ Final when he exploded along the third reach when holding a comfortable lead, which eventually saw him finish 8th. Vrieswijk then finished third in the next elimination, but realistically he could’ve been leading the event.

Amado Vrieswijk

Johan Soe (FMX Racing / Point-7) produced a somewhat miraculous come back in the opening elimination to pip - Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) - to a place in the winners’ final after the Dane fell at the opening mark. Cousin thought he was safe in fourth and was cruising to the finish line only for Soe to come from nowhere. The 20-year-old took full advantage of that come back as he secured second place in the opening elimination, but then missed out on the next Winners’ Final after being eliminated in the semifinal. Soe currently occupies third place.

Johan Soe

Aside from Huppert and Vrieswijk, Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) is the only other sailor to have qualified for both Winners’ Finals today. The Frenchman sits on 12 points - like Soe - after finishing 6th in both races.

Pierre Mortefon

Reigning world champion and current World Tour leader - Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) - made the perfect start to the event as he claimed the opening bullet of the week, but the Pole then lost his 100% Winners’ Final Qualifying Record (WFQR) in Elimination 2 after crashing at the second mark in the second semifinal when in the qualifying positions. Rutkowski was then involved in a massive crash in the b-final, so had to settle for a 16th, which sees him positioned in 5th place at the end of day one.

Maciek Rutkowski

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) is a point further back in 6th after the Italian opened the event with a solid third place, but the Italian was then taken down by Rutkowski in the b-final of the next which caused him to drop from second to fifth - which is the equivalent of 14th in the second elimination.

Maaike Huvermann

Things didn’t exactly go to plan for Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) in his first appearance of the season as the 2021 word champion suffered a huge catapult in the second semifinal of Elimination 1 - resulting in a broken mast - before he was disqualified from the second semifinal for a premature start. Goyard currently sits in 7th place after winning both b-finals, but will be hoping there is better to come in the next days.

Nicolas Goyard

The top 10 is currently completed by Alexandre Cousin - 7th - Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) - 9th - after the German bounced back from a quarterfinal exit in the first race with an excellent second and Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails) - who recorded his best result to date on the World Tour - 11th in Elimination 2.

Michele Becker

Like Becker, Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) bounced back from a

disappointing quarterfinal exit in the opener by securing his first bullet of the week. The Italian occupies 13th heading into day two.

Bruno Martini bounces back

Elsewhere, Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), who won the last event in Gran Canaria, had a bit of a day to forget as two gybing errors cost him dearly. Firstly, a place in the opening Winners’ Final, before things went from bad to worse as he suffered a quarterfinal exit. The good news for Marotti is there is plenty of racing to come, but he’ll need to bounce back quickly to get himself back in contention here.

Enrico Marotti

Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) also deserves a special mention today as the Italian qualified for his first Winners’ Final on the World Tour - eventually securing an excellent 4th place.

So, whilst the top seeds may have faltered slightly on the opening day here, there is still plenty of racing to come. Will we see one of the usual suspects surge back to the top of the rankings? Or will a new name continue to lead the way?

Judging by the forecast it looks like it’ll be another windy day tomorrow - although possibly marginally less than today with 19-21 knots predicted for the afternoon, but that does not take into account the local effect. The sailors will meet again at 10am (GMT+1) on Friday morning for the skippers’ meeting with the action commencing from 10:45am onwards.

Forecast for the next couple of days

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing

- Instagram: @pwaworldtour

- Twitter: @pwaworldtour

- YouTube: @pwaworldtour

Current Ranking 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam

*After 4 Eliminations

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui / LOKEFOIL)

3rd Jenna Gibson (UK | Fanatic / Duotone)

4th Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)

5th Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Current Ranking 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam

*After 2 Eliminations

1st William Huppert (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards)

2nd Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly | Severne Sails)

3rd Johan Soe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)

4th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Phantom Foils)

5th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

6th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)

7th Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards)

8th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)

9th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)

10th Scotty Stallman (UK | Tabou / GA Sails)

Hat-trick heroes Sarah-Quita Offringa & Nicolas Goyard head up event rankings after another epic day of racing

Day two of the 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam had a little bit of everything as the racing began in light winds - 14-18 knots - and relatively flat water before the Fuerte wind machine gradually increased throughout the afternoon with gusts in excess of 30 knots again, whilst a small swell began to run to add an extra element for the world’s best racers to deal with, which resulted in some extremely heavy crashes and plenty of broken gear as collateral damage, but thankfully no injuries to any of the sailors. In the end, two sailors dominated proceedings on day two as Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) both claimed clinical hat-tricks.

Racing on day two

Slalom

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa recovered from a blip in Elimination 6, which saw the Aruban fail to finish the final after spinning out metres before the line and crossing the wrong side of the buoy. That meant Offringa would finish 11th rather second, but she didn’t let that affect her. With the wind picking up as the afternoon progressed, the 31-year-old came into her own as she secured her second hat-trick of the event with a dominating display, which puts her in control of the event with three days to go. Offringa now has a 12.5 point advantage at the top of the rankings and has now won 6 out of the 9 eliminations completed so far.

Jump for joy - Sarah-Quita Offringa

Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone) enjoyed a solid day of racing, which saw the reigning world champion secure her first bullet of the day in Elimination 6 before finishing second, third, fourth and fifth, which she discards, in the other races to gain two places from the overnight rankings - fourth to second.

Marion Mortefon

It looked like Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) had rediscovered her Lake Garda form at the start of day two as she kicked off the day with a second place, before showing the kind of speed she had shown in Italy to claim a convincing bullet in the next race. However, as the wind and swell picked up, Lemeteyer faded a bit, which sees her slip a place to 3rd.

Justine Lemeteyer celebrates a bullet

Blanca Alabau’s (Starboard / Severne Sails) day got off to a disastrous start as the current World Tour leader was disqualified from Elimination 5 for dangerous sailing after a gybing incident involving herself and Jenna Gibson (Fanatic / Duotone), which the Brit was lucky to escape unscathed from. The Spaniard almost seemed to use that negativity to inspire her performance for the rest of the day as she recorded two second places and two thirds. Things could’ve been even better for Alabau, but she went down under pressure from Offringa at the second mark in the Elimination 9 final when in the lead. Alabau rises one place to fourth and is just one point off of Mortefon in second.

Blanca Alabau

Jenna Gibson (Fanatic / Duotone) did well not to let the racing incident with Alabau affect her too much for the day - as it could’ve easily knocked her confidence - as the Brit recorded a second, third and a fourth afterwards. However, with the way the other results played out today Gibson is relegated to fifth from third, but is still firmly in contention for the podium with just 3.3 points separating second to fifth.

Jenna Gibson

Men’s

After a less than ideal start yesterday, Nicolas Goyard clicked into another gear today as he claimed a clinical hat-trick to storm to the top of the event rankings. The Frenchman started the day in seventh, but after enjoying a perfect day he now has fate in his own hands. Goyard, who set a new Foil GPS record here the day before the event - 41 knots max - was visibly quicker than the rest of the fleet when he was required to show it and used that to his full advantage and now seems to have the event at his mercy.

Nicolas Goyard

However, as good as Goyard was today, he’s still not going to necessarily have things all his own way as Johan Soe (FMX Racing / Point-7) is just 0.9 of a point behind him - although Goyard is currently counting a 9th, which he may be able to discard after the 7th Elimination. Soe, AKA ‘The Beast’ lived up to his name as he recorded two fourths and a second to complete day two, which sees the young Dane climb one place into second and keep himself firmly in the mix of not just a maiden podium, but also victory if Goyard makes any mistakes.

Johan Soe

Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) started the day in second place and seized initiative of the event after securing a second and a third in the opening two races. However, Vrieswijk then wiped out in the semifinals of the fifth elimination to miss out on a place in the Winners’ Final for the first time this week, which sees him drop to third despite winning the b-final. Like Soe, Vrieswijk remains firmly in the hunt should Goyard make any slip ups.

Amado Vrieswijk firmly in contention

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) wasn’t happy after the completion of the quarterfinals in Elimination 4 - after the Pole hit the finish line buoy anchor rope, which he states resulted in him breaking his fastest sail and mast, whilst also breaking his boom. It will be interesting to see if that affects his results in the next races, but despite that the reigning world champion climbs one place to fourth from the overnight rankings. Meanwhile, with his main rivals coming into the event trailing him here, Rutkowski remains in a dominant position in terms of the world title race, whilst he remains just 1.7 points off of third.

Maciek Rutkowski

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) qualified for all three Winners’ Finals today, but maybe slightly disappointed after failing to really land a hammer blow in any of those top 8 battles - recording results of 6th, 5th & 7th, which is good enough for the 2016 world champion to move into fifth, but he will no doubt be hungry for more heading into the final three days of the event.

Matteo Iachino leads the pack

Fellow Italian, Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) comes storming into the top 10 with the 29-year-old discarding his 26.5 point quarterfinal exit from the opening race after winning two b-finals, before finishing 3rd in the last race of the day to jump from 13th to 6th. Martini is winning plenty of fans for his all of nothing attitude as he seems to be continually flirting between being electrically fast and barely keeping it under control. Just 5.7 points separate 3rd to 6th, so there should be a thrilling fight for the podium positions over the weekend!

Bruno Martini fights back

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) is the only sailor to have qualified for every Winners’ Final thus far, but a bit like Iachino, Mortefon hasn’t been able to deliver a knock out blow when it matters most. The Frenchman has been extremely consisted with three 6th places, a 7th and an 8th in the opening five eliminations, but ‘only’ finds himself in seventh place at the end of the day two.

Pierre Mortefon

Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) recovered from a quarterfinal exit in the opening race of the day by qualifying for the Winners’ Final in the next two eliminations. The German tried to really take it to Goyard in Elimination 4, by gybing down the inside of the Frenchman at the last buoy to briefly take the lead before having to settle for an excellent second place, before finishing in a solid fifth to sign off the day. The German, who is in his first full year on tour, potentially stands to gain the most when the second discard comes into play as he is currently counting a 26.5 quarterfinal exit. Becker climbs into eighth from 9th.

Michele Becker

Overnight leader William Huppert (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards) couldn’t quite replicate the form he showed yesterday as the Frenchman failed to qualify for any Winners’ Final after making both on day one, which unfortunately sees the 28-year-old lose major ground as he slides from first to 9th.

William Huppert

The top 10 is completed by Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde), who gains two places from the overnight rankings. The German, who finished 5th in Gran Canaria, steadily improved today as he booked his place in the top 8 in the last two eliminations - finishing 6th and 8th respectively.

Nico Prien

Elsewhere, Prien’s teammate - Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) - rises from outside the top 16 into 11th - only behind Prien on countback - equal on 41 points, whilst Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) climbs into twelfth place just one point further back - after recording three top 16 results today as the Italian quickly adapts to life on the World Tour in just his second event.

Sebastian Kornum gives chase

Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) made a bright start to day two with the 32-year-old finishing fifth and eighth in Eliminations 3 and 4, but a huge wipeout on the last reach in the quarterfinals of Elimination 5, when comfortably qualifying in second place means the Croat is left counting a 22.5 - for now at least. Marotti was also one of the sailors to break some of the most equipment after being involved in several heavy crashes. Marotti finishes the day in 13th, but with three days of racing to go there is still time for him to fight his way back up the rankings.

Enrico Marotti

The forecast for the weekend looks lighter than the opening couple of days, so whilst it will still be windy, it may not be classic Fuerteventura windy. The current forecast predicts winds of 15-19 knots for Saturday, so the sailors will meet again at 11am (GMT+1) tomorrow morning for the skippers’ meeting - with the action commencing from 11:30am onwards.

Forecast for the weekend

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

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Current Ranking 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Women's Slalom

*After 9 Eliminations

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)

3rd Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui / LOKEFOIL)

4th Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)

5th Jenna Gibson (UK | Fanatic / Duotone)

Current Ranking 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Men's Slalom

*After 5 Eliminations

1st Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards)

2nd Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly | Severne Sails)

3rd Johan Soe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)

4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

5th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)

6th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)

7th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Phantom Foils)

8th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)

9th William Huppert (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards)

10th Nicolas Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)

Johan claims Soe’nly bullet of the day to seize event lead heading into final two days of racing

The Fuerteventura wind machine cranked again on day three of the 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam, however, it was only for a relatively short window, which meant only one elimination for the men’s was completed before a layer of cloud played havoc with the wind. The completion of that one elimination was enough to cause a shakeup in the event rankings though as 20-year-old - Johan Soe (FMX Racing / Point-7) - hits the front of the pack after winning Elimination 6, but that doesn’t quite tell the whole story…

Johan Soe hits the front

Slalom

Men’s

With just 0.9 of a point separating overnight leader - Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) - and Johan Soe (FMX Racing / Point-7) in second place, Elimination 6 was always going to be a high pressured race for the two front runners. Both sailors successfully qualified for the Winners’ Final and soon hit the front of the fleet. As they rounded the last it looked as though Goyard was going to complete a memorable four timer to take a stranglehold of the event as he held a reasonable lead, but the Frenchman made an uncharacteristic mistake. The former world champion completed his gybe, but hit a piece of swell, which caused his back wing to lose grip, which sent him over the handlebars. Soe, meanwhile, was waiting in the wings for any mistake and the 20-year-old duly obliged by coming round the last to pick up the lead to secure his first bullet of the event, and more importantly, the event lead.

Johan Soe

Victory in today’s only elimination sees Soe open up a 4.4 point advantage at the top of the event rankings, which places more pressure on Goyard ahead of the seventh elimination - when the second discard comes into play. As things currently stand, if Soe were to win the next race then he would have a total of 9.4 points after the second discard, whilst if Goyard were to claim another bullet then he would have 8.8 points, so things remain incredibly tight at the top… potentially at least, so the second discard may prove pivotal in deciding the outcome of the event. Goyard was frustrated to have made such a mistake, but ultimately the 27-year-old still has things in his own hands, however, his margin for error has now been greatly reduced. The event title race lead is delicately poised, which from a spectators point of view should make for fascinating viewing over the next two days.

Nicolas Goyard cranks a gybe

Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) remains in third place, but the 27-year-old now only has a two point cushion over Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) in fourth, whilst Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) is just two points further back as the battle for the podium tightens up. Vrieswijk qualified for the Winners’ Final, but fell at the opening mark under pressure from Soe when rounding in second place, which saw him eventually finish seventh and lose valuable ground on the top two.

Amado Vrieswijk in the mix

Iachino and Mortefon both record their best results of the event thus far - fourth and second respectively - which sees the Italian climb into 4th place, whilst Mortefon climbs two places into 5th.

Matteo Iachino

Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) started the day in fourth, but the current world tour slides to 6th at the close of play - 8.7 points off of third place. The Pole was squeezed out just before the start in the semifinals and then crashed at the final buoy in the b-final when in second place - which would’ve been 10th place for the elimination - but eventually finished 14th instead. There’s no real cause for any alarm yet, but this is the first time this season that the reigning world champion has faltered, so he will quickly want to stamp out those errors.

Maciek Rutkowski

The top 10 is currently completed by Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils), Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde), Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails), who climbs into the top 10 in only his second event after finishing in an excellent third place today - 9th - and William Huppert (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards).

Daniele Benedetti

Elsewhere, Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails) remains in 15th in the overalls, but will be delighted today as the Brit recorded his best result to date - 10th in Elimination 6.

Scotty Stallman

After today’s short flurry of wind, the forecast for Sunday looks solid again with 20-25 knots currently predicted, which should hopefully be even windier once the local effect is taken into account. The sailors will meet again at 11am (GMT+1) tomorrow for the skippers’ meeting with the racing commencing from 11:30am onwards.

Forecast for the last two days of racing

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing

- Instagram: @pwaworldtour

- Twitter: @pwaworldtour

- YouTube: @pwaworldtour

Current Ranking 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Women's Slalom

*After 9 Eliminations

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone)

3rd Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui / LOKEFOIL)

4th Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)

5th Jenna Gibson (UK | Fanatic / Duotone)

Current Ranking 2023 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam

*After 6 Eliminations

1st Johan Soe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)

2nd Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards)

3rd Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly | Severne Sails)

4th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)

5th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Phantom Foils)

6th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

7th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)

8th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)

9th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

10th William Huppert (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards)