From the 17th-26th July the world’s best freestylers and racers will descend upon Sotavento for the 38th Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam. This year’s event will see three world titles decided: the Women’s Freestyle world title and both the Men’s and Women’s Slalom X world titles, so the stakes couldn’t be much higher, while the Men’s Freestyle fleet will also be making their first appearance of the season as they battle for those crucial world ranking points. Sotavento, which is located on the southeast coast of Fuerteventura, has developed a world-class reputation due to its year-round sunshine, stunning turquoise water, golden beaches, and most importantly, its famously strong winds, which create some of the most exhilarating conditions on the PWA World Tour. For freestylers, Fuerte can be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, locations when there is a swell running, as it can produce the perfect stunt ramps for the contortionists of the windsurfing world to launch into the latest aerial power moves and combinations. Meanwhile, the Slalom X fleets will once again face Fuerte’s ferocious winds and challenging chop, which will provide even the toughest sailor with a severe test of their mettle. It’s safe to say that Fuerte is not for the light-hearted and requires the ultimate commitment if you are to succeed here. |
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Fuerteventura's wild side Freestyle (17th-21st July) Women’s Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) will once again start as the favourite for the event and world title given her level of domination in Fuerte - winning every event here since 2008. However, the Aruban is likely to face one of her sternest tests yet in order to retain the title with Maaike Huvermann (Severne Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) already showing for a number of years that she’s capable of challenging for the world title and she has no problem vocalising that that is her goal. |
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Sarah-Quita Offringa ready to fight for Freestyle world title number 17 Last year Huvermann forced Offringa all the way, but just missed out on a maiden world title after losing out in the Super Final, but with another winter of training under her belt she’ll be keen to exact revenge. The problem that Huvermann may face is that under the greatest of pressure, Offringa usually somehow finds a way to raise her level - you could even say she revels under the pressure. Either way, it should be an intriguing fight. |
Lisa Kloster (Starboard) broke into the overall top three for the first time in 2025 as the German demonstrated that she had really upped her game - adding power moves to her repertoire and increased consistency. It’s going to be a tall ask for her to break into the formidable top two, but you can be sure she’ll be waiting to pounce on any mistake, if there is one. Unfortunately, 2024 vice-world champion Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) has been forced to make a late withdrawal for the second successive year. |
Men’s Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) boasts a phenomenal record in Fuerteventura with the Belgian powerhouse winning the event on two out of the last three occasions, while he has finished on the podium here every year since 2016, so it’s easy to understand why the reigning Freestyle world champion will begin the event as the No.1 seed. Caers is known for his explosive style and barely puts a foot wrong, which makes him incredibly difficult to beat here and the 31-year-old should be there or thereabouts come the end of the event. |
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Yentel Caers set the begin his world title defence However, as Caers alluded to in his most recent interview, the level on the Freestyle World Tour is sky high at the moment and the gap between the entire fleet is getting smaller and smaller. That makes for a great competition from a neutrals’ point of view, but it leaves even the very top guys with almost no margin for error as there really aren’t very many easy heats anymore. Caers' main threat will probably be Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), who ‘only’ finished fifth here last year, but it’s worth noting that the Greek was carrying an ankle injury into the event, which obviously hampered him. With a clean bill of health the 2024 Freestyle world champion will be a huge threat and if he’s anywhere near the level he showed in Sylt last year - where the 22-year-old raised the bar on what is possible in a Freestyle heat - he could be very hard to stop. Neubauer became the first sailor on the World Tour to land a triple culo during a heat, while recently he landed a shifty into forward loop in Gran Canaria. However, Jacopo Testa (WeOne / GUNSAILS / AL360) will also be a serious threat for the event title. The Italian is one of the most stylish sailors on the tour and has a remarkable talent for making the insanely hard, look incredibly easy, effortless and fluid. Last year Testa finished second here and he’ll be pushing for another top two finish as he looks to put himself in contention for a maiden world title. Last year Takumi Moriya (Severne Windsurfing) produced a breakout performance in Fuerteventura as the then 18-year-old stormed his way into third place in the Single Elimination to truly announce himself on the World Tour. The young Japanese wizard will be looking to follow up last year’s showing with another big performance this time around and he certainly has the skills to do so. World No.4 Steven Van Broeckhoven (WeOne / GUNSAILS) will also be hoping to put together another deep run here. Last year the Belgian finished second in the Single Elimination before finishing third overall and he will be drawing upon all his guise and experience to keep his younger peers at bay for another year. There are almost too many sailors to pick from, such is the closeness between them with almost any sailor on their given day capable of beating anyone. However, several names to watch out for include; Dieter van der Eyken (Severne Windsurfing), who excels in Fuerte’s tricky conditions, Mr. Freestyle himself Balz Müller (Severne Windsurfing), Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde), Bodhi Kempen (Severne Windsurfing), Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails), Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails) and Youp Schmit (Flikka / HeyYou Sails), who will be competing on his own custom made HeyYou Sails. |
Slalom X (22nd-26th July) Women’s Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) has won the racing in Fuerteventura for the last three years, but the 28-time world champion will unfortunately be absent from the start line on this occasion as she prioritises a bit more rest ahead of the next wave event in Tenerife. Offringa’s absence really opens up the door for a whole host of sailors, who will be waiting in the wings to fight for the event and world title. With Offringa out of the equation this year, it’s Justine Lemeteyer (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) who will assume the role of top seed given that she was Offringa’s closest challenger here in 2024 and 2025. Lemeteyer is the reigning Foil Slalom world champion and will be eyeing up a third world title come the end of the week here. However, Lemeteyer is going to have to bring her A game to achieve just that as there are plenty of other contenders who will also be relishing the opportunity of securing a maiden world title, while others will be hoping to add to their previous successes. |
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Justine Lemeteyer on the fly Firstly, Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) will be a major threat as the 26-year-old continues to improve. Last year van der Veen completed the prestigious overall podium for the first time in her career and rattled off two bullets to finish just 0.7 of a point behind Lemeteyer and there could be another colossal fight on our hands. Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) will be hoping to have something to say about that though with the Brit, who is currently the fastest woman in the world, more than capable of challenging for top honours here. Last year Gibson used her blistering pace to consistently power to the front of the pack, but her gybing in Fuerteventura’s treacherous waters proved to be her Achilles heel. If the 28-year-old can negotiate the corners then she’ll be incredibly hard to stop as there’s no denying that she’s the fastest sailor in the fleet. Meanwhile, 2022 Slalom world champion, Marion Mortefon (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) returns to the fleet having missed much of last season after becoming a mother for the first time. Mortefon remains one of the top racers in the world and she’ll be hoping to keep her name in the world title race conversation as we head into the business end of the event. Besides Lemeteyer and Mortefon, Blanca Alabau (WeOne / Severne Sails) is the only other sailor in the fleet who will be able to call upon her experience of winning a world title before, which could prove pivotal when the pressure rises. Alabau will be keen to bounce back from a slightly disappointing result here last year - sixth. Elsewhere, 16-year-old Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) continues to progress at an alarming rate and having finished fifth here last season, the Bonairean will be eager to push on again, while France’s Mae Davico (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) and Charlotte Philip (Challenger Sails) will be hoping to challenge for the top five and beyond. |
Men’s Reigning Slalom X World Champion Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing / North Sails) will start the week looking to defend his event title here, which if he is successful in doing, would earn him a fifth world title overall. The Frenchman thrives in Fuerte’s nuclear winds and tricky, choppy waters, and could prove to be the man that everyone else has to stop. Last year, Mortefon’s preparations were marred by equipment difficulties through no fault of his own, so he’ll be much more settled and prepared this time around after joining North Sails in the winter while continuing his fruitful relationship with FMX. In 2025, Mortefon won four of the last five eliminations to power away from the rest of the fleet, and if he’s in a similar vein of form, the Frenchman could prove unstoppable. |
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Pierre Mortefon However, Mortefon’s long-term rival Matteo Iachino (Starboard / NeilPryde / Z Fins), who also loves Fuerteventura’s wild conditions, will be hoping to reverse the standings as he looks to regain the Fuerteventura World Cup having relinquished it last year. Iachino and Mortefon have enjoyed some epic battles over the years, and as two of the most consistent sailors on the planet, you can expect to see them both battling it out for top honours come the end of the event. Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) hit the form of his life here last year as the Flying Dutchman secured back-to-back bullets for the first time in his career to put himself in genuine contention for the event title. However, when just one point off the lead, Vonk suffered a serious wipeout on Day 4, which left him briefly unconscious and concussed in the water, ultimately preventing him from sailing on the final day. If Vonk is able to replicate the form he showed here last year then he’s definitely a top contender for the title and he has the added motivation of having some serious unfinished business to resolve. 2022 World Champion Maciek Rutkowski (JP / NeilPryde) is another sailor who will be hoping to challenge for top honours this week. The Pole led the event on Days 2 and 3 here last year before fading slightly, but still completed the podium. If all the pieces fall into place, the 34-year-old is more than capable of challenging for the event victory. The strength in depth of the Slalom X fleet means that there are plenty of other potential names who will be hoping to challenge for the podium and beyond… Last year’s World No.5, Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / North Sails / Z Fins) has made a flying start in other racing events this year, while he finished second in Tenerife last year to show that he’s now transferring his foiling prowess onto the fin and will be a serious one to watch. Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) comes into Fuerteventura having won the prestigious Défi Wind in France in May earlier this year, and the German will be hoping to convert that form onto the Slalom X course. Meanwhile, the likes of Bonaire’s Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7), Italy’s Bruno Martini (WeOne / S2Maui / Z Fins), the Netherlands’ Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) and France’s Cedric Bordes (Severne Windsurfing), who recently set a new world record after averaging 44.42 knots over a nautical mile, all possess the out and out speed to put their names into podium contention. Waterspeed - Global Windsurfer Quest From June until December, every kilometre you log on the Waterspeed app adds to your position on one global leaderboard — the Global Windsurfer Quest has been developed between Waterspeed and the PWA to bring the entire windsurfing community together. Click the button below to register and record one session before the end of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam to get your chance to win a lycra signed by the winners. |
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The forecast for the opening few days Event Info at a Glance
Schedule For Opening Day
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