Posts by Totti-Amun

A historic day for Lennart Neubauer as 19-year-old leads the event, while also playing a pivotal role in potentially deciding world title race as Adrien Bosson moves into pole position

The Men’s Freestyle fleet took centre stage for the first time at the 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt, powered by got2b, and the contortionists of the windsurfing world didn’t disappoint, whilst there was plenty of drama along the way as the title race took some dramatic turns. However, the main news of today involves Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), who not only qualified for his first winners’ final, but also went on to win the Single Elimination to lead the event after producing an explosive display.

Current Men's Top 4 - Steven Van Broeckhoven, Lennart Neubauer, Adrien Bosson & Jacopo Testa (Left to right)

Men’s

Freestyle

Today will live long in the memory of Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) after the young Greek enjoyed his best day to date on the World Tour, which saw him claim victory in the Single Elimination with a dynamic and powerful display of sailing despite the tricky conditions. The 19-year-old posted the highest scoring heat of the contest - 38.3 points - in the winners’ final against Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard / GUNSAILS) to deservedly lead the event at the close of play, while if things were to finish as they are now, Neubauer would finish 2023 as the vice-world champion.

Lennart Neubauer

Lennart Neubauer on winning the Single Elimination: “It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had on the water. Training or non-training. The conditions were really difficult, but moves kept happening and I felt like I could do anything. It’s an unreal feeling. This has probably been my dream for the last 10 years, I’m just really, really thankful. It’s unbelievable to win the single at the biggest windsurfing event on the planet!”

Single elimination victory moment for Lennart Neubauer

Meanwhile, Neubauer may have also played a pivotal role in deciding this year’s Freestyle world title after winning a close heat against Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde), who led the overall rankings coming into Sylt, in the round of 16, which leaves the Belgian with a mountain to climb if he is to add to his sole world title from 2019. Caers made a successful start to his comeback in the double elimination by defeating Marco Vinante (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360), but would need to fight back to at least fourth place to deny Adrien Bosson (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) - assuming the Frenchman remains in third place.

Yentel Caers begins his comeback

Steven Van Broeckhoven sailed brilliantly to book his place in the final and will be delighted with his top two finish in the single elimination. The Belgian didn’t enjoy his best final by his own admission against Neubauer, but he still enjoyed a fantastic day on the water.

Steven Van Broeckhoven

Adrien Bosson lost out to Van Broeckhoven in the semifinals, but then came out on top of another incredibly close heat against Jacopo Testa (AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360) to secure his place in the top 3, which puts the reigning world champion firmly in the driving seat to be able to successfully defend his world title.

Adrien Bosson moves into pole position for world title race

World title race connotations given that the worst position Adrien Bosson can now finish is 4th (9700 points), which means the Frenchman can only be denied;

- If Jacopo Testa comes back and wins the double elimination and Caers finishes outside the top 5. This would mean the Italian and Bosson would finish tied on 19,600 points, but Testa would win the world title on countback.

- If Bosson was to remain in third place, then Caers would have to fight back into at least fourth place. This would see Caers and Bosson finish tied on 19,700 points, but Caers would win the world title on countback.

- In the event that Bosson was to slip one place to fourth then a fifth place finish could still prove good enough for Caers to win the world title, but only if Testa failed to then win the event. Caers and Bosson would then be tied on 19,600 points, but Caers would win on countback.

- In the event that Testa was to win the double elimination, Bosson finish fourth and Caers finish fifth then there would need to be a sail off - if conditions allowed - to decide the world title as Caers and Testa would then have identical results.

Jacopo Testa

Away from the world title race the other sailor of the day was Takumi Moriya (Severne / Severne Sails) after the 17-year-old earned his best result to date with an excellent joint fifth place in the single elimination after claiming the scalp of fellow countryman - Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins) - in the opening round before also defeating Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails). Also finishing in joint fifth for the single are; Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde), Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) and Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails).

Takumi Moriya

The Freestyle and Wave fleets will meet bight and early tomorrow morning with the current forecast predicting 18-28 knot southerly winds for the majority of the day. Both fleets will have a skippers’ meeting at 7am (GMT+2) - with the action commencing from 7:30am onwards. If it’s flat we will continue with the Freestyle, however, if there is enough of a bump the Wave fleets will take centre stage for the first time this event. Meanwhile, an announcement regarding the Slalom fleets skippers’ meeting will be made at 9am.

Forecast for the Monday & Tuesday

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — 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 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Freestyle

1st Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | Starboard / GUNSAILS)

3rd Adrien Bosson (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)

4th Jacopo Testa (ITA | AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360)

5th Takumi Moriya (JPN | Severne / Severne Sails)

5th Sam Esteve (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)

5th Antoine Albert (NC | Goya Windsurfing)

5th Youp Schmit (NB | Tabou / GA Sails)

Current Ranking 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Slalom

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

2nd Mateus Isaac (BRA | Severne / Severne Sails)

3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)

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

5th Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)

6th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)

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

8th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)

9th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils)

10th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

A topsy turvy day sees 3 different winners from 3 races as Johan Søe takes the early event lead

Racing got underway on day two of 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt and the current unpredictable nature of Slalom continued with three separate winners from the three races completed today. After back-to-back events in the Canaries, today represented the polar opposite with winds of 5-18 knots and treacherous waters providing a very different test from Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, but the racing proved just as exciting with a combination of close quarters racing and some massive crashes to keep the crowds thoroughly entertained.

The first day of racing

Men’s

Slalom

Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7) heads up the event rankings at the close of the opening day of racing after producing an extremely solid and consistent set of results. The young Dane qualified for all three winners’ finals where he was able to record a 3rd, 4th and a 5th, which sees him hold a two point advantage at the top of the rankings over Mateus Isaac (Severne / Severne Sails), who enjoyed a brilliant return to the World Tour.

Johan Søe

The Brazilian has been focusing on his Olympic campaign for the majority of the year, but slotted seamlessly back into the slalom scene. The 29-year-old missed out on the opening winners’ final, but still finished in 10th place, before going from strength-to-strength by securing back-to-back second places to cap an excellent return, and more importantly a solid start to the event.

Mateus Isaac

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) made a flying start to the event as the Italian finished second in the opener, before going one better in the next after doing brilliantly to hold off Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils), who eventually crashed, when under severe pressure. Iachino looked in fine form - consistently pinging the start and looking fast in a straight line - so it was a real surprise to see him fall at the first mark in the third semifinal when leading, whilst the same fate struck when in pole position of the b-final. It later turns out that Iachino had broken the front wing of his foil, so he didn’t have any stability when gybing. The 33-year-old, whose birthday it was yesterday, will be frustrated with the equipment failure / breakage, but at least has the opportunity to discard the 12th place from Elimination 3 after the completion of the next race, and he should take great confidence from today after looking so competitive and on it.

Matteo Iachino celebrates

Besides Søe, Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) was the only other sailor to qualify for all three winners’ finals. The current World Tour leader finished eighth in the opening two races after a dropped gybe and a premature start, but everything clicked into place in the last race of the day as the Pole signed out in style by securing his first bullet of the event, which is good enough to see Rutkowski climb into 4th having been ranked eighth after Elimination 2, and is just 4.7 points off of the top.

Maciek Rutkowski gybes

People were wondering if Nicolas Goyard would struggle in Sylt’s lighter airs having registered smaller equipment for Fuerteventura and that was certainly evident in the first race where the wind was typically 5-10 knots. Goyard still looked absolutely rapid in a straight line, but struggled to remain on the foil through the lulls - particularly when exiting the gybes - which resulted in the Frenchman going from first to dropping out of the qualifying positions after the third gybe of the opening semifinal. Fortunately for Goyard, the wind picked up in the next two races, but he was unable to land a telling blow. In Elimination 2, Goyard tried to dive down the inside of Iachino at the third buoy only to stall on a piece of chop and go over the handlebars, whilst in the third elimination he lost control when trying to negotiate an evil piece of swell / chop when leading again. So, it was a day of close calls for Goyard, but there is still plenty of time for him to mount a come back. Goyard finishes the opening day ranked 5th.

Nicolas Goyard

Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) is currently ranked sixth after a solid performance, which saw the Italian improve in each race - 11th, 7th and a 4th in the last race of the day.

Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) made a dream start to the event as the German earned his maiden bullet on the World Tour - much to his own delight and to the home crowd as well as they celebrated his victory. However, the wheels then fell off slightly as the 25-year-old missed out on a place in the winners’ final in the next two eliminations.

An emotional Michele Becker

Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) started Elimination 3 ranked in second place, but he then suffered a quarterfinal exit to fall 6 places. Like Iachino, Vrieswijk will have the opportunity to discard that 22.5 point result after the completion of the next race.

Amado Vrieswijk

The top 10 is currently completed by Pierre Mortefon (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils) - 9th. The Frenchman came into Sylt ranked in second place, but only managed to qualify for one out of three winners’ finals and Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails), who mounted a strong recovery after been taken down in the quarterfinals of the opener, by then finishing 4th and 5th respectively.

Pierre Mortefon

The forecast for Sunday looks windier than today with the current forecast predicting winds in the region of 17-24 knots from the south-southwest during the afternoon. In light of the stronger forecast the priority is likely to be given to the Freestyle fleet, but if the wind doesn’t arrive then the racers will probably be in action again. The Freestyle and Slalom fleets will meet again at 10am (GMT+2) tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10:30am for the Freestyle and 11:30am onwards for the Slalom. Meanwhile, the Wave fleet will have a meeting at 11am.

Forecast for the next couple of day

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — 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 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Slalom

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

2nd Mateus Isaac (BRA | Severne / Severne Sails)

3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)

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

5th Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)

6th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)

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

8th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)

9th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils)

10th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

All set for action after registration day plus a chat with Ricardo Campello, who currently leads the Men’s Wave World Tour

As is the norm in Sylt, the opening day of the 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt belonged to registration, followed by the sailors preparing their equipment for the next 9 days of competition. Over the course of the day Sylt showed off a glimpse of each season with a mixture of sunshine, showers and rainbows. The official opening ceremony was held at 4pm.

Earlier in the day we briefly caught up with Ricardo Campello (Naish / Naish Sails), who currently leads the Men’s Wave World Tour and is aiming to try and earn his first wave world title come the end of the year:

Hey Ricardo, so before this event, you've been training in Venezuela, right? You've been trying to spend some time in onshore conditions to get more comfortable with the likely Sylt conditions?

Ricardo Campello

Ricardo: “Yes, you know one of my lowest points during the competitions is when I’ve been competing is the onshore conditions, which are the conditions that I don't really enjoy competing or sailing in. Every year I really want to win, but this year, I have a really good chance, so I was looking for a place to train. I was going back to Maui after the Canaries, but you know, in Maui, it's kind of hard to train super, super onshore conditions, because the wind can die in a matter of seconds. So I looked at the forecast, and in Venezuela there is a place called Adicora, which is normally really windy and kind of onshore and the forecast was looking good, even though now is not normally the good season for wind - usually August is dead there. But I think with the transition from La Niña to El Niño, the wind held on a little longer than normal. In the end, I spent almost two months over there, I didn’t sail everyday because the wind was coming and going, but it was pretty good overall.

I used my 5.3m and 5.6m a lot with my 95. And it's full onshore. Sometimes you could jump or ride on both tacks, or sometimes one tack or the other, but it was fun. It was super special for me to be able to train in Venezuela because it's something I don't really do often.”

Obviously the climate is super different from Venezuela compared to here, but how do the conditions compared?

Ricardo: “The shorebreak is not like here, the waves are much smaller, but as long as you're training in full onshore conditions, it helps a lot. And honestly I feel a lot more comfortable now having trained in Venezuela.”

How's the situation getting in and out of Venezuela now? Easier than before?

Ricardo: “It’s still quite hard if you're coming through the US, which was my case, if you go via Europe, it's easy. There are direct flights. I normally fly with American Airlines everywhere. And I have to go through America. I had a long long connection because I had to stop in Amsterdam to get some stuff from Brunotti. I had about five flights, unfortunately on one of those flights my bags went missing and are still missing. I have no information about it, so I’m kind of stressing because I have no updates on my windsurfing bags and my clothing bags as well. The only ‘good’ thing is that the forecast is not looking epic for the first days, so let's hope I get the bags before the contest begins.”

Thanks Ricardo. Good luck for the contest and fingers crossed your bags turn up ASAP.

The forecast for Saturday currently predicts westerly winds between 9-22 knots, so hopefully we will see the official competition begin tomorrow. The skippers’ meeting times for each fleet can be seen below:

- Slalom - 9:30am - first possible start 11:30am

- Freestyle - 10:30am

- Wave - 13:00

Forecast for the weekend

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — 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

Men’s Freestyle world title on the line, whilst Men’s & Women’s Wave plus Men’s Slalom fleets also in action as one of the biggest events in windsurfing returns

It’s that time of year again as the windsurfing world prepares for one of the biggest events of the season - the schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt, presented by got2b, which will see 4 fleets in action, while one world title will be decided over the next 10 days - with the event starting tomorrow - 22nd September and running until 1st October. Get ready for more world class from some of the finest Freestyle, Wave and Slalom sailors on the planet.

Racing action from last year

Some say that variety is the spice of life and in this sense, Sylt never disappoints as you never quite know what to expect — thanks to the huge variety of conditions that this wonderful island can produce. In strong onshore winds, a colossal shore break develops — ready to crush the hopes of any unsuspecting competitors — along with powerful waves of up to three or four meters in size, which provide amazing wave sailing conditions, whilst producing a real challenge for the slalom and freestyle fleets. On the other hand, Sylt can also produce great racing and freestyle conditions, when offshore winds grace the island with their presence, although it can then be bitterly cold. One thing is for sure, to win here you need to be the complete all-rounder who is willing to have their mettle tested to breaking point.

Wave

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) enters the penultimate wave event of the year with the world title race lead after finishing second in both Fiji and Pozo earlier in the season. The Aruban boasts an excellent record in Sylt having won the last two editions and she’ll have a hat-trick firmly set in her sights as she looks to take a giant step towards securing a third-wave world title - 22nd overall - a little later in the year in Maui, Hawaii. Offringa currently holds a 2,350 point lead over her closest challenger - Maria Andrés (Duotone/ Duotone Sails), who will be absent from proceedings here with the Spaniard excelling more in down-the-line conditions.

Sarah-Quita Offringa

It’s likely Offringa’s main opposition will come in the form of Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails), who clinched the final place on the podium in Pozo after producing a rousing comeback, which saw the German win 4 consecutive heats, while Justyna Sniady (North Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) will be looking to bounce back from a 5th place finish in Gran Canaria, and may well do just that, as she has finished second and third here in 2019 and 2022, whilst Steffi Wahl (Sailloft Hamburg) always remains a threat with her dynamic wave riding.

Lina Erpenstein

Elsewhere the youthful talents of; Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails), who at the age of just 13 years old earned her first podium at the recent Pacasmayo Classic in Peru, Maria Behrens (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins) and Line Bang Wittrup (Goya Windsurfing), who are both 21, will all be vying to make their mark on the event.

Sol Degrieck

Men’s

Freestyle

With just the two Men’s Freestyle events this season, anything could still happen, but as things stand Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) comes into Sylt in pole position. The Belgian earned his first event victory on the World Tour in Fuerteventura after defeating fellow world title contender - Adrien Bosson (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) - in a Super Final - meaning Bosson is ranked No.2. Both sailors currently have one world title apiece, with Caers winning his first world title in 2019, whilst Bosson is the reigning world champion and both men will be hoping to stake their claim for a second world crown come the end of the next 10 days. Caers and Bosson landed some of the biggest moves of the contest, but perhaps even more importantly it was their level of consistency that was extremely impressive, and with Sylt often producing some of the hardest freestyle conditions in the world, with lumpy water and strong rips playing havoc, consistency could once again prove key.

Yentel Caers

However, as already stated, with just the two events there really is no room for error as there is no protection of a discard, so whether it is through sailor error or equipment failure, anything really could still happen.

Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) earned his first podium since 2014 at the recent Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam and another solid performance here would give him every chance of snatching a maiden world title, or at the very least being on the prestigious overall podium.

Antony Ruenes

2021 Freestyle World Champion - Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) - also features in the lineup here. The Bonairean is now a dedicated racer, but despite not really concentrating on Freestyle anymore he remains a serious threat, as illustrated by his fourth place finish in Fuerteventura. Could there be a second Freestyle world title on the horizon? You certainly wouldn’t rule it out, but he’ll be hoping for properly windy conditions.

Amado Vrieswijk

Elsewhere, last year’s vice-world champion - Jacopo Testa (AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360) - produced a storming comeback in Fuerte, which saw the Italian come from the very first round of the double, to eventually claim fifth. If he’s on form Testa is more than capable of challenging for the event victory.

Jacopo Testa

The other usual suspects to look out for include the likes of; Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), who also made a brilliant comeback in Fuerte, Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails), Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard / GUNSAILS), Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing), Niclas Nebelung (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), who was unlucky against Ruenes in Fuerte, Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins), who often does well in Sylt’s challenging conditions, Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins) and Balz Müller (Severne / Severne Sails), who was arguably one of the most entertaining sailors in Fuerte, while he could be one of the few sailors who elects to Foil Freestyle depending on the conditions.

Dieter van der Eyken

Wave

Ricardo Campello (Naish / Naish Sails) continues to lead the Men’s Wave World title race, but his advantage at the top has been narrowed to 1,985 points by, good friend and rival, Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing), who comes into Sylt having stood on top of the podium in Gran Canaria for the first time in his career in July earlier this year, while Campello was gutted to lose a place in the double - 4th.

Marcilio Browne

Both men possess all the ammunition to win here in Germany and you can expect to them both gunning for the top as the title race continues to heat up. Campello has been training in onshore conditions in Venezuela, so whilst the climate may vary significantly, he’s clearly been putting in the hours to make sure he’s as ready as possible for Sylt as he aims to earn his first Wave world title, while Browne has been training in his homeland of Brazil in Fortaleza - also preparing as best he can for Sylt's conditions.

Ricardo Campello

However, the current ranked top two aren’t simply going to have things all their own. Marc Paré will be an obvious threat with the Spaniard pushing last year’s event champion - Philip Köster (Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) - all the way in the final and you can expect to see the 25-year-old pushing for victory here again to keep himself in the contention for the world title. Köster will unfortunately be missing from the action after having to undergo surgery for a Lisfranc fracture. Everyone from the PWA wishes Philip a speedy and successful recovery.

Marc Paré

It is also worth noting that the rankings could change quite drastically here - results depending - as this is the third 5* event of the year and they hold more weight than their 4* counterparts.

Antoine Martin (Starboard / North Sails) enters Sylt ranked 4th in the overalls and was able to win the event in Pacasmayo, Peru, albeit in very different conditions to what he will likely face here over the coming 10 days. Martin is an excellent all-round wave sailor and will be looking to record another solid result here to keep himself in contention for the world title decider in Maui.

Antoine Martin

Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing) currently finds himself in 15th overall due to only having two counting results so far this season, but confidence will be sky high for the 21-year-old after recording a career best second place in Pozo Izquierdo in July. Gil could be a major contender again, while the young Spaniard could also fly up the rankings upon completion of the event.

Marino Gil

Elsewhere, you can expect to see the likes of Victor Fernandez (Duotone / Duotone) - 4th here in 2022 - Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) - event champion here in 2019 - and Germany’s very own - Leon Jamaer (Flikka / GUNSAILS) pushing for top results here.

Leon Jamaer

Other sailors likely to be in contention include; Julian Salmonn (Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS), Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde), Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins), Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde), Morgan Noireaux (JP / NeilPryde), Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) and Alessio Stillrich (Simmer / Simmer Sails), while Antony Ruenes could be a big danger here again having claimed several massive scalps in 2018.

Julian Salmonn

Slalom

So far this season there have been three racing events, each of which has produced a different winner; Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) in Italy, Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) in Gran Canaria and Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) in Fuerteventura. Do you think we will see one of these sailors claim the top prize again? Or will the beautiful unpredictability of Men’s Slalom continue? Let us know your thoughts in the comments via Instagram or Facebook.

Reigning world champion and current World Tour leader, Maciek Rutkowski will certainly be hoping that he can secure a second victory of the season as he looks to remain in control of the title race. The Pole saw his overall lead at the top of the rankings reduced to just 100 points by Pierre Mortefon (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils) in Fuerteventura, so there is no margin for error between these two heavyweights. Mortefon himself has been leaving it late to pounce so far this season, but with his racing astuteness he is usually there or thereabouts come the end of the event.

Pierre Mortefon

Rutkowski on leading the rankings: "I dont really care I’m leading the rankings there is no trophy for leading in September. I really want to perform well in my first heat in Sylt, that's all I'm focused on right now. It's such a tricky place, never know what you're gonna get, so just gotta read and react. One thing's for sure: whatever happens, it's gonna be a dogfight! Hopefully, I wake that inner wolf up at the right time!"

Maciek Rutkowski

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) is currently 400 points off the top of the rankings, but the Italian earned his first podium of the season in Fuerteventura, and will be looking to build upon that momentum as the former world champion looks to close the gap on the top two to keep himself in the world title race conversation heading into Japan in November.

Matteo Iachino

Meanwhile, Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) - currently 4th - experienced an up and down summer. The Croat claimed a quite brilliant victory in Gran Canaria before enduring a nightmare event in Fuerte with a plethora of savage crashes, but still managed to salvage a top ten finish - 9th - which sees him currently ranked 4th overall. Don’t be surprised to see the 32-year-old challenging for top honours again.

Enrico Marotti

Rutkowski will be looking to avoid a repeat of last year where he saw the event victory snatched away from him in the very last elimination of the event by Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails), who enters the event ranked 5th overall. The Bonairean has improved in each event thus far with a 12th, 7th and a 4th and will be aiming to not only secure his first podium of the season, but also to try and defend his event title.

Amado Vrieswijk

Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) made a winning return in his first appearance of the season in Fuerteventura, but in Fuerte he specifically registered small equipment to combat Fuerte’s typically strong winds, so with most of the racing likely to be completed in relatively light winds in Sylt, it will be interesting to see if he has the registered equipment to be competitive in the lower thresholds.

Nicolas Goyard

Like Goyard, several sailors who have been concentrating on the IQFoil for much of the year will also make their first appearances of the season with the likes of Germany’s very own Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Brazil’s - Mateus Isaac (Severne / Severne Sails) - returning to the fray.

Sebastian Kördel

Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7) comes into Germany on the back of his best result to date on the World Tour - second in Fuerte - and after missing the event in Gran Canaria, due to exams, the young Dane is one of the sailors who stands to gain the most here as he currently only has two counting results. Søe is currently ranked 25th in the overalls, but with another solid result here he could easily throw his name into the world title race conversation. Expect to see another big performance from the aptly named ‘Beast’.

Johan Søe

Other notable names to look out for include; German duo Nicolas Prien (JP / NeilPryde), Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) - currently 6th and 7th in the overalls respectively - Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde), Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) and Jordy Vonk (Duotone / Duotone), who complete the current overall top 10.

Alexandre Cousin

Elsewhere, Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails), Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails), Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails), Cedric Bordes (Severne / Severne Sails) and Ennio dal Pont (Duotone / Duotone Sails) will be looking to sustain their place in the top 16, whilst William Huppert (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) and Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) should also be in the mix.

Ingmar Daldorf

The forecast looks like the event will see a relatively windy start with 10-20 knots winds currently predicted for the majority of the weekend. Make sure you stay tuned to www.pwaworldtour.comover the next 10 days - here you’ll be able to watch the contest unravel as it happens via the PWA live stream - with Ben Proffitt on hand to guide you through the best of the action.

Forecast for the opening few day

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — 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