Surfersblog

After two events in Denmark, the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Grand Slam will bring the curtain down on the Northern European leg of the tour in style, with the biggest event on the calendar, which draws crowds in excess of 200,000 people, kicking off on the 30th September and running until the 9th October.

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 variation 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. 

Ones to Watch

Wave

The last time a result was gained in the wave division in Sylt was 4 years ago in 2012, but the good news is that this year there looks to be the real possibility of waves and with this in mind the first day, which is usually purely for registration, may well now see the wave contests begin with a first possible start of 11am (GMT+1)

Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) holds control of the title race coming into Sylt as she has done for the last few years. Daida has been in terrific form and holds a 1st and 2nd place to her name, but her sister and reigning world champion — Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) — is not far behind after claiming victory in Tenerife and in doing so has closed the gap, which means it looks like it will be another battle for the title between the formidable twins. 

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic) is enjoying an amazing 2016 with two world titles to her name already this year and is firmly in the mix in the waves too. Offringa currently holds 3rd place in the waves, but has both Amanda Beenen (99NoveNove / Point-7) and Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) on her tail after Wahl secured a superb 3rd place in El Medano last time out. 

Outside of the current top 5, Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) looks to be the obvious danger with the 19 year old catching the eye with a series of impressive performances in the opening two events, while the likes of Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / NorthSails), Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer) and Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) are likely to have decent chance. One to also watch could be Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who will be making her debut on the wave tour after finishing the season as the freestyle vice-world champion.

Men’s

With it not being possible to gain a result in Denmark things remain unchanged in the men’s title race with Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC / Shamal Sunglasses) holding a commanding lead at the top of the rankings.

Unfortunately, for the German crowd, there will be no appearance from Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) with the 22 year old ruled out through injury until next year. This means the onus will now likely fall upon the shoulders of Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Sunglasses), Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde) and Klaas Voget (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) for a home winner. 

As mentioned in the preview for Cold Hawaii last week, Fernandez’s most likely challengers will come in the shape of Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails), 2013 world champion Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC), Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses) and 2014 world champion Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) who occupy 2nd-6th respectively in the overall rankings. 

Of course the remainder of the top 10 — Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX), Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) and Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer) should be in contention again as well as Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) who is still on the comeback trail after missing the opening event of the season. 

Freestyle

The title for the 2016 Men’s PWA Freestyle World Champion will be decided right here in Sylt with the men entering their final event of the season and Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) is on the verge of making his dreams come true. The 20 year old has shown huge potential in the last couple of years and a maiden event victory in Fuerteventura has deservedly put him within touching distance of his first world crown. 

However, Vrieswijk, will face a stern challenge with 6-time PWA Freestyle World Champion — Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC) — just one place behind him. Gollito will take hope that he can secure a 7th world title given that he stole an unlikely victory here in 2014 when he only had outside hopes and things are set for a blockbuster finale with a promising looking forecast and not much separating the top two.

Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) comes into the event off the back of his best ever result — 2nd in Fuerte — and holds an outside shot at the title and will once again be a massive threat. Fellow countryman and reigning freestyle world champion — Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) — will be hoping to end the season with a bang, as will Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Shamal Sunglasses), who has had a disappointing season, up to now, by his high standards.

The remainder of the Bonaire crew will be at the forefront of the battle again with Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) leading the charge behind Vrieswijk in 4th, but Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails), Youp Schmit (99NoveNove / Avanti) and Tonky Frans (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) cannot be ruled out either. 

The top ten is completed by Phil Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks), Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne) and Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) and you can expect to see big performances from fellow Frenchmen Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) and Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), who finished 4th and 5th in last year’s overall rankings, while Ricardo Campello and Thomas Traversa have the potential to cause several upsets. 

Slalom

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) are almost inseparable at this stage of the season with the two heavyweights tied on points. However, it is the Italian who holds a slender lead after claiming victory in Denmark, which puts him ahead on countback, and he will be hoping to emulate his performance here last year, which saw Iachino at the top of the podium.

The front two currently have opened up a small gap, but there is still not much room for error with Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses), Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) and reigning world champion — Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) — not far behind. 

Meanwhile, Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / ChallengerSails), is ready to return to action after dislocating his shoulder in Fuerteventura and will be hoping to sustain 6th place in the overall rankings at a minimum.

On home waters, Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) will be hoping to build upon his best ever result in Denmark, while fellow German — Vincent Langer (Fanatic / NorthSails) — could also be a major threat. 

Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7), Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde), who has just become a father the first time, Taty Frans and Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) complete the current top 10. However, Sylt has thrown up some surprise results over the last few season and it will be interesting to see how things unfold this time around. 

The next 10 days promise to be pulsating with the wave, freestyle and slalom fleets all battling it out for those crucial world cup points. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com between the 30th September until 9th October to follow the action as it happens via the PWA live stream. 

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Shortly after the competitors were released from the netIP Cold Hawaii PWA World Cup several of the sailors — including current world tour leader, Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC / Shamal Sunglasses), — headed 40 minutes south to a spot called Agger, in the hope of scoring some waves.

Fernandez certainly scored — making the most of the light and gusty winds to earn himself some clean waves, which he destroys in his usual fluid and dynamic style.

To see Victor Fernandez warming up, before heading to Sylt to maintain his title challenge, visit the Spaniard’s Facebook fan page HERE.