Surfersblog

Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) successfully defended her slalom world crown in 2019 after a tense final event battle with Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone). Cousin Questel only required a top 3 finish to guarantee herself a 4th slalom world title, but after winning the first elimination of the contest, Cousin Questel then went off the boil with her foot injury hampering her - perhaps more mentally than physically - which left the title race hanging in the balance heading into the final day. However, with a world title on-the-line Cousin Questel was able to bravely overcome her injury concerns and rattled off two bullets and a second place in the last 3 eliminations to deservedly claim the world title, which was the cherry on top of the cake after Cousin Questel also became the first Women’s PWA Foil World Champion after winning both events in Japan and South Korea earlier in the year! After another excellent year on tour we caught up with Delphine for an interview:

Hey Delphine, congrats on winning your 4th slalom world title - how does it feel to win your 4th world title and how does it compare your previous titles?

Thanks! Winning a new title is always a new victory for me and each one is different because the circumstances are different! This year I had to fight until the last day of competition to win this 4th title and when the last race was over it was a huge relief! 

After a great start to the event, winning the first race, you then had a mixed bag of results for the next 3 or 4 races… was that due to your injury or what do you think happened?

Mentally I was not at my best because I was thinking about my foot and I was scared to get more injured and I was not 100% focused on the race. After the 2nd day I just forgot everything I did and began a new competition in my head! I concentrated on my starts and jibes and I finally managed to sail at my best! 

Heading into the final day you were only 1.9 points ahead of Maëlle Guilbaud in 4th place - how much pressure did you feel heading into the final day? And do you think that knowing you couldn’t afford any more mistakes in some way helped you to sail so well on the last day?

I didn’t sail with this type of pressure for a long time and I just try to do my best race after race. I tried to not think too much about the title and I never checked the points during competition. My goal was to win each race until the end! When you know you can’t make any mistakes you have no choice. You have to hold this pressure otherwise it’s over…

What do you think about the level on the tour at the moment?

The level on the tour is really good. Everybody is fighting at the start, jibes… until the end of each race! In France we are lucky to have a great level with Marion and Maëlle, so we are always pushing our limits and training to be at the top at the French competitions! I was little be sad that some girls like Jenna [Gibson], Fulya [Ünlü[, Sarah [Quita Offringa], Oda [Brødholt]…etc couldn’t come for the final in New Caledonia as we had a great battle in Denmark together, but more and more girls are joining the tour and pushing the level up!

As well as winning the 2019 PWA Slalom World Championship - you also won the first event Women’s Foil PWA World Championship - how does it feel to have won that title and to have won two titles in one year?

To be the 1st Women Foil World Champion is unbelievable! It was a new discipline and it was hard to know the level of all others girls so after the 1st day of racing in Japan I thought I had skills to do something good and after a lot of exciting battles with Alabau sisters and Marion, I finally won the 2 events on the tour! Winning 2 titles is just more than I expected and now the hardest thing will be to do the same in 2020! 

How did you celebrate your latest world titles?

I celebrated with my family around a nice dinner and of course some champagne! I would like to share this moment with people who are the most important to me! 

How will you be spending your winter?

I actually just arrived in St Barth and I will be there for 1month and half! With Antoine [Questel] we planned a boat trip for one week in the British Virgin Islands in January and we should continue our training in Tarifa from mid February until mid March before the 1st event of the year, which should be in France at the beginning of April. 

Thanks, Delphine. Congrats again on your latest world titles. Have a great winter and see you in 2020.

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) became the first woman in over decades to prise the Women’s PWA Wave World Title away from the hands of the legendary Moreno Twins after recording back-to-back victories on the wave world tour for the first time in her career.

Julien Bru recently released an excellent short documentary, which guides you through Offringa’s title run in and includes exclusive interview footage with the now 17-time world champion. You can see this documentary @ https://youtu.be/q3fdHz2Da_U

Julien Bru: "This video traces the amazing year of Sarah-Quita Offringa from Pozo, Gran Canaria until the ultimate 2019 Mercedes-Benz Aloha Classic on Maui where she was crowned 2019 Wave World Champion.”

If you missed our recent interview with Sarah--Quita then you can find it here.

Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) enjoyed another excellent season on the world tour with the 22-year-old becoming the first person in 11 years to win a freestyle heat against Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) in Bonaire, whilst also earning her first wave podium in Sylt. Huvermann finishes 2019 as the Freestyle vice-world champion once again, whilst finishing 5th overall in the waves, which is an even more impressive feat given that she sailed the second half of the year with an injured thumb. Huvermann recently underwent surgery for that thumb injury and Marije Elgersma recently caught up with Maaike for an interview: 

Maaike! How are you? 

I’m really good, I’ve been spending a lot of time in uni lately. I’m currently studying two degrees at VU Amsterdam, so its a bit hectic. But it’s fun as well, I like to challenge myself and keep on developing. 

We saw you had your thumb operated on last week? Why and what happened? 

Yeah, so this is actually from back in the Canaries, in Fuerteventura. I went for a session down in Risco in the lead up to the freestyle event and had a bit of an unfortunate landing doing an air flaka. I did the full rotation, landed, and then my hand just slipped off the boom. Probably wasn’t holding on to it properly, still not really sure what actually happened. Anyway, it slipped off and banged it into the mast. Hospital said it was nothing, but it never really faded and  the position of my thumb was not right either. So when I went to get it checked out at home, it turned out that a ligament was torn. Did the remaining comps and got it fixed last Monday. That session in Risco is still my favourite session of the year though, it was so much fun with SQ [Offringa\ and Oda [Brødholt]!

How long is the recovering going to take? 

To be honest, I’m not completely sure yet. I’ll be in a cast for 6 weeks and depending on the situation then, I’ll either be ready to go or something else has to happen. The doctor hasn’t been very clear about that. I think mainly because it just really depends on how well and quick it heals. They took something from another part of my wrist to fix the thumb, so just hoping for my body reacts well to rearrangement of Maaike cells. 

Any plans for the winter? 

Mainly studying, but hopefully I squeeze a little training week in just before the season starts.

Looking forward to the 2020 season? 

Yeah!! Really excited, always! Ready for more adventures, challenges and fun times!

New freestyle moves you have planned to learn? 

I haven’t really thought about it that much. So if anyone knows what could be my winning move for next year let me know.

You did well in Sylt in the waves, will you compete at all the wave events next season? 

Yes! It’s been really nice to switch things up a little bit. New challenge, definitely keeping me motivated. Unfortunately I don’t find much time to really train for the waves as much yet. I only really wave sail during the week leading up to the event and the event itself, but I’m definitely improving and having a lot of fun doing it, so I’ll be back for that!

Thanks, Maaike. Good luck with the recovery and hope to see you back on the water soon! Good luck with your studies too!