Attersee: Windsurfer LT-EM with a large field and wind luck - Brudek takes silver
Alois Mühlegger
· 02.06.2026
"Isn't this a wonderful picture," enthused Michael Farthofer, Club President of the UYCAs, who was not only delighted with the colourful windsurfing sails, but also with his daring as a sailing club to host a European Championship for windsurfers for the first time. "We wanted to try to bring a breath of fresh air and a casual surfing style to the spacious grounds of the Union Yacht Club Attersee."
Everything was just right, the race management under Race Officer Gert Schmidleitner did a great job, the volunteer members created a feel-good atmosphere with their friendliness and the catering provided the daily evening catering on time," said the participants in praise.
Course racing, marathon and freestyle
The fact that the wind played along on four of the five race days, albeit gusty and shifty, topped off the European Championship and not only delivered five course races plus a marathon, but as a treat for the spectators, the ladies and gentlemen performed artistic moves in the freestyle competition - forwards, backwards, sails back or rotating on the edge.
It was clear anyway that Christoph Sieber was the favourite going into the European Windsurfing LT Championships. The 2000 Olympic champion in Sydney on the long Mistral One Design, who switched to sailing after his success, celebrated a successful comeback on the new windsurfer LT at the 2018 Worlds on Lake Garda. However, another Olympic champion (1988), New Zealander Bruce Kendall, who was also categorised in the light weight group A, announced himself for the European Championships. In the end, Sieber secured the title in group A, while Kendall finished third. Stephan van den Berg (NED), the first Olympic champion from 1984, was announced but did not compete.
Lasse Brudek wins European Championship silver overall
Four weight classes of over 100 men competed, plus the 15 women, resulting in fields of around 25 starters per group, who were sent out onto the course at seven-minute intervals. Alongside the strong Dutch team, the Germans were the second strongest nation this time with 27 riders, which was demonstrated with a photo shoot.
Even though the overall victory from the course race and marathon went to Marcel van der Ploeg from the Netherlands, Lasse Brudek from WSC Jade Wilhelmshaven was able to secure the runner-up title overall. Frenchman Jean Michel Pautrec was just one point behind. Unfortunately, only Olga Gorbatykh from the USA stood on the podium at the women's award ceremony, with second and third place going to Italy (Bruna Ferracane ahead of Benedetta Barone), who, like many others, had already travelled home.
They did not experience the brilliant end to a successful European Championship either, as a violent thunderstorm with peak values of around 48 knots caused flying rigs and boards in the paddock.
All results on windsurfer-ec2026.uycas.at
