Citroën Windsurf World Cup Sylt 2026: Fabian Wolf takes the lead with a one-two finish

​“I’m coming to Sylt to be right up there with the best!” Fabi Wolf had announced in an interview with *surf* ahead of the World Cup. The Kiel native made good on that promise today – and how! With a steady easterly wind, there were three foil heats in total; Fabian Wolf emerged victorious on two occasions, securing his first two ‘bullets’ on the World Tour. “I’m delighted that it all came together straight away in the first race. Sylt is a home race for me and something very special, especially with the crowd here. I hope this is just the start of something really big,” he said happily afterwards.

And Wolf underlined this with another victory in the third race. The start of the final was a close affair at first, but with a perfect gybe, Wolf took the lead and pulled away from the field; five-time world champion Matteo Iachino could only manage second place. “I was feeling very confident after the Austria Cup – I’d won five races there and he’d won five as well,” said Fabi, describing his mindset. “I know I’m strong, but I’ve sometimes made silly mistakes. Now I’m happy that I’ve been able to show what I’m capable of!” The spectators on Brandenburger Strand were delighted, and Wolf’s victories were met with loud cheers.

Vrieswijk on the brink of a crash

Just behind Fabi after the first day of racing is Matteo Iachino, who finished second in all three heats. Amado Vrieswijk, who won heat number two, is fourth behind Pierre Mortefon. By this point, the wind had picked up; Vrieswijk’s victory in the final was a wild ride: “I nearly crashed a couple of times – my foil had too much power,” Vrieswijk reported later. In the first heat, the man from Bonaire had a run of bad luck and collided with flotsam in the semi-final. Maciek Rutkowski was also stopped by a piece of flotsam in the third heat.

The surprise of the day was Sem Stroosma, who won the third-place play-off in the first elimination round and, in the second round, stayed hot on the heels of the winner Amado Vrieswijk – who is also his training partner – for much of the race, eventually securing an excellent third place. John Soukos, who caused a stir here on Sylt last year, also showed that he is right up there with the best by finishing fifth in the provisional rankings. Maciek Rutkowski made it to the grand final just once and is in seventh place, just ahead of Nacho Baltasar Summers. The Spaniard competed in the 2024 Olympics on the iQFOiL and is taking part in the World Cup here on Sylt for the first time! Nico Prien is twelfth, Lars Poggemann is in 29th place, Jesse Richter is 31st and Jonas Neumann is 35th.

The forecast for tomorrow morning suggests there will be even a bit more wind than today. From 8.30 am, the final three freestyle heats are due to take place – including the World Championship decider! After that, there should be more foil races.

All heats and results can be found at pwaworldtour.com

Live stream to watch later