When the world’s elite take to Brandenburger Strand to face the rough North Sea, close contests and surprises are guaranteed. In the wave, freestyle and foil disciplines, important World Championship points, prestigious victories and, in some cases, even the world championship titles are at stake. No other event features so many disciplines on the programme, with a total of 85,000 euros in prize money up for grabs. Top international stars will go head-to-head with Germany’s top competitors, who will be loudly cheered on by fans on the beach. We reveal who the favourites are in the three disciplines – and who could spring a surprise on Sylt.
Wave: The hunt for a hat-trick and German title hopes
In the premier discipline of wave riding, the spotlight is likely to be on crowd favourite Philip Köster in particular: his battle with reigning world champion Marc Paré is making the wave season more exciting than it has been for a long time. Köster won in Pozo, Paré then won in Tenerife and, most recently, the four-star event in Wissant – where Köster finished second on each occasion. However, following his victories in 2024 and 2025, Paré is in with a chance of securing a hat-trick on Sylt and is in top form.
World Championship bronze medallist Marcilio Browne has also shown on several occasions that he can beat Westerland and is certainly among the favourites. Ahead of the final wave contests in Maui and Chile, where conditions will be completely different, the course for the World Championship could well be set here on Sylt. This is because Bernd Roediger’s Hawaii crew are skipping the trip to the autumnal North Sea, meaning the European riders can pick up vital World Championship points here. Miguel Chapuis and Marino Gil Gherardi are also among the dark horses; Chapuis made it through to the final last year. It will also be exciting to keep an eye on Lennart Neubauer, who, as well as competing in freestyle, also intends to compete in the wave event and has shown his potential with his fourth-place finish in Tenerife. As always, there are plenty of German wave riders on Sylt, including Nick Spangenberg, Laurin Schmuth, Henri Kolberg and Anton Richter, who have already gained some experience in the Westerland waves over the past few years. Nico Prien, Germany’s top racer, is also entered for wave riding, as is his foil colleague Maciek Rutkowski.
In the women’s event, too, anything is possible: windsurfing queen Sarah-Quita Offringa is one of the favourites simply on the strength of her titles, but in recent years the North Sea has repeatedly provided the backdrop for remarkable stories: In 2025, the then 16-year-old Sol Degrieck pulled off a sensational victory, whilst a year earlier, outsider Marine Hunter triumphed ahead of Maria Behrens. This year, Sylt is set to host a historic first from a German perspective: Lina Erpenstein and Maria Behrens arrive in Sylt as the World Championship winner and runner-up respectively and are likely to receive a particularly enthusiastic boost from the crowd on Brandenburger Strand. The Lübeck native took second place on Maui in the spring and is particularly hard to beat in sideshore conditions, which have occurred from time to time on Sylt in recent years. And Lina Erpenstein, having finished second on Tenerife, is keen to finish right at the front at her home event. With Sybille Bode, Helena Lale and Trine Gobisch, a total of five out of the ten registered competitors will be competing under the ‘G’ sail.
Freestyle: Neubauer sets his sights on the title
A new freestyle world champion will be crowned on Sylt in 2026 as well. In the men’s event, there has been a thrilling battle of the generations for several years now: veteran Yentel Caers and youngster Lennart Neubauer have been battling it out for the world title of late. Following his victory on Fuerteventura, Neubauer heads into the grand World Championship final in a stronger position. What’s more, the German-Greek rider always receives a particularly enthusiastic boost from the spectators on Sylt.
But lurking behind the pair are some tough opponents – Jacopo Testa, Balz Müller, Steven van Broeckhoven and Dieter van der Eyken – who will need to be beaten first. Japanese youngster Takuma Sugi has also come close to the podium several times on Fuerteventura, finishing fourth and fifth, and is likely to cause a stir again on Sylt. In addition, former European champion Davy Scheffers is back in action on Sylt after a break of several years.
The registered waveriders Antoine Martin and Thomas Traversa could provide some extra excitement. Both are in their element, particularly in choppy, onshore conditions, and are always capable of springing a surprise or two. After all, the North Sea off Sylt rarely offers ideal freestyle conditions; instead, it demands everything from the riders with chop, waves and gusty winds. The question remains as to how far Lennart Neubauer can push the trick level under these rough conditions: will he pull off another Triple Culo – or will he even show off something brand new like the Shifty into Forward?
Foil slalom: Sylt sets the course
The foil fleet is heading to the World Cup in Sylt largely as a bit of a wild card. Apart from the ‘Mini World Cup’ in St Peter-Ording – a four-star event with a reduced points system – there has not yet been a major event this season. This makes the result on Sylt all the more important, as there is only one more regatta to follow – in Japan – so every heat could prove decisive. As is well known, dominant force Johan Søe is no longer competing in the World Cup, so the circle of favourites consists mainly of former world champions Matteo Iachino, Pierre Mortefon and Maciek Rutkowski. Amado Vrieswijk has made his mark with his victory at SPO, although his strongest rivals were not on the starting line there. Sylt has always been a place where surprises happen with “GER” on the sail; last year, Fabi Wolf got a taste of the world’s elite and made quite an impression. Alongside him, Lars Poggemann will be back in action, as will Jesse Richter, whilst Jonas Naumann makes his Sylt debut.
The Citroën Windsurf World Cup Sylt runs from 25 September to 4 October. You can always find all the information, news and results here on surf-magazin.de