Citroën Windsurf World Cup Sylt: “I live for this pressure” – Lennart Neubauer’s world championship week

​On Sylt, Lennart Neubauer won more than just a competition – he survived a whole week of nerves, waiting and sudden bursts of intense action. At the decisive moment, he was in the zone and knew: it’s going to work.

Wind forecasts that changed daily, an interrupted semi-final and long days of waiting filled with mental imagery: Lennart Neubauer’s World Championship week on Sylt was anything but smooth sailing. Yet the freestyle star remained focused. In the end, he came out on top: world champion, with an old Kuma Movie clip as the soundtrack and the feeling of being able to control everything at the decisive moment. We caught up with Lennart Neubauer for a chat after the event.

Lennart, Sylt wasn’t just a competition, but a whole week of waiting, watching, hoping and suddenly going full throttle. Which moments and feelings stand out most in your memory?

Yes, it was a very long week, with wind forecasts that kept changing. I must have checked the forecast at least ten times a day, if not more.

I particularly remember the first day out on the water. It was quite intense. We were practically in our wetsuits all day. From the second round onwards, we didn’t have time to get back on shore in between heats because they were so close together and we were about two kilometres out. Being so far away from everything was quite something. Right in the middle of my semi-final against Balz, the wind died down. That gave me the next two days to run through all sorts of scenarios in my head. In between, I also went to the Sylter Welle and to the cinema, which was a nice change of pace.

Of course, the day when we finally had wind again and I beat Balz first and then Dieter was also incredibly intense. But to be perfectly honest: the days on Sylt are all a bit of a blur for me. Sometimes I can’t even remember what happened on which day. It all blends together. Even now, my mind’s still a bit sluggish and tired from the intensity of the event, the nerves and everything that went with it.

If I had to pick one feeling, it would be that moment in the final against Dieter when I was out on the water and knew: I’m going to pull this off. I was in the zone and felt like I could basically do whatever I wanted. It was incredibly intense – in the most positive sense.

In the end, many people only see the title and the moment of victory. But what is a week like that really like – when, as the favourite and a German-speaking rider on Sylt, you’re constantly in the spotlight? Did all that attention from people spur you on – or did it also put you under pressure?

I do think the people on Sylt like me. One bloke even called out to me as he walked past: ‘I’ve bet a thousand euros on you, so go on and win this thing!’ I just had to smile.

Of course I realise that lots of people want me to win. As a German-speaking rider, I’m naturally of interest to the media and the crowd. But I don’t forget why I’m doing this: I do it for myself, because I love the sport. And I thrive on that pressure, too. For the hours leading up to it, for the nerves, for that adrenaline rush. I find it incredibly exciting to deal with these feelings and see what I can make of them. That uncertainty is part of it too. That’s why I don’t let what people say go to my head too much.

Between the windy days, there was a lot of downtime – but that’s often when the competition really gets going in your head. How did you cope with the long waiting periods? Were you able to switch off – or did you find it had exactly the opposite effect?

My semi-final against Balz was interrupted when the wind died down. That gave me two full days to think things over and prepare. And I realised that with every passing hour, I found myself thinking more and more, and the pressure grew. Suddenly I had time to run through every possible scenario: What happens if I win? How far do I need to get to win the title? Actually, these are pointless thoughts, but they pop into my head anyway. I tried not to force them away, but instead to tell myself: ‘OK, these thoughts are there, but I am not my thoughts. I can control how I react to them and what I do with them.’ I kept reminding myself of that over and over again.

Even so, there were a few nights when I lay awake for longer, my mind racing: How will it go? Will it work out? At the same time, though, I had this deep, almost blind confidence that I’d pull it off. I find that interesting myself sometimes: where does this certainty come from? At most events, it’s very clear and very strong. I go in with the feeling that I’m going to win. I don’t know if others experience it the same way, but it helps me a lot.

​I was in the zone and felt as though I could basically do whatever I wanted.

The semi-final against Balz Müller was perhaps the most crucial clash of the week – a showdown with one of the most unpredictable riders on the tour. How do you mentally prepare for someone when you never know exactly what’s coming next?

The semi-final against Balz was the decisive race – Yentel had already been knocked out in the quarter-finals and was therefore in fifth place. If I made it to the final, that would probably mean the world title for me. That’s why the pressure was at its highest ahead of this semi-final.

I’d heard that Balz was planning to pull out all the stops against me – even the ones that aren’t actually in the book yet. So I thought to myself with a grin: ‘Right, go on then, give it a go.’ At the same time, I knew it could work out if I stuck to my plan.

Balz is the sort of person for whom it can sometimes be ‘all or nothing’. He might score 40 points in one heat and 30 in the next. But I’ve always assumed he’d get 40, because I know he’s capable of it. And I just thought it was really cool that he was in that position. I’m really happy for him that he’s the world runner-up. After so many years on the tour. I find it incredibly inspiring.

You competed in the heat wearing headphones – quite an unusual sight for many people. How did you come up with this idea, and what effect does the music have on you out on the water?

The idea came to me in Pozo when I first saw these waterproof headphones. I just ordered them and thought: Right, I’ll give these a go. When they arrived, I tried them out on Naxos. I’d also realised by then that I sing to myself a lot whilst windsurfing and am constantly replaying old windsurfing videos in my head.

When I put the headphones on, I quickly realised that the music really helps me stay present and gives me a gentle sense of focus in the background. So I asked the PWA if I could wear them during the heat as well. The answer was: absolutely no problem. So I tried it out straight away in the first heat, and it went well.

Do you still remember exactly what you were listening to during the final?

In the final, the audio track from an old YouTube video by Kuma Movie – ‘Kiri in Mangrove, Part 3’ – actually played. I’d brought Part 2 with me as well. Those are my absolute favourite videos from that freestyle era.

Of all times, this song just happened to start playing during the final. That really got me into the zone – that feeling of freedom and freestyle with the 5.2 in light winds. The timing really couldn’t have been much better.

​I soon realised that the music makes me feel very much present whilst out on the water.

Freestyle often comes across as playful and spontaneous – but at world-champion level, there’s enormous pressure behind it. How much of your final heat was planned, and how much was pure gut feeling and instinct?

The older I get and the longer I’ve been on tour, the less I plan my heats in advance. I used to write everything down in detail: in light winds with the 5.2, my heat would look like this; in strong winds with the 4.0, it would look like that. Nowadays, I head out onto the water, adapt to the conditions and often only decide which trick to do a few seconds beforehand.

I think that, by now, I’ve simply reached a point where a lot of things just happen automatically. I don’t have to think things through so much anymore. It’s more of a gut feeling: I see a ramp and two seconds later I do a Pasko, because I know it’s the right move for that.

After so many years, you learn to read the water. You can tell which manoeuvre suits the wave right in front of you, and react accordingly. It used to be different. These days, I don’t plan that far ahead anymore.

Were you really able to celebrate the title and let it go afterwards – or were you already thinking about your next goals? And what’s next?

I’m not really the party type at all. But this time I actually partied until four in the morning. I was even thrown out of the party tent once because my colleagues had thrown me into the air. On my way out, though, so many people congratulated me that the security staff realised I’d just won the event. We had a nice chat outside. They were really friendly too, and afterwards they let me back in. So nothing wild, just a funny little story. Everyone who knows me knows that I very rarely go to parties. But celebrating with all the riders together was incredibly good fun. It was something special. And Sylt really does that well.

I’m currently on my way to the Brouwersdam, where the FPT final is taking place. That’s what I’m focusing on at the moment.

Looking ahead, I’d like to really get going in the wave discipline next year. This year has already been a good taster, especially in Tenerife. But I still have an incredible amount to learn. When it comes to riding waves in particular, I’m still lacking the experience that takes years to build up. And of course I want to defend my freestyle title and keep raising the bar there. At the same time, though, I want to put more and more energy into wave riding every year.

Thank you for the interview, Lennart.