At Ordinger Strand, 65 athletes from 16 nations lined up at the start of the IFCA Foiling European Championships, which also form part of the German Tour as a Windsurf Cup event. Conditions on the first day of competition were at their best: With wind speeds of between 10 and 15 knots, the race committee was able to complete a full men’s elimination round and three women’s races in the afternoon. Greece’s John Soukos secured victory in the first elimination round, thereby taking the lead in the overall standings. Fabi Wolf lived up to his role as favourite and finished in second place. Bob van de Burgt from the Netherlands completed the podium in third place. The Danes Kasper Nielsen and Noah Vinter followed in fourth and fifth places.
The two top favourites, Alexis Mathis from France and Amado Vrieswijk, had to settle for sixth and seventh place respectively on the opening day. Both had hoped for more from the first day of competition and will need to make up ground in the coming days if they are to remain in contention for the European titles.
Eržen dominates the women’s competition
Lina Eržen made a clear statement in the women’s event. With three wins in three races, she leads the overall standings comfortably. The Slovenian gave her rivals no chance and proved superior in all three races. Behind her, an exciting duel unfolded between the Norwegian sisters Tuva and Helle Oppedal. Both were disqualified in the first race for a false start, but subsequently made an impressive comeback. Tuva Oppedal finished second in each of the following two races, whilst Helle Oppedal came third twice.
Lena Schmäh provided a pleasant surprise for the Germans, sitting in fourth place overall after the first day of competition. The German held her own against the international field and has a good chance of staying among the frontrunners in the coming days. Caren Nietzen from the Netherlands rounds off the top five in the women’s standings.
Official opening with distinguished guests
The official opening ceremony of the IFCA Foiling European Championships took place in the evening. Among the guests was Claus Ruhe Madsen, Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Labour, Technology and Tourism for the State of Schleswig-Holstein. Together with Boris Pfau, the mayor of St Peter-Ording, Jan Dirk Tenge, President of the Schleswig-Holstein Sailing Association, and many other guests, they welcomed the athletes during the parade of nations.
The IFCA Foiling European Championship will take place from 15 to 19 July as part of the California Windsurf Cup in St Peter-Ording. The event offers total prize money of 40,000 euros. As well as the official European Championship titles of the International Funboard Class, competitors will also be vying for crucial ranking points for the PWA World Rankings. The Ministry of the Interior of the State of Schleswig-Holstein is supporting the organisation of this major event with 120,000 euros.
All results at scoring.winterwave.nl
