Johan Søe actually wants to concentrate on the iQFOiL World Championships in Aarhus in July for the time being, but when there's a well-staffed foil contest right on his doorstep, "The Beast" obviously can't say no after all. And so the Dane, who has shown outstanding dominance everywhere he has competed recently, swapped his Olympic equipment for the faster World Cup equipment and also won the first elimination at the EPWT opener with aplomb.
The still young EPWT tour, which focuses exclusively on foil racing, is entering its second season with the event in Cold Hawaii. The Last year's kick-off in Ebeltoft was a complete successThe organiser Finn Noer also created a remarkable setup in Hanstholm with a large video wall, livestream including commentary by Ben Proffitt, PWA photographer John Carter and a decent amount of prize money. Everything was set up in Hanstholm, one of the best wave spots in Northern Europe, but the shorebreak was too rough for the organisers' sensitive foils.
Wolf playing catch-up, Poggemann not yet in the flow
So we headed a few kilometres inland to Thisted, where the races at the PWA Youth World Cup were held last year. In relatively strong but gusty winds, the first elimination was started in front of the cable park. The Danish duo of Johan Søe and his Patrik partner Noah Vinther left nothing to be desired and rode to the front. Behind them, the Swede Hugo Sjöberg rode to a strong third place ahead of Fabian Wolf. "I had a really bad start, was last at the first buoy, but was then able to move forwards in the gybes," Wolf reported later. Lars Poggemann's goal was to finish in the top 5, but without having been on the water beforehand, he missed out on 14th place after the first elimination. "It can be very tight, so early in the season the equipment is not always optimised," he said before the race.
The performance of Christina Larsen, the only woman in the field, was particularly impressive. The Dane rode straight to 15th place in a strong line-up. "I didn't expect to make it to the semi-finals because the guys are so fast, but somehow it worked out," she reported afterwards, completely thrilled. "It was crazy, I just didn't want to finish last!"
A second elimination was also started, but the wind died down towards the evening and the race had to be cancelled after the fourth heat. However, the forecast for today and the weekend looks good, so the race should continue around midday - again in Thisted.
The highlights of day 1 of the EPWT in Cold Hawaii
The livestream to watch afterwards
Intermediate standings European Pro Windsurfing Tour Hanstholm
- Johan Søe
- Noah Vinther
- Hugo Sjöberg
- Fabian Wolf
- Sem Luka Stroosma
- Cyril Evrard
- John Soukos
- Brendan Lorho
- Peyton Dits
- Bob van de Burgt
- Matthijs Pos
- Thijs Hanemaaijer
- Magner Løbner Hass
- Lars Poggemann
- Christina Larsen
- Bjarne van der Weg
- Kasper Friis Nielsen
- Gustav Permin
- Hugo Cox
- Mattijs van der Weg
- Bart van den Bogaart
