Freestyle Pro Tour Cape Town: Lisa Kloster wins the single, Niclas Nebelung in 2nd place
Manuel Vogel
· 11.02.2024
The 5-star event in Cape Town marks the start of the 2024 Freestyle Pro Tour and, just like last year, the participants' all-round skills will be in demand, as the single elimination was held on the Rietvlej, a lake near the famous Sunset Beach, before the double elimination waves if the forecast is right.
The "Cape Doctor" once again provided plenty of ventilation, sweeping across the lake at a whopping 30 knots - perfect conditions for the freestyle elite. Lisa Kloster lived up to her status as favourite, leaving nothing to chance in the small field of women - four participants were entered - and confidently winning the final against Katja Haslinger with solid Konos.
Several German riders also took part in a strong field of men: Felix Volkhardt was in good form, but had the misfortune of having to compete against the Italian Jacopo Testa in round three - the end for Volkhardt. The same fate had already befallen Marco Lufen one round earlier; he was also unable to counter Testa's performance. Niclas Nebelung underlined that he has the potential to win against the best riders on the tour with his victory in the semi-final against Lennart Neubauer, FPT Champion 2023 and winner of the World Cup on Sylt. Both showed absolute fireworks on the water - in a very close heat, a double air culo from Nebelung made the difference in the end.
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In the final, Nebelung then had to deal with Jacopo Testa, who bounced back impressively after a hard crash in the quarter-finals and from then on surfed with a head turban, sending top French rider Sam Esteve to the beach in the semi-finals. If Nebelung had shown a similarly strong heat in the final as he did in the semi-final, it could have been his first win on the Freestyle Pro Tour. However, dwindling strength and fading wind meant that the Kiel native crashed again and again, while Testa put another 40-point heat on the water. Nebelung therefore finished the single elimination in 2nd place.
The double elimination will take place in the wave if the conditions are right - so it will be all about all-round skills. You can find out whether Lisa Kloster and Niclas Nebelung were able to maintain their great placings here with us.
