After two days of waiting, the third day in Podersdorf finally brought the first competition decisions. The skippers' meeting was already scheduled for 6.00 am, with the first possible start just 30 minutes later. The freestylers were expecting light but adequate conditions for the start of the competitions. The new format of the Freestyle Pro Tour was used for the first time: the Open Fleet. This format gives riders of all backgrounds and skill levels the opportunity to gain experience in a professional competition environment. The premiere proved to be a success and offered participants a platform to compete against experienced professionals.
Ben Behrendt impresses in the Open Fleet
One of the outstanding participants in the Open Fleet was Ben Behrendt, who showed consistently convincing performances in his heats. The German consistently filled out his scoresheets and demonstrated a clean sailing style despite the challenging light wind conditions. His performance was rewarded in the first round with a victory over FPT returnee Andreas Rossler. However, Behrendt's run came to an end one lap later when he came up against local rider Max Brinnich. The Austrian, considered one of the favourites in the Open Fleet, showed impressively why he was one of the strongest contenders in the field. On the other side of the table, Max Matissek caused quite a stir. The Austrian veteran returned after a long break from competition and looked on the water as if he had never been away.
Matissek triumphs in the Open Fleet Final
Matissek steadily worked his way through the laps, ensuring a final against Brinnich. By the time the decisive heat took to the water, the wind had reached its peak for the day, allowing both riders to show off their full skills. In a closely contested duel, Matissek ultimately prevailed by just over a point and secured victory. The four coveted qualifying places for the Pro Fleet went to Max Matissek, Max Brinnich, Michi Czech and Johannes Kratky. This meant that only local riders from Podersdorf made it into the highest competition class. Johannes Kratky won his first heat before losing out to his compatriot Michi Czech, but still secured the last available starting place in the Pro Fleet.
At this point, you will find external content that complements the article. You can display and hide it with a click.
Monastery shows dominance in the women's fleet
The women's fleet completed a full single elimination. The German Lisa Kloster was in outstanding form and gave her competitors no chance. She won each of her heats by a margin of more than seven points and demonstrated impressive consistency from the start to the final. On the other side of the elimination, Ziva Batis had to face a challenge from Melina Schutt. Schutt had travelled from Denmark just a few days earlier, where she had finished third in the mixed fleet at the Danish Open. The two delivered one of the closest heats in the women's fleet, with Batis qualifying for the final by a wafer-thin margin. In the decisive heat against Kloster, the German once again demonstrated her experience and completely filled her score sheet.
At this point, you will find external content that complements the article. You can display and hide it with a click.
Slump in wind prevents further Pro Fleet heats
Batis struggled with the conditions as the wind dropped while she was on the water with her 4.4 square metre sail. This allowed Kloster to pull away significantly and take home the win. The Men's Pro Fleet also got to work, completing four heats before the conditions deteriorated. The standout duel of the day was between Adam Sims and up-and-coming talent Pier Bongianni. In one of the closest and most entertaining heats of the event so far, experience narrowly prevailed over youth. Sims qualified for the next round with a lead of around one point. Jacopo Testa, Bodhi Kempen and Yentel Caers also secured victories and progressed to the next round.
Competition cancelled due to lack of wind
The challenging conditions showed that competition experience is a decisive advantage. Unfortunately, the wind dropped significantly just as Heat 5 was due to start between Arne Jörn and Manolis Chrysopoulos. Despite three separate attempts to complete the heat, the conditions did not recover. The judges were forced to end the competition day early. This brought the third day to a close and marked the first day of the event with actual freestyle competition on the water. The forecast for the following day suggests that no competition will take place. Instead, the riders will once again take to the water for tow-in runs.
Info under www.freestyleprotour.com
