German Windsurf Cup: Meno Büchler triumphs at the season finale in Heiligenhafen

The California Windsurf Cup in Heiligenhafen ended after a lull on Saturday with a spectacular final day on which five complete foil races were held. Six heats had already been completed on Friday, making the 2025 season finale one of the most successful regattas of the year in sporting terms, according to the organisers. Meno Büchler secured overall victory ahead of Lithuanian Giedrius Liutkus and Tjalve Böttger.

"This is the first win for me at a California Windsurf Cup. We had mega conditions here in Heiligenhafen and it was great to see such a strong field of participants and especially so many up-and-coming riders. I hope that we will see each other again next year here in Heiligenhafen and that we can build on this successful regatta," said a delighted Büchler after his triumph.

• Meno Büchler - an interview with the windsurfing newcomer

Dramatic final day with a race to catch up

The final day of competition brought some real excitement to the decision. Lithuanian Giedrius Liutkus started the day in a disappointing 15th place, but then steadily improved and secured a second place and impressive heat wins in the last three races. With four heat wins and a total of 8.8 points, he deservedly secured second place in the season finale of the California Windsurf Cup. With this strong performance, he moved threateningly close to Meno Büchler, who had been in the lead until then.

Büchler himself was able to record two more race wins on the final day, but got stuck in the pack in one race and did not finish this race. Nevertheless, the lead he had built up on Friday was enough to secure overall victory with 6.2 points. In total, Büchler won six of the eleven races and missed out on the perfect score by just a single point. Tjalve Böttger from Kiel completed the podium in third place with 18.7 points and was the only competitor besides Büchler and Liutkus to also win a race.

Strong young talent performances at the GWA Championships in the iQFOiL

A special focus of the tour stop in Heiligenhafen was on young windsurfers, as the event also served as the GWA Youth & Junior Championships 2025. Meno Büchler came out on top in the Youth U21 category ahead of Tjalve Böttger and Keno Recke. Erik Wehkamp dominated the Youth U19 category ahead of Paul Regber and Noah Schmäh. Among the youngest participants in the Junior U17 category, Tom Franke led the field, followed by Philipp Köhlert and Mika Henning.

Ranking points were also awarded in the Olympic iQFOiL class. In the iQFOiL Youth U19 classification, Erik Wehkamp took first place ahead of Paul Regber and Noah Schmäh. Philipp Köhlert won the Junior U17 category ahead of Gustav Grünbaum and Julian Ahrens, while Lena Schmäh beat Lia Franke and Eva Lotte Grünbaum in the women's competition.

Results German Windsurf Cup Heiligenhafen 2025

1. Meno Büchler
2. Giedrius Liutkus
3. Tjalve Böttger
4. Erik Wehkamp
5. Paul Regber