Head-high waves and mostly light winds characterised the day on which the remaining three heats of the men's round 3 and the first three heats of the women's quarter-finals were held. Three riders each took to the water, with the best two progressing to the next round
After a false start in the heat, a confident Justyna Sniady showed her skills in the wind from the left with some strong turns and took the win. Coco Fouveau found her rhythm with good speed and an aggressive riding style and relegated Maria Morales Novarro to third place.
In Heat 2, Lina Erpenstein used her vast experience, chose the right equipment and read the conditions best to show some power moves on the better waves of the heat and came first of the heat into the next round. Fourteen-year-old Sol Degrieck provided the big surprise, knocking world number two Sarah Hauser out of the competition with some strong top-to-bottom rides.
Alexia Kiefer again with the best score
The wind freshened up and shifted perfectly to offshore conditions for an exciting Heat 3. Alexia Kiefer Quintana powered her way through some of the most aggressive snaps and lip smacks and once again took the highest heat score of the day with 14.17 points. Pauline Katz also impressed with tight snaps and good aerials and took the second-best heat of the day (13.00). She thus relegated the strong tour veteran and number four in the world in 2023, Maria Andrés, to second place.
Then it was the men's turn, with the young Spaniards taking command in the first heat of the day. The scores were in the middle range for most of the heat. But in the final minutes, Marino Gil Gheradi found a fast set that allowed him to perform several aerials and beat his good friend Liam Dunkerbeck. This eliminated local hero Vincent Gonzales, who had fought his way out of the trials and into the main draw. Gonzales had injured his shoulder during a wash yesterday, but put up a brave fight and was cheered loudly by the local spectators on the packed beach.
Traversa and Fernandez with first-class heats, from Salmonn more
Heat 7 was a close battle of the big wave shredders with the current world number 1 Bernd Roediger coming out on top. Roediger had solid waves with some hits in the critical areas, but wasn't able to connect enough turns before the waves ran out. Former world champion and big wave guru Thomas Traversa took an early lead with aggressive snaps and critical aerials and was able to secure the win with good variance in the sections. Local Diego Fabres knew how to read the fast waves well to show several aerials and radical cut-backs, which put him in second place ahead of Roediger.
In Heat 8, it was a perfect goiter from Victor Fernandez that ultimately made the difference among countless top-class moves. Julian Salmonn and Benjamin Fabres fought a thrilling battle for second place, but Salmonn was able to keep Fabres at bay with good wave selection, aerials and powerful, twirled cut-backs. Fabres remained a huge crowd favourite and was still welcomed back to the beach like a champion.
The final day for the Pro Men and Pro Women takes place this evening European time, with a bigger swell and good wind forecast. Large crowds are again expected to watch the action. A livestream is available on the IWT YouTube channel!
All heats and points are available at internationalwindsurfingtour.com/chile-2024/
