Juban and Erpenstein pulled off one of the best days of competition on the Windsurfing World Wave Tour. Head Judge Boujmaa commented: "It was insane conditions and action. The energy I felt today was one of the best contests I've ever experienced. The conditions, the action, the atmosphere and the community were just incredible."
Right at the start of the semi-final, the swell kicked in with a bang and over mast-high sets began to roll in. The current became treacherous and the competitors had to wait for the breaks between sets to get out, but when the waves rolled in, they offered incredible down-the-line riding.
Lina Erpenstein wins her first World Cup
The women's final saw a great battle between a super-motivated Alexia Kiefer Quintana and Lina Erpenstein. Alexia's power turns in critical sections had impressed the judges throughout the competition. After a somewhat shaky start, Kiefer Quintana caught a good set and skied three power turns under the lip and in front of the rocks. Erpenstein countered with some solid turns in the pocket. But in the last minute of the heat, Erpenstein took a big, perfectly breaking wave, slashed her way through a few turns and then finished the heat with a nice aerial, which gave her the win!
I was just in survival mode." (Lina Erpenstein)
It was Erpenstein's first ever win at a 5-star event. "I'm over the moon. I've been dreaming about it for so long but the level was so high and the big waves rolled in and I was just in survival mode. I'm very happy with my tactics in this heat. I positioned myself well and read the waves well. It feels unreal to win. This whole trip has been the trip of a lifetime," she said.
First podium for Alexia Kiefer
It was also the first 5-star podium for Alexia Kiefer Quintana. "It was a great feeling. I really liked this event because I wasn't nervous at all. I had a lot of fun on the water. I was shouting to myself: 'Come on Alexia, you have to do it'. I love surfing. The waves were really big, but you just need confidence," she said.
The waves were really big, but you just need self-confidence." (Alexia Kiefer)
14-year-old Sol Degrieck proved that she is a force to be reckoned with in the future, especially in big waves. She picked some great breakers and rode through critical sections without fear to take third place. Pauline Katz performed well throughout the competition, choosing good waves and attacking sections to secure fourth place.
The biggest waves came in the men's final
Some of the biggest sets of the day came across the Pacific in the men's final. In it, Philip Köster faced Camille Juban, Morgan Noireaux and Victor Fernandez, with whom he had already played in the semi-finals in the same heat. The pair knocked out Thomas Traversa, among others, while Juban and Noireaux sent world champion Brawzinho to the beach in the other semi-final. Julian Salmonn had already lost out to Köster and Marino Gil Gherardi in the quarter-finals.
Despite his laid-back demeanour, Camille Juban sought out the biggest and best sets and smashed the biggest wave of the day with a 15-foot face. While many waves looked like they were breaking too fast to really be ridden from top to bottom, Juban managed to put more turns in more critical spots on the waves than anyone else and then land huge aerials at the end. The waves seemed to slow down when he rode, but that was just an indication of how well he could read the waves. On another huge set that many would have thought was a close-out section, Juban managed multiple smacks and an almost impossibly late aerial to score a 9.13.
We simply couldn't wish for more on a final day." (Camille Juban)
Noireaux with Mega 360
Juban finished the day with an outstanding score of 18.16 and was the deserved winner. "We just couldn't ask for more on a final day and we got the best in the world. I'm just over the moon. It's been a long week and it's been hard to concentrate, but I'm super happy to have such a good day with great waves," said Juban.
Not far behind Juban was Morgan Noireaux, who showed the move of the contest with a radically high 360 on a monster wave that was landed with incredible perfection, scoring an 8.23. Noireaux admitted: "That was one of the best I've ever done." He continued his assault by grabbing another huge wave, riding it with his powerful top-to-bottom surfing style and finishing with a mast-high aerial that earned him the top score of 8.57.
These were some of the best conditions we've ever had for an event." (Morgan Noireaux)
Morgan Noireaux leads the world championship ranking
Noireaux thus shoots to the top of the world championship standings. He has just finished 4th in Japan, followed by a 2nd in Chile. Before the competition, he said he felt he could finish on the podium, and he did. "These were some of the best conditions we've ever had for an event. I feel really good because I set myself the goal of getting on the podium and I achieved that. It's cool to have the feeling that I'm good in a lot of different conditions," said Noireaux.
Philip Köster had some solid waves and a very radical rail turn. Despite several very close attempts with big sets, he was unable to complete one of his extreme aerial manoeuvres.
This concludes the main competition at the World Cup in Chile, with the juniors and masters taking to the water over the next few days! All heats and points can be found at internationalwindsurfingtour.com/chile-2024/
You can read a detailed report from Lina Erpenstein about the event in Chile and her victory here in the coming days!
