Preview of the Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup: Pozo Calling – Favourites, format, live stream and all the info ahead of the start

The leader in the World Championship rankings will – presumably – not be taking part in the next major events! What would normally have caused anything from surprise to concern becomes clear when you look at the 2026 wave calendar. Bernd Roediger, the windsurfing connoisseur with his inimitable elegance, who has dominated the wave season so far and has already secured three consecutive victories, won’t be subjecting himself to the high-wind carnage at Pozo – at any rate, he isn’t on the entry list as yet.

More on this topic:

• ​PWA & IWT Gran Canaria: The best crash photos from the Pozo World Cup
• ​Gallery: The best Pozo photos from the archives
• ​The Pozo Myth: Dunkerbeck, Moreno, Pons and co. on the legendary spot in Gran Canaria

Wave Tour: more evenly matched than ever

The Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup 2026, taking place from 4 to 12 July, will be the first event in Europe, followed by the wave events in Tenerife and Sylt – most likely without Roediger at these too. Instead, this will be the moment for Europe’s top riders and jump specialists such as Köster, Paré, Fernandez, Gherardi and co., who either did not take part in the only 5-star event held so far on Maui or did not feature in the final heats.

Speaking of stars: of Roediger’s three victories, only one – the Quatro Maui Pro – was a five-star event, and only these ‘major’ events count towards the World Championship. However, following the European World Cups, the season will conclude with two more five-star contests – the Aloha Classic and a planned event in Chile – both focusing on wave riding, where Roediger is certainly among the top favourites. With three events in European conditions and three down-the-line contests, the 2026 World Tour is therefore more evenly balanced than it has been for a long time.

Men: Köster, Paré, Stillrich, Gherardi, Brawzinho – Pozo power galore

The field of favourites for the men’s World Championship title is therefore fairly limited: apart from Marcilio Browne and Antoine Martin, there are only a few who can challenge for the top spot in both scenarios. Brawzinho, a five-time world champion, runner-up at Maui and multiple winner at Pozo, outshines them all and will be the man to beat. But Martin, currently third in the World Championship standings, is always capable of springing a surprise. Among the Pozo favourites is, of course, last year’s winner Philip Köster, who clinched victory in 2025 in an epic final featuring a mega-crash and a run over the rocks. Reigning world champion Marc Paré is still waiting for his first Pozo victory, but after a dip in form at the start of the season, he now finds himself in top form. And veteran champion Victor Fernandez is still right up there too, whilst Marino Gil Gherardi has already shown in 2024 that he can win at his home spot.

It will also be exciting to see how names such as Alessio Stillrich, Liam Dunkerbeck and Takuma Sugi fare, all of whom have plenty of experience at Pozo. Moritz Mauch, who achieved his best results to date last season, is also capable of springing a surprise at Pozo.

Women: Daida Moreno is making a comeback

Offringa – when talking about favourites in the women’s event, there’s no getting round the Queen of Windsurfing, of course. But even last year, the reigning world champion couldn’t get past the Queen of Pozo: according to the entry list, Daida Moreno is set to grace her home World Cup with her presence once again this year. She will therefore be the one to beat. Of course, Lina Erpenstein is also a likely contender for the podium; she missed last year’s event in Pozo due to injury and will certainly be looking to make her mark again.

Added to this is Sol Degrieck, a mega-talent who is developing at breakneck speed and who, as early as 2025, had already left the entire world’s elite behind her on Sylt. Alexia Kiefer, too – with new equipment – is a strong contender for a top-three finish at her home spot. The field also features other strong German names, including Maria Behrens, Sybille Bode, Emma and Frida Miron, Helena Lale and Trine Gobisch.

Pozo World Cup: Format and live stream

For the first time, the Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup is being held this year under the auspices of the WWT. This has a few implications for the contest format: before the top riders take to the course, there will first be the Challenger Rounds, in which the unseeded competitors will battle it out for the four remaining places in the main field alongside the 28 seeded men and 12 seeded women. The main rounds will then be contested in the WWT’s typical ‘Dingle’ format – that is, a single-elimination tournament with intercalated losers’ rounds. For example, the winner of a four-person heat progresses directly to the next round, the last-placed rider is eliminated, whilst the runners-up and third-placed riders get another chance to compete against the runners-up and third-placed riders from the other heats. The exact format may be adjusted depending on conditions.

There will only be a live stream on three days: the qualifying rounds on Day 1, the main rounds on Day 2 and the finals on Day 3 will be broadcast on YouTube, including live scoring from the WWT. The Junior and Masters events are only a secondary priority. As usual, Ben Proffitt is set to be on the mic, and PWA photographer John Carter has also been announced! At the same time, the event is also set to be broadcast on the Canarian TV channel RTVC – as was the case in Fiji, the WWT aims to increase the sport’s reach in this way.

Incidentally, the forecast still leaves room for improvement, at least as far as the start of the event is concerned: no suitable conditions are forecast for the weekend; as things stand today, the wind is only expected to pick up a little later in the week. You can, of course, find all the results and information here at surf-magazin.de!