PWA Japan: Foil action in Yokusuka - title fight between Mortefon and Benedetti

After a flat day at the start, the action at the last World Cup of the season is slowly picking up speed. On the second day of the Fly! ANA Windsurfing World Cup in Yokosuka, the first two foil eliminations were finally held. Some very light winds made life difficult for the riders, which meant that not all the favourites were able to deliver consistent performances.

Matteo Iachino has not been fazed so far in the men's race, although he has not won a race, he has scored solid points with two second places and currently leads the rankings. The world championship leader Pierre Mortefon, who is currently in second place overall with first and fourth place, also had a strong start. The Frenchman put all his eggs in one basket in the first race when he went head-to-head with Daniele Benedetti in the final and secured the first victory of the event. Crucially, Mortefon then finished ahead of Benedetti in Elimination 2 - coming fourth and fifth respectively - to open up a 3.3-point lead over his Italian rival, who must finish ahead of Mortefon to have any chance of winning his first world title. There is still a long way to go, but with an interim fourth place, it will become increasingly difficult for Benedetti in view of Mortefon's consistency.

Søe strong again after mistake

Enrico Marotti went into the event in third place in the world rankings, and the Croatian is still on course for a podium finish after the first day of racing. Marotti is currently tied with Benedetti on eight points. To drop out of the top three in the overall standings, he would have to finish sixth or worse and Iachino would have to win the event by a clear margin.

Sylt winner Johan Søe made a false start in the first semi-final of Elimination 1 before winning the B final. The incredible dominance was there again in the second heat, obviously the Dane has an extra gear. He also showed some incredible jibes, often making up a lot of ground. He will be doubly annoyed about the mistake in the first elimination in view of this top form, but the path to victory should only go through him in the coming days.

Prien and Becker scrape into the top ten

And the German starters? Nico Prien got off to a strong start with a sixth place in the first A final, but missed out on a place in the A final in Elimination 2. In the B final, in which positions nine to 16 are determined, he was too early at the start and was disqualified - finishing 16th in the end. This means that Prien is currently in tenth place in the overall ranking. Michele Becker narrowly missed out on the A final in both eliminations in fifth place - but at least secured 13th and tenth place thanks to good performances in the B finals - which currently puts him in twelfth place overall.

Lemeteyer stumbles and gets a boost from home

In the women's event, two French women are currently in a neck-and-neck race: Justine Lemeteyer and Marion Mortefon are tied on points at the top of the field after day 2, ahead of Israel's Tamar Steinberg and Blanca Alabau. Lemeteyer started with a solid second place in the first elimination, but in the second run she was no better than fourth. Meanwhile, Marion Mortefon took the lead, which significantly increased the pressure on Lemeteyer

Lemeteyer called her parents, and whatever was discussed there seemed to be just right, as in light winds she took a commanding win in Elimination 3 that put her at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the day.

• Justine Lemeteyer: Interview with the World Cup favourite

Eržen eases off, Wennekes improves

Last year's winner Lina Eržen made a perfect start to her title defence with a win in the first elimination, but was unable to quite match this performance in the next two races and finished the first day of racing in fifth place with a fifth and tenth place. Sara Wennekes improved on her tenth place in the first elimination by taking two solid third places.

However, the ranking is likely to be shaken up again after four eliminations at the latest, as the first stringer will then come into play. And it shouldn't be too long before that happens, as the wind forecast promises more races in the coming days. For Sunday, the first start is again scheduled for 9.00 a.m. local time, which is 1.00 a.m. for us.

If you want, you can watch all the action again in the livestream recording - just the thing for a grey and windless weekend!

You can also find the current ranking and the elimination ladder on the PWA website.