PWA Japan: Søe and Alabau on course for the world championship, Vrieswijk leads the event

After only being able to ride a handful of heats yesterday, today after an early skippers meeting at the Fly ANA! Windsurf World Cup in Japan straight onto the water. Two and a half to three eliminations were planned by the race committee. The forecast for the last day of the event, tomorrow (Tuesday), was anything but favourable. So there was a lot to suggest that today could be the day that decides who wins in Japan and also the 2023 world championship titles.

At the beginning it was choppy with up to 28 knots, many riders had control problems. With small sails and large wings on the foil, most of them tried to put together a controllable but also stable setup. Lithuanian Rytis Jasunias had a massive crash in the very first quarter-final, taking another rider off the board in the process, but the favourites didn't let anything happen in the first quarter-finals. Michele Becker and Nico Prien also made it through to the semi-finals. Then came the first upset: Matteo Iachino went down in the second jibe and therefore only made it to the small final, which could still be important in the World Championship race. And Maciek Rutkowski also had to settle for a place in the B final, losing out to Great Britain's Scotty Stallman in a thrilling battle for fourth place on the home straight. Major setbacks for two of the World Championship candidates, and Pierre Mortefon also missed out on important points by finishing eighth in the grand final.

Daniele Benedetti as surprise winner

The winner was Daniele Benedetti, a rider that few people had on their radar beforehand. The Italian initially made a perfect start, but then fell behind Amado Vrieswijk. The man from Bonaire is in top form in Japan and is on his way to his second victory - until he stumbles on the final hairpin and has to let Benedetti pass. First victory for Benedetti ahead of Johan Søe, who thus remained on course for the world championship. "I didn't expect that! I was second and when I saw that Amado had crashed, I put all my eggs in one basket!" said Benedetti afterwards.

Lina Erzen from Slovenia continues her impressive run in the women's event. After her first two victories on the tour yesterday, she went one better today and won both of the day's eliminations - what a run! "I'm just enjoying it here, everything is running smoothly. I have the speed and I feel good!"

Marion Mortefon and Justine Lemeteyer crossed the finish line behind her. The Slovenian fought a thrilling final duel with Lemeteyer in the sixth elimination, which she only won with a safe last jibe. "I told her after the finish that she definitely has to be on the tour next year!" laughed Justine Lemeteyer afterwards

Søe fails in the semi-finals

World championship leader Blanca Alabau was unable to finish higher than fourth in the first race of the day and then wanted to make up for this slip-up in the sixth elimination. But together with Helle Oppedal, Alabau made a false start and was out of the race. However, the Spaniard is still in second place in Japan and therefore has the best chances of winning the World Championships, but the gap to Justine Lemeteyer is getting smaller and smaller.

As announced, the wind continued to drop as the morning progressed and only 10 to 18 knots were measured at the start of the sixth men's elimination. All the top riders survived the turbulent quarter-finals and progressed confidently to the round of the best 16, where Michele Becker once again showed how strong he is and won his semi-final - ahead of Vrieswijk and Iachino. At the same time, Johan Søe was unexpectedly eliminated: The Dane was only in sixth place after a wet jibe and also had to let Nico Prien pass him. Instead of a possible preliminary decision in the world championship race, the door for Iachino and Vrieswijk was now a little wider open again.

Things got hectic before the final: the heat was cancelled twice shortly after the start, and then the riders had to go back ashore to change their equipment. "Sometimes it's 30 knots, sometimes almost nothing - very changeable and gusty," said Matteo Iachino, describing the difficult conditions. After a course correction, the heat could then be completed.

Maciek Rutkowski, who won all of his heats in the sixth elimination, was also keen to make up some ground. However, the dream of defending his title is over after the disappointing results of the last few days, but the Pole managed another top result with second place. Amado Vrieswijk finished right at the front, his second victory after the opening race, which pushes him to the top of the event standings. However, with Søe and Iachino right behind him, it might not be enough for Vrieswijk to win the title either. The Italian, for his part, put in an impressive recovery after a poor start and was able to finish third.

Johan Søe and Blanca Alabau with one hand on the World Cup trophy

The seventh elimination - which could have immense significance due to a second string - was still started, but after the first quarter-final it was over, the wind was no longer sufficient.

So who is now on course for the World Cup? In theory, there is still a lot to play for, especially as a second elimination would bring a second stringer into play and could shake up the rankings once again. However, the forecasts for tomorrow's final day are anything but promising, with only four to seven knots, further races are rather unlikely. This means that Blanca Alabau and Johan Søe have one hand on the World Cup trophy! It would be the first title for both, with Alabau crowning a season in which she was consistently at the top and sailed confidently in all conditions. The title for Johan Søe would be a sensation - winning a title in only his second PWA season at the age of 20 is something that even the greats have never managed before!

Intermediate results Fly ANA! Windsurf World Cup Japan

Gents

1. Amado Vrieswijk
2. Johan Søe
3. Matteo Iachino
4. Daniele Benedetti
5. Maciek Rutkowski
6. Bruno Martini
7. Michele Becker
8. Cedric Bordes
9. Nico Prien
10. Pierre Mortefon

Ladies

1. Lina Eržen
2. Blanca Alabau
3. Justine Lemeteyer
4. Marion Mortefon
5. Helle Oppedal
6. Sana Saeki
7. Fujiko Onishi
8. Mio Anayama
9. Mae Davico
10. Yuki Sunaga

Also interesting:

• PWA Japan: The top favourites for the World Championship title in slalom
• PWA Japan: Everything open in the title race, impressive debut by Lina Eržen
• F4 Foils becomes a PWA member and has big plans
• Johan Søe - How the Dane puts the fear of God into the World Cup elite