PWA World Cup Fuerteventura: Freestyle spectacle - Offringa and Caers triumph in the single elimination
SURF
· 24.07.2025
The first day of the freestyle competitions at the PWA Grand Slam 2025 in Fuerteventura delivered dramatic duels, spectacular moves and a few surprises. After seven hours of almost non-stop action, Sarah-Quita Offringa won the women's event and Yentel Caers the men's event. Both won the single elimination and are now favourites going into the double elimination, which is due to start today.
Historic women's final between Offringa and Huvermann
The women's final between Sarah-Quita Offringa and Maaike Huvermann was described by PWA reporter Chris Yates as "one of the best women's freestyle finals of all time". Huvermann had already announced before the event that she wanted to challenge Offringa for the top spot, and she delivered. With an impressive array of moves, including a shaka, skopu and a huge burner to port, as well as a regular kono, culo and the first spock-into-kono by a woman in the competition, she put the queen of freestyle under massive pressure.
But Offringa proved once again why she is one of the greatest female athletes of all time. Regardless of the discipline, SQ has the uncanny ability to raise her level when it counts - as was impressively demonstrated in the slalom X just in the last few days. She fended off Huvermann's attack by just 0.8 points in the end, and that with four days of Hardcroe Slalom X in her bones. As things stand at the moment, Offringa and Huvermann seem to be in a class of their own - without offending the other competitors.
Lisa Kloster finished in the top three for the first time in her career after clearly defeating her friend Elena Dominick in the B final. She now has to defend this place in the double elimination. Kloster should draw a lot of confidence from her performance today, as she continuously improved from heat to heat and clearly stood out from the rest of the field.
Caers overcomes injury and wins the "Battle of Belgium"
Yentel Caers survived a potentially dangerous moment of injury and deservedly secured the top spot on the podium in the men's single elimination. The Belgian slipped out of his straps during a move in the quarter-finals against Antony Ruenes and suffered a nasty cut on his leg after landing on his fin. However, he didn't let this get him out of concentration and put down the highest scoring heat of the entire event in the semi-final against Jacopo Testa - 39.5 points. Caers rode with his usual powerful style and was the only rider to land a double air culo during the day.
In the final, Caers met his compatriot Steven Van Broeckhoven in the "Battle of Belgium". At the age of 39, Van Broeckhoven continues to prove that freestyle is not just a sport for young riders. The experienced Belgian had previously prevailed in an extremely close heat against Sam Esteve in the round of 16 - only 0.4 points separated the two at the end of their duel. He then won the veteran duel against nine-time freestyle world champion Gollito Estredo - a duel that was often a winners' final a decade ago - before defeating 18-year-old Takumi Moriya in the semi-finals.
Breakthrough for Takumi Moriya and a strong performance from Niclas Nebelung
The first freestyle day marked a milestone in Takumi Moriya's career. The highly talented Japanese freestyler qualified for the semi-finals of a single elimination on the World Tour for the first time in his young career. Moriya has been on the radar for a few years now, but today he made it clear that he will leave his mark on freestyle for years to come. The Japanese rider won an epic duel against Testa in the battle for third place after his semi-final exit, following a phenomenal late comeback to secure the final spot on the podium - at least for now.
Jacopo Testa also put in a strong performance throughout the day. The Italian only scored less than 36 points once and rode with his usual smooth style. He was only unlucky to lose to both Caers and Moriya in the final stages of the heats. However, it would be no surprise if he were to fight for the event title in the double elimination. Niclas Nebelung is in an extremely good fifth place after the single elimination, which he shares with Antony Ruenes, Adrien Bosson and Gollito Estredo
Neubauer vs Gollito - the duel of the generations
Gollito Estredo turned back time and showed on Fuerte why he is a nine-time freestyle world champion. After his brief comeback last year, in which he only showed glimpses of his skills, the 35-year-old was in top form this time. With his unmistakable "Gollito style", which has made him a freestyle icon, he impressed the audience and judges. His first heat already made everyone sit up and take notice when he achieved the third-best score of the first round - 34.5 points. As Estredo was not seeded, the result was a highly exciting constellation: the freestyle legend met the reigning event and world champion Lennart Neubauer in the round of 16.
The duel between Neubauer and Estredo turned out to be one of the highlights of the day in Heat 12b. In the end, Estredo came out on top by 0.2 points against an ailing Lennart Neubauer - he is currently recovering from an ankle injury suffered by Pozo, which is particularly affecting him on the port side. Nevertheless, Lennart was satisfied with his heat. The exciting question: Can he fight his way back through the double elimination, can he go full throttle despite the ankle injury and get through the necessary ten heats?
Outlook for the double eliminations
The forecast for Thursday looks similarly windy to the first freestyle day, so it should be a seamless transition into the double eliminations. As the forecast for the final weekend looks uncertain, it is likely that both the men's and women's double eliminations will be completed if the wind plays ball.
