PWA World Cup FuerteventuraFreestyle World Champion Bosson in the lead, exciting comebacks expected in the second round

SURF

 · 04.08.2023

Bild 1
Photo: Carter / PWA
On the eighth day of the Grand Slam on Fuerteventura, the men's freestyle single elimination was completed. The top four took full advantage of the good wind and wave conditions at midday and put on a great show of the latest power moves. In the end, the reigning world champion Adrien Bosson could not be stopped from taking the top spot on the podium.

Single Elimination Top Four

Reigning world champion Adrien Bosson progressed to the grand final after prevailing over Yentel Caers in an incredibly close semi-final. The Frenchman trailed Caers for most of the heat, but struck in the closing stages to turn the tie on its head - eventually winning 46.5 points to 44.9. In the final, the 32-year-old was once again in impressive form as his combination of clean power moves proved too much for Antony Ruenes. Bosson achieved his personal highest score of the competition with 47.8 points and deservedly won the single elimination.

Like Bosson, Ruenes scored his personal highest score of the competition in the final (with 41 points) after landing a no-handed burner and a no-handed ponch - but it wasn't enough to beat his friend and compatriot. Earlier, Ruenes had claimed a commanding victory over Amado Vrieswijk in the semi-finals to secure the 34-year-old his first podium finish since Sylt 2014, as the worst place he can now finish in the second round is third. Ruenes finished third in the single elimination here in 2015, but then injured his foot and dropped back to sixth place.

Yentel Caers secured third place on the podium in the single elimination after achieving the highest heat score of the competition with 51.1 points. The Belgian was slightly frustrated at narrowly missing out on a place in the grand final. In the semi-final against Bosson, Caers lacked a shifty on the outside, but against Vrieswijk in Heat 16, the 2019 World Champion showed an impeccable heat in which he not only landed a shifty, but even a shifty-shaka. Caers looked incredibly dangerous and will be hoping for his chance in the double elimination!

How do you like this article?

Vrieswijk was a little frustrated that the semi-final was held in slightly lighter winds. The powerhouse, who is now concentrating on the racing discipline, sometimes appeared clearly underpowered on his 4.8 freestyle sail. He lost out to Ruenes by just over four points. However, the 27-year-old still had a solid run in the small final for third and fourth place - with a score of 46.2 points - but lost out to a highly dangerous Caers.

The finalists - two friends and compatriots. (Left Bosson, right Antony Ruenes)Photo: Carter / PWAThe finalists - two friends and compatriots. (Left Bosson, right Antony Ruenes)

Double elimination already underway

Several riders started their comeback in the afternoon when the double elimination got underway.
The most impressive competitor so far in the early rounds of the double was Lennart Neubauer, who had probably quickly forgotten the disappointment of his elimination in the first round of the single elimination. The former Youth World Champion delivered the highest scoring run of the entire competition with 41.3 points (when three instead of four manoeuvres per side still counted), leaving Dudu Levi behind, who was a little unlucky with his draw - his 30.1 points would have been enough to progress in most of the other heats. Neubauer then took out Bodhi Kempen with another brilliant performance. There won't be many riders who want to take on the 19-year-old, who currently leads the European Tour, in the upcoming rounds of the Double today.

Lennart NeubauerPhoto: Carter / PWALennart Neubauer

Outlook

With a very good forecast for the last two days of the event, you can expect more explosive action. So tune in on Friday and Saturday to the Live Stream to see if Sarah-Quita Offringa and Adrien Bosson can successfully defend their lead. Today's skippers meeting is at 11am, with the action starting at 11:30am (GMT+1) at the earliest. Have fun.

Also interesting:

Most read in category Windsurfing