The IWT and PWA World Cup is currently taking place in Pacasmayo/Peru. Due to the time overlap with the World Cup in Tenerife, the riders had to decide in advance where their chances of scoring points would be greater.
As usual, Pacasmayo was again quite light on Monday. Here you traditionally bob up and then sit on one of the clean set waves. Stamina is required when riding down, as Pacasmayo is considered one of the longest waves in the world - rides up to two minutes long and countless turns are possible here. To get a high score, however, it's less about the number of turns and more about riding radical turns and using the sections for aerials and tricks such as goiters or takas.
Maria Andres (Spain) dominated the women's intermediate round with several well-chosen waves, good speed and aggressive turns. The 15-year-old Sarah Kenyon (Australia) also put on a good show. Kenyon had already impressed with wins in the Juniors and Pro Juniors, but had now slipped to third place after Denise Blondet (Peru) had a long wave with several turns. In the last three minutes, however, Kenyon grabbed a decent set and secured second place. Kenyon and Andres will now face Sarah Hauser (France) and Jane Seman (Australia) in the Pro Women's final.
Köster falls victim to the light wind
In the first men's semi-final, Antoine Martin (Guadaloupe) showed the results of his tireless practice of light wind tricks on the warm-up days. In addition to powerful turns, he performed both a taka and a goiter and immediately took the lead with an 8.23. He backed this up with another well ridden wave and a taka and finished the heat with a strong overall score of 14.40 points. Morgan Noireaux (France) rode to second place in impeccable style and always seemed to find the best waves the ocean had to offer. Despite the light conditions, he skilfully rode the critical part of the waves to string together several aerials and cutbacks. Yoav Omer (Israel) also had a great heat, picking excellent waves and riding them with good speed, aggression and powerful turns, but in the end he missed out on the final with third place in this heat and only has to settle for a shared fifth place in Pacasmayo.
The second semi-final took place late in the day and suffered from decreasing wind. Camille Juban (Guadaloupe), the master of the light wind, took a comfortable win with a mixture of tight snaps, aerials and even a one-handed aerial. Despite the light conditions, he managed to add plenty of spray to his turns and maintain good speed on the face. A wave-hungry Federico Morisio rode with power, impressive aerials and powerful snaps. The Italian knows the spot like the back of his hand and put himself on the map early on with some solid, consistent rides, putting the other two competitors, Köster and Frennet, under pressure. Philip Köster, who had won his heat in the quarter-finals with his typical power, had to contend with the fading wind in the semi-finals. He managed an air taka on one of his last waves, but it was still not enough to make it into the final and he finished the competition in 5th place.
This means that only the men's and women's finals remain, which will probably take place today. You can follow the action from the previous day in the stream, and we will of course keep you up to date with all the results here on the website.
