After the extreme conditions of the last two days, Pozo was a little tamer today so that the women could also start the World Cup. Whereby "tamer" still means around 35 knots, most of the sails had a three on the front, some juniors were even out with a 2-sail. The unluckiest sailor was Natsuki Wakasa from Japan, who destroyed her board during a flat loop landing.
Many young German starters in Pozo
Many starters from the junior field also competed in the pro event, including many Germans. While Trine Gobisch, Helena Lale and the Miron sisters Emma and Frida did not progress, but were able to gain a lot of contest experience, Milanka Linde caused a small surprise with her victory in the first heat of the day. Maria Behrens also progressed, as did the freestyle duo Lisa Kloster and Elena Dominick.
Some big names then stumbled in round two: Justyna Sniady, who scored a very good 20 in her first heat, was knocked out, as were the trinity of Maria Andrés, Maria Morales and Maria Behrens. Returning player Daida Moreno, on the other hand, didn't miss a beat. After a "warm-up heat" in round one, the 20-time Pozo winner improved from heat to heat.
Daida Moreno and Sarah-Quita Offringa in a doubles duel
Daida then faced last year's winner Sarah-Quita Offringa in the semi-final. As there were also heats of four here and the two best skiers progressed, the two unsurprisingly decided the victory between themselves. Lisa Kloster, who had worked her way into the semi-finals with confident jumps and some good waves, lost out in third place. In the other semi-final, Sol Degrieck showed that she is continuing to learn. Forward, pushloop forward, plus the two best waves of the day and even a wet double loop at the end - it won't be long before the 15-year-old Belgian will be very hard to beat!
The final then got off to a slow start, it took a long time for the first big scores to come in. Alexia Kiefer was a little unhappy with the conditions and was only able to catch two smaller waves until the end. Sol Degrieck did well, but was not as outstanding as in the semi-final. So the two top favourites Offringa and Moreno decided the victory of the single elimination between themselves. With a good backloop and a solid wave, Sarah-Quita was ahead for a long time. Two minutes before the end, the "Queen of Pozo" hit her stride: a goiter on a swell wave put Daida in the lead after all, and in the last minute she even went for a double loop!
But nothing has been decided yet, immediately afterwards the double elimination began - in ever-improving conditions. Justyna Sniady worked her way up to fifth place in the heat, where she faced Maria Morales, who also made up a lot of ground after her early exit. Maria Behrens moved up to eighth place, while Lisa Kloster and Elena Dominck finished the contest in ninth and eleventh place respectively. After that it was over for now, tomorrow it's all about places six to one!
