Slalom has never been so varied! On the second day of the race, a chicane suddenly appeared on the course next to the jump. The chicane is basically a gate to leeward that has to be sailed through with an S-stroke - depending on the wind strength and direction of the chicane, it can be tactically smarter to jibe twice or to drop down to a deep downwind or downwind course.
Later on, half the fleet was also sent into the race at the same time - so 13 riders crossed the start line at the same time in the men's race. Winning an elimination requires a lightning-fast adaptation of tactics to the given elements, fearlessness, endurance and speed. The new Slalom-X discipline remains unpredictable and is simply thrilling. Even though Pierre Mortefon and Sarah-Quita were pushed to their limits at times and had to admit defeat at one point or another, they currently hold the lead.
Sarah-Quita: Happy ending after a bumpy start on her birthday
Offringa didn't have the best start to the day after being disqualified in the first race for an early start, but she bounced back with a second place in the next race before ending her birthday with a brilliant win after chasing Jenna Gibson all over the course. The woman from Aruba is in dominant form once again so far - winning five out of seven races so far - and it looks like she will be very hard to stop.
Jenna Gibson catches up, Femke van der Veen wins her first elimination in the World Cup
Jenna Gibson was able to push Marion Mortefon into second place, moving up one place in the standings. Both women are currently tied on 14 points, but Gibson is just ahead as she has beaten Mortefon more often in the first seven races. Mortefon did not have her best day on the water today. Yesterday the former world champion only finished outside the top three once, while today she only managed one top three finish.
Dutch rider Femke van der Veen will remember today for a long time to come after the 24-year-old claimed her first win on the PWA World Tour in elimination six. Van der Veen had a great day on the water overall, as she finished third and fourth and jumped from eighth to fourth at the end of the day.
Pierre Mortefon makes a mistake in the chicane
Pierre Mortefon enjoyed another great day on the water. Elimination four was the first and only one in which the 2019 World Champion did not finish in the top three. He currently holds a ten-point lead at the top of the leaderboard - while he currently has a third place on the cards, such has been his phenomenal consistency so far. Things could have gone even better for Mortefon, as he was miles in the lead in the final race of the day until he was caught by Maciek Rutkowski in the chicane when he unfortunately parked in a slight wind hole and couldn't get away cleanly.
Top three: Ingmar Daldorf in top form, Rutkowski biggest threat to Mortefon's title
This little twist through the chicane in the final elimination of the day could yet prove decisive for the outcome of the event. Because if Rutkowski were to win the next race, he could still overtake Mortefon, so the next race is crucial. With Slalom-X on the programme today, it will be really exciting at the top.
Ingmar Daldorf completes the top three after another solid day on the water. The Dutchman is now the only rider apart from Mortefon to have qualified for every winner's final. He therefore has a very good chance of his first podium finish on the World Tour.
Slalom-X or Wave? Good forecast for the last three days of the event
Fortunately, the last few days of the forecast look much better than originally predicted at the beginning of the week. Which will hopefully make for an exciting second and final weekend of the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup. The skippers' meeting for tomorrow has been scheduled for 09:30, which means a first possible start for Wave at ten o'clock and eleven o'clock for Slalom-X. In the Wave discipline, the last rounds of the small second round are still to come.