World Cup Pozo: Magnificent opening day, Marcilio Browne wins single elimination ahead of Marino Gil

As if at the push of a button, the wind picked up from zero to a hundred, after a few weeks plagued by a lull, just in time for the start of the event. You could be forgiven for thinking that it was usually the other way round. Often, the pros would spend days on their smallest sails until the wind slowly dropped just in time for the start of the contest. But not this year, a cold start was the order of the day - but what a start! Looking out onto the water this morning during the skippers' meeting in forty to fifty knots and logo-high waves, two big questions arose: firstly, whether the locals would have an even greater advantage this year, as many riders were barely able to sail in at all due to a lack of wind, and secondly, whether Philip Köster's foot injury had healed and he was one hundred per cent ready to go. Tense atmosphere on the morning of day one.

Single elimination

The best two jumps and the best two wave rides were scored today in the fourteen-minute heats. The opening day of the Pozo World Cup was dedicated entirely to the men's wave single elimination - the women's fleet and the entire slalom discipline was optional.

It's hard to argue with the fact that reigning wave world champion Marcilio Browne was the rider of the day today. The 34-year-old Brazilian dominated his heats right up to the final from start to finish. He was the only rider to break the 30-point barrier today, and he did so in three heats in a row.
But his twenty-year-old team-mate Marino Gil kept the Pozo Locals flag flying high with an outstanding performance, firing himself into the final with jumps like perfect push forwards. And it was only there that it actually became close for Browne for the first time: a neck-and-neck race, a tie until the last minute. But in the end, Browne managed to improve his jump score slightly and won by just 0.4 points - narrowly but deservedly.

"That's got to be a ten!" Ben Proffitt's microphone echoed several times after Marino's jumps in the previous rounds.
With an eleven metre high, delayed double forward, Marino also knocked his mentor Ricardo Campello out of the race today.
Campello was then able to secure third place on the podium in the "small final", while Spaniard Marc Pare had to settle for fourth place for the time being. We can't wait to see what happens in the second round.

• You can find the full results of the single elimination HERE.

Drone pilot Johannes Hertel filmed the finals from a bird's eye view and uploaded them raw and unpolished to his channel. HERE you get a good impression of what goes on out there at forty to fifty knots:

Philip Köster

Köster responded to Proffitt's comment that he was still limping a bit by saying: "I'm not paid to run, I'm paid to windsurf".
What a statement. And lo and behold, Köster really did stand on the board (with a bandaged foot) and moved more elegantly through the air than across Pozo beach.
However, when riding out, he always put his back foot in the strap first, then his (injured) front foot, he surfed a little more cautiously than usual. He rode solidly, but you could tell that he wasn't surfing at one hundred per cent. As a result, he was narrowly beaten in the third round by the very strong Frenchman Jules Denel.

Lots of German waver in Pozo

In addition to Philip Köster, six other German waver are competing at the Pozo World Cup.
Things went particularly well for Leon Jamaer today - the Kiel native is currently in fifth place, making him the best German after the single elimination, followed by Julian Salmonn and Köster in ninth place.
Laurin Schmuth provided a small highlight in the first round of the day when the 21-year-old newcomer went for a double forward and had his equipment ripped out of his hands at the highest point. The long swim to the bunker took too much time for the enterprising German and he was ruled out.

Outlook

The forecast looks good. The women's single elimination will most likely start tomorrow and the men's second round may also begin.
According to the forecast, however, the conditions will be somewhat more moderate. First possible start: 10:30 am (German time)

On www.pwaworldtour.com you can tune into the livestream.