World Cup Sylt: All the favourites and the German starters at the Citroën Windsurf World Cup 2024

The Citroën Windsurf World Cup on Sylt is the only one on the PWA World Tour to have seven stars shining above it. This not only means the highest prize money, but above all that three different disciplines will be fought for decisive points for the world championship titles off Westerland. The men and women will compete in the foil slalom, as well as in the wave discipline. In freestyle, the result from Sylt will decide who wins the men's world champion title. The freestyle ladies have already crowned Sarah-Quita Offringa as their undisputed queen at the World Cup on Fuerteventura.

Rarely in a World Cup season have so many German-speaking starters had the chance to finish in the top places and even compete for titles (see below). And there is probably no better place to celebrate success than the backdrop and the crowd at Brandenburger Strand in Westerland. At no other World Cup do so many spectators flock to the beach, even in the nastiest North Sea weather, as long as the action on the water is good. At the surf stand on the promenade, not far from the party tent, you have the chance to meet the stars live and get their autographs.

For all those following the races from home, we present all the news, background information and results in the World Cup special here on the website - plus lots of pictures and a look back at 40 years of the World Cup Sylt!

Wave men: Salmonn and Köster in with a chance of winning

From a German perspective, Julian Salmonn is without doubt the shooting star in the waves. A second place in Pozo and a third in Tenerife make the 26-year-old, who has lived on Tenerife for several years, a contender for victory on Sylt. Philip Köster is undoubtedly one of them again this year. The young Spaniard Marino Gil is currently in first place in the world rankings, but the last two cups, which always have special conditions, could shake things up once again. The Sylt Cup is followed by the final of the tour on Maui.

Wave Women: Lina Erpenstein with an eye on the world champion title

Lina Erpenstein is currently experiencing the season of her life. On the one hand, she is in the final stages of her medical studies and on the other, she is well on her way to becoming wave world champion. After victories in Chile and Tenerife and a second place in Gran Canaria, her chances are better than ever. But here, too, the two cups on Sylt and Maui could provide some surprises. Last year, for example, the young Maria Behrens from Lübeck fought her way through to the final on Sylt - let's see if she can repeat her coup in 2024. In any case, 19-year-old German-Spanish athlete Alexia Kiefer is still in the title race.

Freestyle: Neubauer can clinch the title off Sylt

Lennart Neubauer clearly formulated his sporting goal in a surf interview a few years ago: "I want to become world champion." The 20-year-old freestyler, who was born in Bremen and grew up on Naxos, could already achieve this goal in 2024. He has won the last two World Cups over the course of the season and leads the world rankings after the first freestyle event on Fuerte. Last year, he celebrated his first victory on the PWA tour on Sylt with great emotion. If he succeeds again, he would be crowned world champion on Brandenburg Beach.

However, as there are only two Freestyle World Cups this year, Adrien Bosson and last year's world champion Yentel Caers also have the best chance of winning the title. Niclas Nebelung from Kiel, Germany's best freestyler, will not be in Sylt for scheduling reasons. Instead, Mathias Genkel, a veteran of the freestyle scene, will be at the start!

Foil slalom: Becker and Prien in attack mode

In 2024, the PWA has decided that there will once again be separate classifications and events for foil slalom and the new slalom X in slalom. Only the foilers will compete on Sylt. This means that competitions can be started off Westerland even when there is very little wind. The first foil event took place on Fuerteventura this year and after Sylt, the decision as to who wins the title will be made in Japan in November. Currently, the Italian Daniele Benedetti is somewhat surprisingly in the lead ahead of the favourites Pierre Mortefon and Enrico Marotti. Michele Becker, who is concentrating fully on the foil slalom in 2024, is currently in seventh place. Becker won his first slalom elimination on Sylt last year, so he has fond memories of the Cup and will be highly motivated at the start. This also applies to Nico Prien, who will be competing in both the Foil Slalom and Slalom-X in 2024. Things didn't go so well for him last year on Sylt, but this year should be better. It will be interesting to see whether Olympic participant Sebastian Kördel returns to the World Cup and whether newcomer Fabian Wolf can repeat his strong start to the season in Fuerte (12th) on Sylt. In the women's event, we can look forward to Alisa Engelmann's Sylt debut from a German perspective. The woman from Baden-Württemberg, who actually competes in the Olympic iQFoiL, surprised everyone with fourth place in her first professional World Cup on Fuerte.