The fifth day of competition at the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup saw a slight improvement in conditions. Winds of between 22 and 25 knots and at least a few ramps meant conditions were adequate for the Juniors and Masters. Javier Escribano won the thrilling Boys U18 final with a total of 14.66 points. His standout moment was a technically flawless backloop, which earned him 5.58 points. The Spaniard thus relegated Japan’s Ryoma Sugi to second place, who scored 12.55 points. The third place on the podium was secured by Denmark’s Björn Olesen, whilst Peter Gobisch finished fourth. “This year was more challenging because my rivals have significantly raised their game. The conditions weren’t perfect, but they were the same for everyone and we all gave it our best,” said Escribano at the prize-giving ceremony.
Sol Degrieck wins convincingly; Anton Richter progresses
This means that a large proportion of the junior categories have been decided after the fifth day. Only the results in the Girls U18, Girls U21 and Boys U21 categories remain to be decided. Sol Degrieck from Belgium impressively confirmed her status as favourite in the Girls’ U21 category. The hugely talented young athlete qualified for the final with ease. With 12.12 points, she left the Spaniard Lizzlotte Schilling, who scored 4.00 points, trailing far behind. Behind them came the two Germans, Helena Derya Lale and Emma Miron.
In the Boys’ U21 category, Anton Richter came out on top in the first heat. The Kiel-based rider scored 13.66 points, finishing just ahead of Carlos Kiefer Quintana, who scored 12.55 points. Richter won thanks to a higher-scoring jump, whilst both riders recorded almost identical wave scores.
In the second heat of the Boys’ U21 event, Gregory Stathopoulos from Greece delivered the best performance of the entire day. The former Bic Techno 293+ Youth World Champion scored an impressive 16.05 points. This saw him comfortably beat Japan’s Takumi Moriya, who finished second with 11.73 points. Leon Maethner Unfortunately, as the third-placed finisher, he did not make it through to the final.
Lars Gobisch through to the next round at the Masters
In the afternoon, the “old boys” – the Masters 45+ – took to the water for the first time. Lars Gobisch dominated the first heat with 12.07 points. PWA commentator Ben Proffitt won the second heat with 11.58 points. The third heat turned into an extremely close contest, with John Skye edging out Toni Pijoan by 0.1 points. In the fourth heat, Masters world champion Michael Friedl left no doubt as to his top form.
All heats and results at worldwindsurftour.com
