With five-time champion Philip Köster, reigning world champion Marc Paré and top-five surfer Antoine Martin, the WWT/PWA World Cup in Wissant boasts a top-class line-up, despite having a ranking of ‘just’ four stars. Added to this are numerous local surfers with plenty of World Cup experience, such as Arthur Arutkin and Jules Denel. Yesterday’s conditions were quite good, with a cross-shore wind and solid swell, which provided several hours of action featuring some great duels.
Local surfer Jules Denel made a strong start in the first men’s qualifying heat, posting the highest heat score of 18.62 in a field brimming with talent. He will now face Morgan Noireaux in the quarter-finals – the Aloha Classic champion won his heat with 14.72 points.
The other top favourites didn’t disappoint either – Philip Köster scored 17.50 points and won his heat in commanding fashion. Alongside him, Marc Paré (17.38) and Antoine Martin (17.17) also broke the 17-point barrier. All three secured direct qualification for the quarter-finals and can justifiably hope for a top result.
The women’s field also features some well-known names: Alongside Marine Hunter, Belgium’s top rider Sol Degrieck will also be taking part; she too is keen to pick up World Championship points here and is likely to use the event to get used to typical North Sea conditions, as one of the season’s highlights – the Grand Slam on Sylt – is set to begin in a few days’ time. A further 25 knots from the south-west is forecast for today, Saturday, which should be enough for a good show. You can follow today’s live action right here:
Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
