After the freestylers in particular got their money's worth on the first day ( HERE the report from day 1), the second day of theEnsis Egadinwing by DaKine was all about the surf race discipline.
After a rather cloudy morning, it continued to clear up and in the early afternoon the hoped-for thermals got going. The 40-strong field of riders was divided into four heats of 10, with the top five in each heat reaching one of the two semi-finals before the ten fastest wingers faced each other in the final.
The very first heat showed what can make this discipline so exciting: Tight battles for position, crashes at the buoy and an extremely close finish, in which Maxime Chabloz was literally able to push forward on the last metre to save 5th place, which guaranteed a place in the semi-finals.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to complete the entire first elimination due to the decreasing wind, so the first final will probably not take place until the weekend.
The first women's surf races also got underway. However, as "only" nine women are registered for the Ensis Engadinwing, they take to the track together and compete directly for the placings. Nia Suardiaz, who had already taken second place in freestyle the day before, won the first race in sometimes very marginal conditions. She was followed by Orane Ceris (FRA) and another Frenchwoman, Kylie Belloeuvre.
Race 2 also took place in conditions at the lower wind limit - five of the nine starters did not make it across the finish line, which naturally caused some discussion in the field. Flora Artzner didn't care, she won this race ahead of Maaike Huvermann (NLD) and Orane Ceris (FRA).
The third race also turned into a lottery, with those who parked at the neck buoy or messed up the start hardly getting a chance to get back into the action. Maaike Huvermann secured her first success in a GWA Wingfoil World Tour race ahead of Orane Ceris and Nia Suardiaz.
The forecast for the coming days gives hope for more races - so the last word on the Ensis Engadinwing has not yet been spoken. We'll keep you up to date.
Here are the highlights of the day in the video:
