The second day of the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Lanzarote was one to remember: 25 knots of wind and solid ramps set the stage for one of the best freestyle contests of all time.
Every heat from the second round onwards was like a final.
This statement by a GWA judge gives an idea of the level of the 42 riders in the field. The density of the field of participants was demonstrated once again on Lanzarote. World champion Titouan Galea was knocked out in round 3 by Italian Francesco Cappuzzo, putting another damper on his mission to defend his title. Linus Pünder, the only German in the starting field, also had to call it a day in round 3, albeit against an outstanding Malo Guenole, who collected other big-name scalps on his way to the final. These included Chris MacDonald in the quarter-finals, who had just won the event on Lake Silvaplana, and Balz Müller, alias "Radiculo", in the semi-finals.
Guenole opened the heat against Balz Müller with a front flip, back flip and frontside 720. It felt like the heat was less than five minutes old when Guenole already had a whopping 25 points on the scoresheet. Balz Müller didn't get up to speed until it was too late, and after only managing one of his first six moves, he fell behind early on.
On the other side of the tableau, Gollito Estredo, nine-time world champion in windsurfing freestyle, stormed unstoppably into the final. There it came to perhaps the best final in World Cup history to date: Estredo started the heat with a monstrous backloop (9.10 points) and a no less high front flip (9.23) close to perfection. Guenole countered with a front flip (9.0), a frontside 720 (7.43) and a gigantic backflip. In the end, the better overall impression tipped the scales in Estredo's favour, giving him his first victory on the World Tour at the Wingfoil World Cup Lanzarote and making the title race more exciting than ever.
The surf race discipline should be on the programme in the next few days. We will report on a daily basis. The heats will always be streamed live, so anyone who wants to can watch the action from the second day again:
Further information about the event is also available HERE on the GWA website.
Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
