Already the day before (HERE you can read the report) the first rounds of the freestyle eliminations had been completed in over 40 knots. Now it was time for the decisions - and the Tramontana was firing on all cylinders again.
Suardiaz sets the bar
In the women's semi-final, Mar de Arce (ESP) put on an impressive show for the spectators and landed an impressive frontside 3 combo, which earned her a high score of 7.67 points and a ticket to the final. Sofia Marchetti (ITA) also made it through to the semi-finals, beating former world champion Bowien van der linden (NER). In the second women's semi-final, Christina König from Germany landed an innovative toeside frontside 360, but was unable to keep up with Spanish world champion Nia Suardiaz, who secured victory in the second semi-final run.
Suardiaz didn't miss a beat in the final either: She opened with an inverted backflip and later added a backflip 360 combination: "I'm super happy to have won here in Leucate. I didn't come to this event with great expectations. I didn't have that much time to train freestyle as I had a lot to learn this year. Nevertheless, I was super motivated to come here and do my best and I'm happy that I showed a new trick with the backflip combination."
Results Freestyle Ladies
- Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
- Mar de Arce (ESP)
- Sofia Marchetti (ITA)
- Christina König (GER)
MacDonald against Team France
As the Tramontana wind reached its maximum strength, the male riders fuelled up for the semi-finals and prepared for battle in epic conditions. The first semi-final of the day was won by Frenchman Noé Cuyala, who performed his frontside 1080 flawlessly to secure his first semi-final win and a place in the final. Hot on his heels was his French compatriot, the young Axel Gerard (FRA), who performed an impressive frontflip 360 and thus also booked his ticket for the men's surf freestyle final. The second semi-final was fiercely contested and Frenchman Bastien Escofet caused a sensation with his sky-high backflip grabs. Nevertheless, it wasn't enough - Malo Guénolé and Chris MacDonald were simply too big.
Malo Guénolé started the final heat with a stylish backmobe. Unfortunately, the Frenchman was unable to maintain his level and crashed on his four further attempts. The 15-year-old Frenchman Axel Gerard managed to take third place in the final thanks to powerful frontflip 360 combos. Cuyala also had an incredible heat, landing one of the highest frontside 1080s seen in the entire competition. But it was Chris MacDonald who stole the show, scoring a perfect 10 for a huge frontside flip with three consecutive frontside 360s. He left the water with dry hair. His heat score: 29 out of a possible 30 points! "I'm super happy with my result. I've been practising the combos in Hood River and I'm thrilled that they work in competition. It was a really tricky competition with gusts of over 50 knots in the final. I've struggled with this event in recent years, but it feels really good to be on top now."
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Results Freestyle Men
- Christopher Macdonald (USA)
- Noé Cuyala (FRA)
- Axel Gerard (FRA)
- Malo Guénolé (FRA)
The freefly slalom continues at the World Cup Leucate in the coming days - we will report back!
