Taty Frans has made it clear often enough that he is a big fan of racing on the fin. But the fact that even after a rather disappointing finish for himself, he breathes an "Amazing!" into the PWA camera with a broad grin shows just how much the man from Bonaire likes the new Slalom-X format. And Taty is not alone in this: the reactions to the world premiere at the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup were largely enthusiastic, both from the vast majority of riders and in the commentary column of the livestream.
After the wave riding of the last few days, it was clear from the outset that the focus in Pozo today would be on Slalom-X. As a reminder: slalom races with the fin can be optionally supplemented with elements such as a beach start or obstacles. The conditions were definitely tough, 30 knots of wind and more, plus south swell and chop - Pozo at its best! In the third elimination, it became even more challenging with outgoing water and bigger waves.
Exciting fin races in Pozo
For the world premiere of the Slalom-X, the race organisers had initially dispensed with the extra elements in the first elimination, but the last two jibes and the finish line were fully in the zone where the waves break. But even without the new elements, there was some mega-exciting strong wind slalom to watch: close overtaking manoeuvres in the jibe, crashes, chases to catch up and razor-thin finishes. But early starts also had to be penalised much more often today than in most foil competitions.
After the start, the first jibe was particularly important in order to position yourself well - not much different from a "normal" slalom. "It's important to time your jibes tactically between the waves," explained Sarah-Quita Offringa, "it helps if you can read the waves well - just like in wave riding!"
Pierre Mortefon won the first elimination, while Matteo Iachino only finished eighth in the final after a false start. Maciek Rutkowski narrowly missed out on the grand final after crossing the finish line far downwind in the semi-final following a chase uphill. Like the VAR in football, video evidence had to be used to determine the exact outcome. Andy Laufer, the former champion, was unlucky in the first two eliminations, crashing in the first jibe.
There were only nine women at the start, meaning that only the final had to be raced. Sarah-Quita Offringa had reportedly considered withdrawing from the race before the start of Slalom X as she was exhausted after three days of waveriding. Fortunately, Offringa did not pursue this plan, as she put in a flawless performance and won all four races today, making a perfect start to the event.
The jump obstacle came in elimination two
In the second elimination, the eagerly awaited obstacle to jump over - commonly known as the "sausage" - finally came into play. On the second leg, the field had to jump over a relatively thin obstacle that danced wildly on the waves. The ladies were allowed to ride round the outside - which the field initially did as a whole.
In the men's competition, however, the sausage was spectacular: most of the riders got over the obstacle well, but there were always jumps that were too short, jumps that were too low, accidental landings and more. Bruno Martini jumped off far too early and landed completely on the sausage, Jordy Vonk produced a major catapult while leading in the second final. Annoying for the riders, but highly exciting for the spectators. Vonk, like Amado Vrieswijk, was not yet fit again, as both had been laid up with flu over the last few days.
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Jordy Vonk with crash and victory
Jordy Vonk also provided spectacular scenes in the third elimination - again with the obstacle on the second beat: After a terrific chase to catch up in the semi-final, he exploded just a few metres before the finish line. "You can never be sure until the end!" commented Ben Proffitt in the livestream. The Dutchman then went on to win the small final in dominant fashion, while Bruno Martini won the elimination ahead of Pierre Mortefon. With his victory and two second places, Mortefon leads the overall rankings after the first day of racing. The Frenchman always looked as if he could shift up a gear if necessary, while he mastered the tough racing conditions with relative ease.
Ingmar Daldorf, another fin fan, had his best day on the tour so far yesterday. The Dutchman looked extremely fast throughout the day, picking up a third, a fourth and a sixth place, putting him in second place in the event rankings at the end of the day. Benoit Merceur also let his Sterm rip in the Slalom-X. The Frenchman, currently the youngest rider in the top 10 at the age of 22, qualified in third place for two finals, in which he finished third and fifth, while he came tenth in the other elimination - third place in the interim ranking, tied on points with Malte Reuscher. Matteo Iachino, one of the favourites, only came in fifth place
From their third heat onwards, the women had the choice of either jumping over the sausage or passing a buoy significantly further upwind. Justine Lemeteyer, who was in the lead, chose to continue without jumping, while Sarah-Quita Offringa was the first woman to take the plunge. Both fought a spectacular duel to the finish line - with another victory for SQ. One of the best races of a fantastic day!
Offringa could have been forgiven for settling for second place in the fourth and final race of the day, as Jenna Gibson had a clear lead after the first gybe. However, the Brit opted to ride upwind to avoid the jump obstacle, while Offringa headed for the sausage at full speed and took a good chunk out of Gibson's lead. Offringa was then within striking distance of Gibson after the penultimate barrel, rode very low to the final jibe and took the better line to claim her fourth win in a row.
