For a short time, it looked as if the last day of the 2024 Fuerteventura PWA World Cup would be rather unspectacular compared to the rest of the event. After the initially strong wind became gusty and unstable, the start had to be postponed. However, shortly after 1pm local time, the Sotavento wind machine got going again so that two more foil eliminations for the men and three heats for the women could be held in winds of between 18 and 28 knots.
Daniele Benedetti, who had started the event with top results, was knocked out in the quarter-finals, but then found his form again in the second elimination of the day and took his third win on Fuerte. The slip-up became the second stringer and Benedetti had secured his first World Cup victory! Behind him, slalom X winner Pierre Mortefon took second place ahead of Enrico Marotti, who won the first elimination of the day. Michele Becker finished in seventh place with an eighth and a fourth.
Justine Lemeteyer had a perfect day in the women's race, crossing the finish line first in all three runs. The Frenchwoman thus confirmed her impressive form and won by a large margin ahead of Marion Mortefon and Blanca Alabau. Alisa Engelmann finished fourth in her World Cup debut, and in the last three races the German showed once again that she can hold her own in the top group by finishing fourth, fifth and second.
Benedetti keeps his nerve and wins at the decisive moment
Things got really exciting when Benedetti could not afford to make a single mistake in elimination seven in order to win the event, as Pierre Mortefon, Matteo Iachino and Enrico Marotti were all still in the running for the title. In fact, Benedetti and Mortefon started the seventh elimination tied on 14.4 points, that's how close it was at the top. But the Italian took matters into his own hands and claimed his first victory on the World Tour in perfect style when he took an outstanding first place in the final elimination, leaving no doubt about the result. The 28-year-old ended last season with a first podium finish in Japan, but improved a few places at the season opener here and is now a clear and genuine contender for the world title.
After Pierre Mortefon was crowned world champion in the Slalom X yesterday, he couldn't quite manage the perfect double victory as he narrowly failed in the final foil race of the event. Nevertheless, he leaves Fuerteventura with one world title in his pocket and with good prospects of another - all in all, it was a great five days for the Frenchman.
Crazy comeback from Enrico Marotti to the podium
Enrico Marotti made a miraculous comeback, relegating Matteo Iachino to fourth place and securing himself the final spot on the prestigious podium. The Croatian was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the first elimination and found it difficult to hold his own. But he came back and qualified for all six subsequent winners' finals, including the final of elimination six, where he even had a chance of winning the title. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old crashed in the winner's final, putting an end to his hopes. Nevertheless, he will be delighted with his comeback, especially as he is still recovering from an injury he sustained in Gran Canaria, which was the reason why he did not compete in the Slalom-X.
Michelle Becker very consistent
Last year's world number five, Michele Becker, made a good start to his second full season on the World Tour with his seventh place on Fuerte. The German only missed the final once, while he never finished outside the top ten, such was his consistent level.
Justine Lemeteyer wins by a large margin
Just 0.3 points separated Justine Lemeteyer and Marion Mortefon at the start of the final day, but Lemeteyer won all three races yesterday to secure an impressive victory, her first on Lake Garda since May 2023. The reigning runner-up deservedly leads the world rankings after winning eight out of nine eliminations on Fuerteventura, such was her performance. Lemeteyer was understandably overjoyed when she crossed the finish line and now leads the world rankings in foil slalom.
Mortefon made a bright start to the event on Fuerte, winning the first three eliminations, but couldn't quite match Lemeteyer's performance as her compatriot improved significantly after the first day. The three-time world champion Mortefon has made a solid start to the season with her second place, and everything is still wide open for the rest of the year.
Third place is perhaps not quite the start that reigning world champion Blanca Alabau had in mind, but it still represents a good foundation on which she can build for the rest of the season. The Spaniard has been very consistent - she only finished outside the top three once in the first nine eliminations, but was unable to land the decisive win to put herself in the running for the title.
Alisa Engelmann celebrates impressive World Cup debut
Alisa Engelmann celebrated a solid debut on the World Tour and secured fourth place. The German, who only started windsurfing two or three years ago, gave Lemeteyer quite a challenge in elimination four, but ultimately had to (still) settle for second place in this elimination.
Results Fuerteventura PWA World Cup 2024
Foil ladies
- Justine Lemeteyer
- Marion Mortefon
- Blanca Alabau
- Alisa Engelmann
- Maya Morris
Foil men
- Daniele Benedetti
- Pierre Mortefon
- Enrico Marotti
- Matteo Iachino
- Alexis Mathis
- Amado Vrieswijk
- Michele Becker
- Maciek Rutkowski
- Thomas Goyard
Slalom X Ladies
- Sarah-Quita Offringa
- Justine Lemeteyer
- Marion Mortefon
- Jenna Gibson
- Femke van der Veen
Slalom X Men
- Matteo Iachino
- Pierre Mortefon
- Taty Frans
- Jordy Vonk
- Maciek Rutkowski
- Ingmar Daldorf
- Bruno Martini
- Amado Vrieswijk
- Lohan Jules
- Nico Prien
Freestyle ladies
- Sarah-Quita Offringa
- Oda Brødholt
- Maaike Huvermann
- Lisa Kloster
- Elena Dominick
- Lina Schmied
Freestyle men
- 1. Lennart Neubauer
- 2nd Adrien Bosson
- 3. yentel Caers
- 4 Balz Müller
- 5th Sam Esteve
- 6 Youp Schmit
- 7 Jacopo Testa
- 7th Antony Ruenes
- 9th Steven Van Broeckhoven
- 9th Amado Vrieswijk
- 9 Nicolas Akgazciyan
- 9th Antoine Albert
