After yesterday evening's impressive opening ceremony, during which the entire fleet paraded through the narrow streets of El Médano with their respective national flags, accompanied by a drum roll, the first day of the PWA World Cup on Tenerife got off to a calm start. No wind, the water as smooth as glass. Registration is currently underway on Cabezo beach and the first official skippers meeting is scheduled for 13:00. The wind should steadily improve during the course of the day, as should the entire forecast for the week of the World Cup, which is currently improving by the hour.
World Cups in Peru and Tenerife run in parallel, Julian Salmonn with home advantage
In the men's event, some of the top riders such as Philip Köster, Marcilio Browne, Morgan Noireaux, Camille Juban, Antoine Martin and Robby Swift have decided to compete in the parallel 4-star World Cup in Peru and surf the waves of Pacasmayo. Julian Salmonn, who achieved his best result to date with his second place in Gran Canaria, will be hoping to capitalise on his home advantage in Tenerife and should be a real contender for the title.
However, he will face strong competition, especially from Marino Gil, who won his first event in the World Cup in Pozo just last month and comes to Tenerife as the leader of the World Tour, ahead of Victor Fernandez, who has an excellent record in Tenerife and should do well again over the next seven days.
Other tough opponents include last year's runner-up Ricardo Campello, organiser and local Dany Bruch, Dieter van der Eyken, also a local, who is recovering from a foot injury he sustained after finishing fourth in Gran Canaria, and Moritz Mauch, who could pose a serious threat in El Cabezo with his wave riding experience.
In addition, Marc Paré and Jules Denel return to the fleet after both missing Pozo through injury and are now hoping for a strong return to the Tour.
Of course, youngsters Liam Dunkerbeck , Adam Warchol and Miguel Chapuis will also be looking to make their mark on Tenerife, while Japan's Takara and Hayata Ishii and Takuma Sugi will also be trying to make a lasting impression.
Iballa Moreno is back, Lina Erpenstein leads the world rankings
A nice surprise is that Iballa Moreno will be returning to the line-up on Tenerife. She will probably be the one to beat. Iballa has long been known as one of the best ladies in wave riding and as El Cabezo is usually inclined towards wave riding, she will start as one of the favourites. She won here at the last event in 2018.
As the reigning world champion, Sarah-Quita Offringa will probably be the biggest threat to Iballa. She started the season with a win in Pozo last month and will be looking to continue her winning ways after winning both the Slalom-X and Freestyle on Fuerteventura.
A strong women's fleet is expected in Tenerife with 22 participants. The other obvious main threat to the title is Lina Erpenstein. The German is leading the World Tour after her victory in Chile and her second place in Pozo.
Other names to watch out for include young talents Maria Morales, Alexia Kiefer Quintana and Sol Degrieck, while Pauline Katz, Maria Behrens and Justyna Sniady should all be in contention for the top five and beyond. Both Sarah Hauser and Maria Andrés, who were ranked first and second in the world before Pozo, have decided to compete in Peru.
