The 2008 PWA Costa Teguise World Cup – Day Five

Pressure mounts, as the third successive single elimination is completed on the fifth day of competition in Lanzarote.

Hammering trade winds didn’t give sailors a moments rest on the penultimate day of competition in Costa Teguise. Wasting no time, the race committee launched directly into the third single elimination.

With all the riders fully dialled into the conditions, the action came thick and fast, however as the heat’s progressed and the finals ran their course, it would be the familiar faces of Jose Estredo (Fanatic, North Sails) and Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, NeilPryde) that once again stole the show to win in their respective fleets.

Single elimination shocks

The first upset of the day came when local boy Antxon Otaegui (JP, NeilPryde, MFC), who’s currently ranked 9th in the competition, injured his foot whilst warming up for his first round heat. Unfortunately for Otaegui, his injury means he’ll be forced to sit out for the remainder of the competition, and may well miss the next freestyle showdown in Fuerteventura this July.

The next shock came when German Normen Gunzlein (JP, NeilPryde), who came fourth in the second double elimination, got knocked out in round two by an on form Mattia Pedrani (Mistral, North Sails, Dakine).

Single elimination 3 finals.

In the men’s losers final, Ricardo Campello (JP, NeilPryde) took on Taty Frans (Starboard, North Sails) in a battle for third place. Both sailors threw down the gauntlet to produce breath taking aerial moves. Highlights included Campello’s huge shovit spock and a towering air flaka, and Frans’s double puneta 900 and super smooth switch stance chacho. In a split decision, judges eventually awarded the victory to Campello, with Taty Frans settling for fourth position.

Fighting for third place in the women where Laure Treboux (Fanatic, North Sails) and Iballa Moreno (North Sails). Moreno delivered a slick display of forwared loops & a fully planning spock 540, but Treboux dominated with polished switch stance moves and an awesome air flaka to take victory convincingly.

The men’s final was a clash of freestyle titans Kiri Thode (Starboard, Gaastra) and Jose Estredo (Fanatic, North Sails). Both armed with a huge aerial arsenal, the display was something of a spectacle. Estredo sprung into the day’s biggest shaka, only to follow it up with a perfect ponch-flaka combination. Thode showed defiance with his trademark air funnels, a double flaka diablo, double eslider and a t-bone. However, Estredo saved his big guns until last, nailing a shovit spock 900 and a crazy air chacho to edge the victory ahead of Thode.

A women’s final of Offringa versus Daida Moreno (North Sails) served up intense action from the word go. Turning up the heat, Moreno planed out of a perfect eslider and then nailed a flaka diablo to pile the pressure on Offringa. Unphased by Moreno’s attack, Offringa summoned a brutish assault consisting of a puneta 540, double flaka, shaka and even an attempted air chacho. Moreno dug deep, but failed to reply to Offringa’s sizable repertoire, and had to settle for second place.


The current state of play

The PWA rulebook stipulates that the results from a single elimination are only valid if the subsequent double elimination is completed before the competition ends. As a result, tomorrow’s sixth and final day of competition stands poised to deliver the crucial double elimination that will decide upon the event winner.

With the current standings, Browne and Estredo have both won a double elimination, and if the third double elimination is completed tomorrow, will both have one result they can discard. Tomorrow’s competition will then prove critical in deciding who will take the out and out event lead. To win, Browne has to defeat Estredo in the double, whereas Estredo simply has to stand his ground and hope that Browne will take an early exit.

In the Women, Offringa has already done enough to claim the event as hers, but they’ll be plenty of scrapping for the remaining positions. Either way, the final day of competition looks set to stage a nerve-racking finale. Be sure to stay tuned to pwaworldtour.com to follow all the twists and turns.

PWA / Andrew Buchanan