| PWA Costa Teguise freestyle action started |
| Wednesday, 25 June 2008 14:32 |
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Costa Teguise, on Lanzarote’s rugged east coast became the focal point of global windsurfing, as it opened its doors for the start the PWA Freestyle World Cup. First on the agenda was the registration of the men’s and women’s freestyle fleets, which was completed by early afternoon, leaving only a short lunch break before competition could launch into action. Famed for consistent conditions, Costa Teguise brought ample servings of wind for the first single elimination, delivering 20-25 knots of cross-offshore perfection. The men took to the water first, pulling out all the stops from the word go. The first round progressed without upset, paving the way for some explosive action in the subsequent rounds. It started to become clear who the dominant forces were, as round two followed its course. Some of the finest action came from heat 17b, where the UK's Andy Chambers (JP, NeilPryde) took on Bonaire’s Kiri Thode (Starboard, Gaastra). It’s a tribute to Thode, when underdog Chambers strung together a run that included burners, double spocks, 8-foot high shakas & numerous flaka combos and still couldn’t topple the freestyle maestro. The quarterfinals consisted of the eight biggest names in freestyle, all poised to unleash their aerial arsenals. The action came thick and fast as World Champion Browne (Mistral, Gaastra) deployed misty flips and huge ponchs on German Normen Günzlein (JP, NeilPryde). Günzlein replied with konos and one-handed shakas but ultimately failed to provide an adequate rebuttal to Browne’s polished performance. On-form Thode dismissed rumors that he’s all slide and no pop as he executed massive shakas, kono’s and combination moves to defeat his more than competent rival, Antxon Otaegui (JP, NeilPryde). Ricardo Campello (JP, NeilPryde) had to deliver near perfection to defeat Tonky Frans (F2, Gaastra) who seemed hell bent on advancing to the semis. In a run that witnessed a soaring backloop and one of the slickest spock-ponch combos of the day, Campello dispatched the determined Frans. In the last of the quarters, Andre Paskowski (Fanatic, North Sails) took on teammate Jose Estredo (Fanatic, North Sails). Paskowski showed form but failed to reply to Estredo’s sky-high air shakas and high scoring combination moves, Estredo advanced. The star-studded semi final went off in the building swell, with height being the name of the game. Browne turned up the heat to deliver faultless one-handed burners to compliment his high, powerful repertoire and was eventually rewarded with the victory over Thode. The second semi final was a clash of the titans, as Campello went head to head with Estredo. The resulting duel churned out more combinations than any other heat. Estredo showed determination, but pushed too hard, resulting in numerous crashed moves, opening the door for Campello to claim his position in the final, alongside Browne. Source: PWA World Tour |
