Antoine Albeau has captured the 2014 PWA Slalom World Tour title, at Noumea, New Caledonia. The French bullet claimed his third consecutive trophy.
Cyril Moussilmani entered the final race of the event knowing that he had to finish in the top four or better to have any shot at winning the title. If Moussilmani finished outside the top four, then Albeau would automatically be crowned world champion.
And that was precisely what happened. Albeau played his tactics and made a smoother exit to the opening gybe to gain second place. Ben Van Der Steen showed no sign of nerves as he produced another flawless performance over the course to claim a well-deserved maiden event victory.
Antoine Albeau held on to race and crossed the finish line to secure the world title, leaving behind Julien Quentel, Taty Frans, and Moussilmani.
"If you don't want to have the stress of winning then you just wouldn't compete. It's a good sensation - something we want and something we need," told Albeau.
"It feels good because, in a second, it can all change, and you can just as easily miss out on a world title, so I'm very happy it turned out well for me today. It was also nice to have my parents and my girlfriend on the beach too, together with a lot of guys who wanted me to win."
2014 PWA Slalom World Tour | Men's Final Rankings
1. Antoine Albeau
2. Cyril Moussilmani
3. Pierre Mortefon
4. Ben Van Der Steen
5. Pascal Toselli
2014 PWA Slalom World Tour | Women's Final Rankings
1. Delphine Cousin
2. Lena Erdil
3. Valerie Ghibaudo
4. Maria Andres
5. Mio Anayama