PWA CROATIA SLALOM

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IT WAS A THRILLING WEEK OF RACING AT THE PWA CROATIA. 5 DAYS, 8 ELIMINATIONS AND SOME OF THE CLOSEST RACING EVER SEEN ON THE PWA. THROUGHOUT THE WEEK IN THE MEN’S DIVISION THE LEAD WAS CHANGING WITH ALMOST EVERY ROUND THAT PASSED. COMBINED WITH PERFECT RACING CONDITIONS RIGHT NEXT TO THE BEACH, THE SPECTATORS ON ZLATINI RAT WERE TREATED TO THE BEST OUR SPORT HAS TO OFFER.

 

Unfortunately it’s not been the easiest event to follow for those outside of the Bol bubble as the event was only given 2* rating – no livestream, basic social media coverage and no ranking points for the overall title. It was less than ideal, but thankfully we got the full report from our team in Bol to give you the full low down of the week! 

 

The schedule of the week was simple – skippers meeting at 12:00, first possible start at 13:00 and the wind came in every day like clockwork. Slowly building until 16:00, peaking and then dropping off around 18:00. Most days saw as steady 12-20 knots which gave us champagne foiling conditions. Whilst the start of the week didn’t really go in the favour of podium contenders Pierre Mortefon and Jordy Vonk, they quickly turned it around, firing back with a 2nd and 5th respectively.

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For the #WarpGirlz it was a much better start – with Marion Mortefon smashing the first round with a 2nd and Sarah Jackson clocking in a 7th. Whilst Marion remained steady on the podium, mistakes became costly for Sarah, dropping down the ranks after a solid start. Fighting back mid-week was Alice Read and Adela Raskova, both bagging winners finals on Day 2 and 3.

 

Day 3 was the day for Team Mortefon to show their strength with both Pierre and Marion clocking bullets – for Marion, solidifying her place on the podium, whilst Pierre catapulted himself up the rankings as the discard came into play.

Day 4 was one of the most exciting days of racing we have seen in the PWA for a long time. The forecast wasn’t looking too good for the final day so it was all to play for as the 2nd discard came into play. 4 riders were in contention for the podium in the mens, almost so close that whoever won race 7 won the event! Tension was building after a day of strong winds but as it got later in the day, the wind was dropping and lots of riders found themselves on the wrong equipment. As it was such a critical final, the men were sent back to the beach to go and change their equipment, but sadly in this time the wind dropped too much and all riders were given 3.5 points over night.

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Waking up on the final day, the wind was blowing strong but in the wrong direction making it offshore and shifty. The call was made to wait for the wind to swing and see what happens. With only one heat left to sail in round 7, and every podium place at stake, tensions were high on the beach. After waiting until 3pm, the wind kicked in and steady and racing was on. Pierre Mortefon showed why he was the 2019 World Champion, flying through to take the race victory and put himself in pole position. But the wind was in and here to stay, so why waste it! Round 8 was started, the wind was looking perfect like every day of the event. It looked like a steady 15-20 knots and perfect foiling conditions. Round 8 was started and the wind started to drop and go shifty so quickly everyone scrambled together their bigger gear – was this going to be a sad end to a great week? Of course not, Bol delivered and the wind kicked back in, and built quickly! As the riders headed back out for the semi-finals, gusty conditions encouraged bigger equipment choices but as the wind continued to increase, it was nothing less than chaos on the racecourse! Stakes were high, the wind was finally here and the stage was set for the ultimate showdown.

In the women’s division, safely securing her silver medal, Marion changed on to the WARP_FIN 5.8 for the final as gusts were coming through constantly over 25 knots. 3rd place was still up for grabs however and thus the battle for the start line was intense, and unfortunately Marion crossed the start too early and was disqualified from the round alongside two other riders. After a mixed week, Sarah Jackson finally put everything together, showing the wide range of the WARP_FIN 5.9 as only one of two riders to survive the first reach. Battling hard with event winner Sara Wennekes, Sarah Jackson was hot on her heels heading into the last mark. After barely misplacing a finger all week, Sara dropped her final gybe and Sarah sailed through to take the elimination win and climb back up the overall rankings to 7th.

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Sat in first place by less than 1 point going into the final was Pierre Mortefon. Everything was to play for and whoever won the final, was likely to win the event! It was an incredible race to watch with plenty of lead changes throughout the race. Going down the final reach, Bruno Martini took the lead and held on long enough to snatch the event from Pierre, who finished the race in 3rd, and took home the silver medal!

 

With so much tension and high octane racing, we are happy to say we filmed the whole thing for you to see! Keep your eyes peeled for the after video dropping next week!

FINAL RESULTS: 

SLALOM MEN: 

2nd - Pierre Mortefon (FRA) 

11th - Jordy Vonk (NED)

13th - William Huppert (FRA)

 

 

SLALOM WOMEN: 

2nd - Marion Mortefon (FRA) 

7th - Sarah Jackson (GBR)

9th - Alice Read (GBR)

10th - Adela Raskova (CZE) 

 

Images by Clive Bevan, Roni Marinkovic & Prescott