Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup

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Nach einer furiosen Saison der PWA Slalom World Tour kommt es nun zum spannenden Höhepunkt im tropischen Paradies von Neukaledonien, wo die Weltmeisterschaft in diesem Jahr beim Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup, vom 24. bis 29. November entschieden wird.

Noumea, Neukaledonien, ist Teil von Französisch-Polynesien, tief im Südwesten des pazifischen Ozeans rund 750 Meilen östlich von Australien. Neukaledonien hat die größte Lagune der Welt und ist seit 2008 als UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe gelistet. Seit vielen Jahren ist Neukaledonien ein Magnet für Wassersportler aller Couleur. Es liefert, dank seiner Passatwinde perfekte Slalombedingungen, der Passat bläst in der Regel zwischen 10 und 30 Knoten. Die Lagune erstreckt sich über eine beeindruckende Fläche von etwa 23.000m² - kristallklares Wasser mit kleinen Inseln übersät, mit einer außergewöhnlichen biologischen Vielfalt. Der Strand von  Anse Vata  wird die Bühne für den Abschluss der 2015 PWA World Tour sein. Hier weht der Wind oft den ganzen Tag, so dass wir uns auf viele Rennen freuen können. Und am Ende steht die Frage:  Wer wird sich bei diesem spannenden Finale durchsetzen? Ones to Watch Women’s Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) enters the final event of the year with a commanding lead having won both events so far this season. The 24 year old has returned to the full slalom tour for the first time since winning it in 2011, due to finishing her studies, and is firmly on course to collect slalom world title No.2 — knowing that a 7th place finish or better will guarantee her the title and cap an outstanding year for her, which has seen her collect an incredible 8th freestyle world crown, while also securing her place on the prestigious podium in the waves for the first time in her career. Barring disaster you can expect to see Offringa completing 2015 in style. Behind Offringa there is a ferocious battle for the remaining places on the overall podium with 4 women — Lena Erdil (Patrik / Point-7 / Mystic / AL360), Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Severne), Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Severne) and double world champion Delphine Cousin (Starboard / Gun Sails) — all currently tied for 2nd place with 4,002 points each.  With no discard available the pressure will be firmly on to consistently perform at the top of their game with any mistakes likely to be punished. Whoever beats who will likely be rewarded with a place in the illustrious top 3, although Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Gun Sails), who finished 2nd in Alacati, will be hoping to have a say in the proceedings as she isn’t far behind in 5th with 3,936 points. Also in the mix will be Maria Andrés (Fanatic / North), who finished 4th here last year, as well as Mio Anayama (Starboard / NeilPryde) and Ayako Suzuki (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic).  It’s also worth keeping an eye out for local sailors Stephane Bouquillard, Océane Lescadieu (Starboard / Loft Sails), Granier Lilou, Tuesday-Lou Judd and Delphine Riper, all of whom will be looking to take full advantage on home waters. Men’s Title Race After a long, hard fought season only three sailors remain standing in the battle for the 2015 PWA Men’s Slalom World title — Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North), who leads the rankings heading into the final event of the year, reigning world champion Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North). Iachino has been in scintillating so far this year and after winning his maiden event in Costa Brava the young Italian claimed another victory at the last slalom event in Sylt. Iachino is now on the verge of a first world title, but faces a stern final test if he wants to succeed with Albeau being his biggest danger. Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North) looks ahead to the final event of the year: “I’ve been at home getting ready and relaxing trying to get in the best mood for the last event. I’m feeling good and prepared and I think this race will be really interesting. The forecast looks promising!” The scenario for Albeau isn’t too dissimilar to the finale of last year’s world title race and AA still just about has his destiny in his own hands as victory in New Caledonia would guarantee him an incredible 4th world title in a row. In the event that Albeau was to win here and Iachino finish 2nd the two sailors would be tied on points, but Albeau would take the title on tiebreak. However, if Iachino is able to beat Albeau by just one place then the 25 year old will walk away from the 2015 season with top honours. While it may be an outside chance, Pierre Mortefon, is still just about in the title race. If the Frenchman was to win the event and Iachino finished 6th or worse and Albeau 5th or worse then Mortefon would pip both of his rivals to the world crown. Meanwhile, Mortefon, almost has the final place on the heralded podium sewn up with Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) being the only sailor who has the potential to overtake him. A 4th place finish or better would guarantee Mortefon 3rd place, whilst if Mortefon was to finish 6th Williams would still need to finish 2nd or better in order to claim the final place on the podium. In simple terms Williams has to beat Mortefon by 4 places or more to secure 3rd, if Mortefon finishes outside the top 4. Away from the title race and battle for the podium, Ben Van Der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails), will be hoping to defend his event title. The flying Dutchman claimed his maiden event victory here last year and will be looking to end the season with a bang. Van Der Steen currently lies in 6th place with the potential to overtake fellow teammate Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) in 5th.  The top 10 is currently completed by Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne), Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde), Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7), although the likes of Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) and last year’s vice-world champion Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) will be hoping to force there way into the top 10. The final event of the year promises to be an enthralling affair with the world’s fastest sailors battling it one last time for 2015 and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Who do you think will reign supreme and capture the glory? And who will crash and burn? There’s only one way to find out and that’s by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com — here you’ll be able to follow the warp speed slalom as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.