PWA Photographer and our own Editor at Large, John Carter, reports on a pivotal event for the slalom crown in Denmark –
HVIDE SANDE
PWA SLALOM TOUR
The PWA racing elite travelled to the tiny fishing village known as Hvide Sande on the North Sea Coast of Denmark for the fourth stop on this season’s slalom tour. The shallow waters of the Ringkobing Fjord provided the perfect arena for two complete rounds of racing for both men’s and women’s fleets. The first day of the event saw rather inclement weather with misty rain and onshore winds ranging from ten to 14 knots. Pierre Mortefon took the opening bullet in the men’s racing while Sarah Quita Offringa stormed the women’s final well ahead of Polish PWA newcomer Maka Dziarnoska who scooped a well-deserved second place. Ross Williams had a poor opener to his Danish campaign after a bad start in his opening heat forced him to settle with 26.5 points. Antoine Albeau also crashed out early in a heat right on the edge of the wind minimum which could well cost him the title come the end of the season.
The next day saw sunny weather but light winds which provided the opportunity for Taty Frans, Davy Scheffers and Amado Vrieswijk to put on an incredible tow session in the town harbour amongst the traditional fishing boats. Free beer in the evening from the local brewery kept the crew and I smiling after the previous day’s drenching! There was also the opportunity for a few of the racers to indulge in the local tow park, this was quite entertaining with the likes of Marco Lang and Amado once again keeping the crowds enthralled with some spectacular crashes.
Day three say a beautiful sunny day with breezy conditions which allowed the second round of racing to be completed. In the women’s racing Lena Erdil and Sarah Quita were both battling for the title although despite Lena winning the final, Sarah Quita had just done enough to take the event victory and also clinch the title by the narrowest of margins.
Over to the men’s racing and German racer Vincent Langer was the surprise winner of the second round while Ross Williams recovered by taking 6th slot in the winners final. Matteo Iachino eventually came out on top of the event rankings with Pierre Mortefon hot on his heels in second and German racer Sebastian Kordel claiming his first ever PWA podium in third. As for the men’s overall battle, Mortefon and Iachino are now tied in first position after four races including a discard with Iachino technically ahead on countback. Ross Williams is still in third after the discard but has the likes of Julien Quentel and Antoine Albeau breathing down his neck to make the overall podium come the end of the season.
The final days of the event saw more awesome weather, with wind just below the minimum required to race. A few very competitive football matches took place between racers and the crew which saw outstanding performances from Brazilian racer Mateus Isaac and French star Cedric Bordes, while Jimmy Diaz somehow missed an open goal from point blank range – hitting the crossbar with his header!
Next stop for the racers will be the famous shores of Sylt on the coast of Germany followed by the grand finale in La Torche, France.
