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DOWN TO THE WIRE!  PWA FLY! ANA WINDSURF WORLD CUP JAPAN 2024

The 2024 PWA season concluded in Japan with intense foil slalom drama. From Johan Søe’s dominating performance and redemption from 2023, to Pierre Mortefon’s incredible dual titles and Justine Lemeteyer achieving her dream of becoming a PWA champion, the battles were intense right down t the very last race. We were on hand to grab these exclusive insights from the main players involved in this epic foil showdown!

Words: Johan Søe, Andrea Cucchi, Pierre Mortefon, Daniele Benedetti, Enrico Marotti, Justine Lemeteyer and Marion Mortefon.

Photos: Carter/pwaworldtour.com

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JOHAN SØE:

Back in 2023 Søe looked to have the title race wrapped up come the final day of the season in Japan. But half an hour before the closing ceremony (with Johan leading the event and the World Title in the bag) he was disqualified after the PWA crew found one of his sails had been altered outside the specifications stipulated at the beginning of the season. This late drama meant Matteo Iachino became world champion, Amado Vrieswijk moved into second and Maciek Rutkowski took third. 2024 was never going to be Søe’s season as he was committed to the Olympics meaning he missed out on the first event in Fuerteventura. But for Sylt and Japan, Søe, a.k.a ‘The Beast’, was out to put the record straight and show the rest of the fleet who is the real boss! As for next season Søe will be riding for Patrik so it will be interesting to see how the season pans out. One way or another the future looks bright for this incredibly talented youngster.

SØE SPECIAL! (EVENT WINNER)

I finished the season with two nice events in Japan and Germany and won them both. I believe I could have won the overall title this year, but I didn’t compete in Fuerteventura due to the Olympics. I don’t regret going to France at all. It was a decision I made, and I would do that again. I was nervous before Sylt and Japan, but I also knew I was ready. I did not have the title pressure this year but last year I did, and I would have won if I wasn’t disqualified. I just come to events prepared and ready. I thought there was only one result possible for me when I came to Japan and I got it! It was the best statement I could make in answer to last year’s disappointment.

I think my gear is working extremely well, which is very important, I feel I have good harmony with my boards and sails. I think my build fits the equipment very well. My tactics were also stable and consistent! Foil racing is very interesting to me and a lot can happen in any race. It is fast, furious and there are many opportunities, especially at the beginning of the race to overtake. I had a top gear I could hit if I needed it. I was not expecting to be that fast compared to the other racers. I was a bit surprised. Next year the plan is to participate in more iQFOiL racing. I really like this Olympic sailing. I will also mix that up with the PWA events. I really want to compete at the World Championship in July in Denmark, which is at my home spot.

Winning this year’s event in Japan was the only way for me to get redemption after last year, so I feel really good about that.

ANDREA CUCCHI:

Cucchi, is an ex PWA racer and the owner / mastermind behind the brand Point 7. He has always supported young talented riders in his team rather than buy in a strong rider and pay them big money. Cucchi cam to Japan purely to support Søe and hopefully be there to witness his revenge after last years disqualification.

POINT 7 OWNER AND JOHAN’S EVENT CADDY

Søe’s preparation before the race is meticulous. He knows everything about his gear. He knows every detail, every setting and how to tune the sails without even looking at them. He can tell me from the water, how much downhaul I need to put on the sail, down to the millimetre because he has been testing so much. He is very systematic. Even the sheet where he puts his sails can’t have any sand on it. Every time he comes off the water I had to wash the foil for him, he also cleans it before he goes out and it has to be dried. There is just nothing left to chance, not one detail. When he comes in, we only talk about racing, nothing else. There is no discussion about anything other than competition at an event.  The focus is fully on the race. What I love about Johan is that he has a lot of confidence about his own skills. I learned a lot being with him during this race. I have been caddying a lot of good guys in the past, including a few champions, but I think he has the strongest mind set of them all. Johan is very smart and he is not arrogant. He has achieved all of this in just two years. I think he is in another league, unfortunately for the others!

PIERRE MORTEFON:

At the end of 2023 Mortefon found himself without a sponsor after Duotone were forced to cut budgets. Pierre was at a low point until he hooked up with Phantom and FMX who agreed to support him for the 2024 season. With a score to settle, Pierre nailed the Slalom X world title in Fuerteventura and headed to Japan leading the foil slalom rankings. The question was…could he do the double and win both world titles?

DOUBLE OVERALL WORLD CHAMPION (PWA SLALOM X AND FOIL SLALOM WORLD CHAMP)

I cannot really believe that I won the title in both Slalom X and Foil Slalom. This felt like an impossible dream at the beginning of the year after losing my sponsors in 2023. It is not easy to win both disciplines, especially where we have guys who are specialist in both areas. I love both types of racing and I wanted to perform well in both. It is even more work than it used to be because we have two different sports to train in and test equipment. The level is incredibly high in both disciplines. Winning both titles is just a dream. I lost my Duotone sponsorship last year so touching rock bottom helped me to be where I am now. I had a really tough time. I was about to stop competing. I was lost. Then I set some plans and decided to believe in myself. I went for it and worked really hard. I had great support from my new sponsors. Alex from Phantom gave me really good equipment to make it happen. The same with Finian with the FMX boards. I have been riding some amazing boards and here we are with these results. I am just happy to show that I am one of the best.

NO ROOM FOR ERROR

I was very nervous in Japan. There was no room at all for error. Daniele Benedetti was super strong all year, as well as Matteo Iachino and Enrico Marotti. To win both foil and fin titles was not easy at all. I had the chance this year and knew this is not the sort of opportunity that will happen every year. The extra pressure was on! I felt I had the experience after fighting with Antoine Albeau and Matteo Iachino for ten years. That experience helped me a lot to deal with all the pressure. From my experience, I knew I had to make every single moment of every race count. Every gybe, every start every place on a finish can make a difference. At the end of the year, there can be one or two points separating the top guys. There was no room for mistakes. In Japan we only had four races. At the beginning of the week, we were expecting a great forecast for all the days and in the end, we only raced on two days. Every race counted. Even in the quarter finals you can be knocked out. Each point was counting. Even on the last final where I was almost last, I grabbed a few points at the end on the home straight. Those points were important and those little moments made all the difference.

My sister won the event as well in the women’s racing, so we keep on going with the family success in windsurfing. Now I want to travel home as soon as possible to spend time with my family. Ther are all my friends to see who supported me during the season, from the hard begging until now.

The feeling of racing on the foil is special because you sail in three dimensions, compared to the fin.  You are a bit less comfortable on the foil to the fin, but you have an amazing feeling of speed on the foil. When you think about it, the way the foil is connected to the water with the mast and we are flying above it makes it even more special. The feeling of speed on the foil is crazy. When you are flying on your own you can be sacred at what could happen if you fall, but when you factor in, going full speed with seven other riders, it is very intense. At any second on the foil, you can wipe out and crash hard. On the fin, you have more control. Foil racing is crazy and very different to fin. The foil racing is a bit more open, which is great. We race almost everyday and there are less cancellations. It is a different type of racing.

DANIELE BENEDETTI

Benedetti is the new kid on the block in foil slalom and won the opening event in Fuerteventura with incredibly consistent performances. In the tough conditions in Sylt where weed and offshore winds shook up the rankings, Daniele managed to take fourth place and second overall going into Japan. Daniele was breathing down Mortefon’s neck for most of the week, but the wind didn’t play ball come the final day of racing despite a promising forecast. 2025 could be the year for this up and coming Italian now he has established himself amongst the top echelon of the sport and he has joined forces with the Duotone Team!

SO CLOSE! (2^ND OVERALL FOIL SLALOM)

I really wanted to win it this year, so I was disappointed with second. I was leading for a while this year after Fuerteventura and I felt I was always there at the top. My dream coming t Japan were to win the title. I felt I was consistent and am happy with my sailing. I was not expecting to fight for the title at the beginning of the year. I will work harder for the next season and try and fight for the overall again. I was 2.3 points away from winning this year so it was pretty close. We had two good days of racing and the forecast was for good wind on day four, but it never happened.

There is much more playing with the lines you can take on the foil. The gybes and acceleration you can achieve are realty incredible. Foil racing is the Formula One of windsurfing. The race is never done. You can make all types of comebacks if you are behind. Right until the finish line you can go for it. I really love the speed of the foil. We can go over 35 knots and that feels insane on a foil. It is full adrenaline I would say. You need to be really focussed every single moment.

I would also like to thank my sponsors who supported me through the season. They really did a great job with the equipment.

ENRICO MAROTTI

Enrico Marotti is one of those racers consistently in the mix and is well capable of fighting for the overall title. Having secured third overall in 2022, he proved this year that he deserved that spot at the top of the rankings by denying Matteo Iachino the final spot on the overall podium by the slightest of margins. Let’s see what 2025 will yield for the ambitious Croatian.

NO FLUKE! (THIRD OVERALL FOIL SLALOM)

I am super happy to make the top three again overall. I was third also in 2022 so now that is the second time I have been on the podium. The first time might have been luck but to do it two times, for me it is a confirmation that I have some quality and I deserve it. I am trying to make it to the top and I want it. It means a lot to me to be on the podium and win another PWA trophy. I have put in years of hard work and dedication.  I have devoted my whole life to windsurfing. I started sailing when I was seven and have worked my way to where I am now.  I live in a popular windsurfing spot and we have around 220 windy days a year there. There is a real windsurf community that supports me. I am proud to represent those people that believed in me.

The average speed on the foil is so high. Foiling is super technical and tricky. It can be scary, which I like. I enjoy those situations when you feel you are out of control and you manage to get it back under control. They are the moments that count. These are the moments that make you feel alive.

JUSTINE LEMETEYER:

Justine Lemeteyer has been a revelation on the PWA world tour! She is not only an incredible talent, but she is also one of the hardest working racers on the women’s tour. Justine employs the services of a full-time physical coach and also takes guidance from a mental coach to help settle her mindset at events. Coming to Japan, it looked like she was in a commanding position prior to the event but a few chinks in her armour started to emerge when she dropped two gybes in race four, which put her under huge pressure going into the last round. Fortunately for Justine, there was no more racing and her dream of being a PWA champion was fulfilled, despite finishing 2^nd in Japan.  Next year Justine will join Johan Søe on the Patrik team so it looks like they will be a formidable force on the racecourse in 2025!  

SURVIVED THE PRESSURE (PWA WORLD CHAMPION FOIL SLALOM)

It was a tough week for me. I did not think so much pressure could be possible. It was very challenging for me mentally. I was so close to realizing my main dream. I did not think this week would be that difficult to deal with both on and off the water. My mental coach helped me a lot as it could have been way worse. I did not race that badly. I just had one race where I made two mistakes. I think they were the first gybes of the season that I crashed. It was far from being the end of the world, but it felt like it in my mind. I had some anger that I needed to let go of. I had a lot of nerves, so I threw my helmet and harness pretty hard. It was all too much at that moment, so I needed to let off some steam. There was so much emotion inside me. I put my head under a towel and sat in my rigging area for a bit. I was good to go again and had a smile on my face twenty minutes after. I just had a lot of anger within myself.

I came to Japan feeling tired after the whole season. A lot happened and after Sylt I was really exhausted. I had a tough time recovering after Sylt. I knew when I arrived in Japan, I was far from being one hundred per cent, physically. I had to deal with it. So, I know for next year that there are things that I would do different concerning my preparation. I should not be that tired going into the last event. I learned a lot of things for next year. I need to improve how to handle the pressure and how to deal with the calendar. There are a lot of things I will handle a bit different next year for sure.

HUNGRY FOR MORE

But for now, my childhood dream of becoming a world champion is checked. So that is already good. But now if I can have more titles I will take more. Firstly, I will take some time to celebrate at home. I want to realize what I have just achieved. For sure I will be going for more titles. I like windsurfing too much to stop.  It has been almost ten years that I have been dreaming about this moment. There has been a lot of work and time involved to get here. S2 Maui really helped me this year. Delphine Cousin helped me get the deal. I was not even close to the podium in the youth category and I since joined S2, I have become world champion. That is a beautiful story with them and the same with FMX. The gear has been working great and I am happy with the story we have made so far together.

I will party at the event closing ceremony and then I am heading to Yoron, which is a paradise island of Japan. Then I go home to celebrate with my friends and family. The training will be back soon, but I need some time off first. I want to sleep and just do nothing for a few weeks. I love the windsurfing and training too much just to stop. I love racing and slalom, so I will be back at it soon enough. Every winter I have to force myself not to get back to training too soon. My physical coach is quite hardcore. I like it like that and that is why we work together. That is one of the main things that has made the difference. When you are the connection between the sail and the board, you need to be strong. I have been working with my coach for four years now. We have made big improvements and it is thanks to him that I am here today. We will keep the hard work going for sure.

MARION MORTEFON:

Like her brother Pierre, Marion found herself without sponsors at the end of the 2023 season. It was tough times for the Mortefon brother and sister racing legends as they searched around for a deal to keep their careers alive. But Patrik stepped in to provide Marion with support for 2025 and she finished second in Fuerteventura and Sylt which meant she had a fighting chance of winning the title in Japan if she could rattle Letemeyer’s cage. The pressure was all on Justine going into race five with a solid forecast and Marion leading the event. But alas, the wind never played ball and Marion had to settle for second overall despite winning in Japan.  

VICTORY IN JAPAN (SECOND OVERALL FOIL SLALOM)

I had to win this event to have a shot at winning the title, so I managed to do that. At the end it was close with Justine, but she did enough to win the overall by finishing second. Racing is like this. I am satisfied with my performance. And I could not do anything more in Japan. I was happy to be with a new brand this season with a new challenge. The equipment is completely different in foil and fin. I had to adapt and I have achieved a great season with my new sponsors. It was a very different year for me. I was not under pressure here, I just had to do better than Justine to have a shot at winning the title. I was just doing my thing race after race. I did not have the pressure to lose the title, so I was pretty relaxed. Second overall for sure was not my goal but I am happy still be on the podium after so many years. Foiling is very different from what we did before. Every year we are learning new techniques and how to improve the tuning of our equipment. We are sailing in some very strong winds now. The speeds are fast and I have had to fight with my fear because racing like this is scary.  Foiling is nothing compared to fin because in fin you are close to the water and more in control. I love to learn in windsurfing, so the foil journey has been fun. I will be back next year to try again for sure.

RESULTS

Overall Ranking 2024 PWA World Tour – Men’s Foil Slalom

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
3rd Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)

Result 2024 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup – Men’s Foil Slalom

1st Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7 / PATRIK Foils)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

Overall Ranking 2024 PWA World Tour – Women’s Foil Slalom

1st Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)
3rd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (NB | Starboard / NeilPryde)

Result 2024 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup – Women’s Foil Slalom

1st Marion Mortefon (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)
2nd Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
3rd Lina Eržen (SLO | Starboard / Severne Sails)