The final day of the 2024 FPT Vieste resulted in Lennart Neubauer (Starboard/Severne/Maui Ultra Fins) backing up his Tow-In win from the day before. After an early start, the Foilstyle single elimination was brought to a thrilling conclusion in which Yentel Caers (JP-Australia/NeilPryde) came in second and Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard/Gunsails) in third. With more wind on the menu, a start was made to the Youth&Juniors and the Women’s discipline. Unfortunately they were not completed. Read all about this exciting day of action below.
As soon as the green light was given, it was straight into the semi finals. Steven Van Broeckhoven had proven to be on form the day before, and despite continuing his flow, lost out to Lennart Neubauer. The young Greek showed off an incredible repertoire of moves, including a perfect Shifty and Pasko. With a dominant performance he secured a spot in the final against Yentel Caers. Caers took care of Tim Gerdes but struggled in the process. It was clear that both riders were having trouble tuning into the conditions. Gerdes put up a solid fight worthy of the runners up final he got himself into.
In the final Caers found his groove back and was methodically filling his scorecard. Being in the lead for most of the final, the 2023 Foilstyle champion was in control. He won his title against Neubauer the year before, and it soon became clear that revenge was imminent. Neubauer ramped up his sailing and pulled a planing Shifty out of his bag of tricks. The rumours were true, and thanks to it he was quickly back in contention. Neubauer was missing a move on the outside and when he finally added a smooth Pasko to the mix, giving Caers a taste of his own medicine, he shot to the top of the leaderboard.
Want to relive the action from the finals? Make sure to watch back the livestream:
With the winds steadily increasing, the judges decided to send out the Youth&Juniors discipline. Most impressive were the local Italian Youth’s. Cosmo Pezzetti, Ercole Rosso-Chioso (WeOne), Pier Bongianni, Piero Rautnik (JP-Australia/Hot Sails Maui) and Fernando Sottile (WeOne) all put in incredible performances in the short 8 minute heat window. The crowds were treated to countless power moves and quite a few close heats. Also representing on the water were Leander and Holly Halm (Starboard/Severne/Maui Ultra Fins). The German siblings not getting lucky with their draw but still showing us that the future of the sport is bright.
Soon it became clear where the wind was coming from. A massive thunderstorm swiftly rolling into the Spiaggia Lunga meant that there wasn’t much time left before it became too dangerous to be on the water. This meant that unfortunately only one heat in the women’s division was sailed between Linda Mankova (Starboard/Severne) and Maud de Bruijn (Severne). Mankova advanced in what quickly became the quiet before the storm. Competition was halted due to a lack of wind, to then turn into a violent thunderstorm precisely above the competition area.
Once the storm passed and the weather cleared up, some wind started building again but not enough for regular Freestyle. It was back to Foilstyle with an attempt to run the double elimination. There was a clear stand out rider in the double: Tigo Kort (JP-Australia/NeilPryde). The Brouwersdam local had already shown his potential in the single and went on a tear through the field to get himself up to a respectable 4th place before the wind ran out. Winning three heats, against home friends Bodhi Kempen (Severne) and Tim Gerdes (Severne) as well as against Jamie Howard (Severne), Tigo cemented his position as a Foilstyle contender. Most impressive were his upwind carve initiated Burner’s, which he managed to methodically execute in every heat.
With the wind running out the top 3 stayed the same as established in the single elimination in the morning. Steven Van Broeckhoven in third, Yentel Caers in second and Lennart Neubauer in first. After the competition was officially closed Caers reflected that “I cant wat to see all the new moves to still come in this rapidly progressing discipline”. He added that he has been speaking to the Muller brothers and that he thinks that double power moves are not far out. Neubauer shared this sentiment and stressed the importance of consistence when there are not that many moves to choose from yet. He admitted to improvising a bit in the final, especially with the judges increasing the number of counting moves. The Shifty was his joker to win this year he laughed, just like the Pasko was for Yentel just a year ago. “Let’s see what the winning move will be next year!” Neubauer said to sum up his post competition interview.
With all done and dusted, the riders enjoyed the last bits of sun and the prize giving ceremony. Lennart Neubauer enjoyed the top of the podium twice, winning all there is at the 2024 FPT Vieste. The Freestyle Pro Tour is excited to be back again in 2025 for this historical event! A massive thank you goes to Panini di Mare and Camping Villagio Spiaggia Lunga, the organisers of the event and all the event supporters.
RESULTS:
Foilstyle:
1. Lennart Neubauer
2. Yentel Caers
3. Steven Van Broeckhoven
4. Tigo Kort
5. Tim Gerdes
6. Jamie Howard
7. George Grisley and Bodhi Kempen
9. Maaike Huvermann and Dudu Levi
Tow-In:
1. Lennart Neubauer
2. Jamie Howard
3. Bodhi Kempen
4. Kiri Thode
5. Foivos Tsoupras
6. Yentel Caers
7. Tim Gerdes
8. Tigo Kort
9. Youp Schmit
10. Dudu Levi (DNF)