Yentel Caers (JP/NeilPryde) wins the Foilstyle single elimination on day 2 of the 2023 EFPT in Vieste, Italy. The 2019 European Champion managed to win what was the first ever Foilstyle competition to get a result, holding back Lennart Neubauer (Starboard/Severne/Maui Ultra Fins) in an exciting final. Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard/Gunsails) completed the podium after a stellar performance on the hydrofoil. None of the riders can celebrate yet though as the double elimination – the comeback round – got underway immediately. Rewatch all the action from the livestream here, and check out the full day 2 report below.
The forecast for the day was unequivocal – Foilstyle was on the menu at Panini di Mare in Vieste, Italy. During the skippers meeting riders were once again briefed on the format in this new discipline. Two moves per tack were counting, one less than in a standard Fin Freestyle competition. The athletes soon went out to test the waters and the competition got underway.
Lucie Honegger going for a Backloop. Picture by Protography Official
Representing the girls, Lucie Honegger (Severne) was sending it during her heats! Going for some Backloops with impressive height, she mentioned afterwards that she is happy to be here and that she wants to show everyone what she can do. Hoping to motivate more women to join the Foilstyle, Honegger sure made a statement on the water today.
Tim Gerdes with a One Handed Burner. Picture by Protography Official
Tim Gerdes (Severne) did not get the result he wanted in the single elimination, despite his impressive sailing. The Dutchman was consistently putting down Burners and Culo’s, but was missing the Shaka’s compared to other competitors. He was eliminated by Steven Van Broeckhoven in the closest heat of the day. Separated by 0.3 points, Gerdes now had to turn his attention to the double elimination. Van Broeckhoven went on to draw on his competition experience, performing moves that no one could match. Especially his Kono’s and Backloops were unmatched and allowed him to claim a spot on the podium after winning from Sam Esteve (JP/NeilPryde) in the runners up final.
Steven Van Broeckhoven did some crazy clean kono’s today. Picture by Protography Official
In general, the more established competitive Freestylers seemed to have and edge over the equally skilled but less competitively experienced youth. The final saw Yentel Caers face off against Lennart Neubauer for the win. Neubauer won his first event at the EFPT in Austria a month ago and seemed confident to be able to to so in the Foilstyle as well. Filling his scoresheet with a Burner on both tacks, a Culo and an Air Funnel, he struggled to win against an on form Caers. The Belgian managed to put in the highest scoring move of the day in the final – a 7,74 Pasko. The execution and power on this move were so good, that Caers managed to compensate for his otherwise medium well scoring repertoire. After the final he said that “the Pasko is like a cheatcode for me, without that move I wouldn’t have been able to make it as far!”. Winning the single, he was now in a great spot for the comeback round.
The Single elimination podium. From the left: Steven Van Broeckhoven, Yentel Caers, Lennart Neubauer and Sam Esteve. Picture by Protography Official
After the finals, the Foilstyle fleet went straight back into the water for the double elimination. As always, Jamie Howard (Severne) was on a comeback run. After a disappointing start in the single, he managed to fight his way up to a matchup with Tim Gerdes. Unfortunately the wind got too light to continue, and the competition was called off for the day. The forecast for day 3 does not look promising, but riders will do a Tow-In show in front of the beautiful town of Vieste. Want to get up to speed with all the plans for the day? As always, we will be live with a morning show at 8:30 AM CET ! Tune in on our Livepage!
Yentel Caers rotating in front of his opponent in the final. Picture by Protography Official
