Huge congratulations to our Slalom Team on an amazing performance at the PWA Gran Canaria World Cup!
Enrico Marotti: 1st Place Men's Slalom
Sarah-Quita Offringa: 2nd Place Women's Slalom
Nico Prien: 5th Place Men's Slalom
Bruno Martini: 9th Place Men's Slalom
Sarah-Quita Offringa: 2nd Place Women's Slalom
Nico Prien: 5th Place Men's Slalom
Bruno Martini: 9th Place Men's Slalom
Gran Canaria has been a special slalom event for NeilPryde since the re-introduction of Slalom to the PWA back in 2006. Antoine Albeau dominated the event there that year, winning 11 out of 12 of the eliminations.
Antoine dominated again in 2007
And again in 2008, winning 7 out of 9 races.
And again in 2009!!!
Jump ahead to 2023 and PWA Slalom is back in full force.
The addition of foils to the mix created a new dynamic for the racers and equipment choices were of paramount importance. Our riders chose a mix of foils and fins and put on an amazing performance on both.
We caught up with Enrico, Sarah-Quita, Nico and Bruno to hear their impressions of this historic return to one of the most important windsurfing racing events on the planet.
Enrico Marotti: "Racing in Pozo was really challenging, special! It was demanding and exhausting physically and mentally. I am really happy that I managed to sail well and consistently all three days that we were racing.
JP boards and NeilPryde sails worked really well in all the conditions that we had. I was using 5.1 RS:Flight EVO and 81 Hydrofoil Slalom with Neil Pryde foil 72 front wing and 95 fuselage!
I am super happy with the speed and control that the gear provides!
Robert Stroj, Werner and I put a lot of hours in to the gear and we did a great job with the development!
Our gear is amazing and everyone who sails it will unlock their full potential!
Thanks to my sponsors for their support. I really appreciate it!
Our gear is amazing and everyone who sails it will unlock their full potential!
Thanks to my sponsors for their support. I really appreciate it!
Sarah-Quita Offinga: "When I heard the slalom contest was on in Pozo, I couldn’t help myself and had to register!
It’s been three physically tough days. My legs and feet are bruised and my body is hurting.
Looking at the ranking it was well worth it. I’m finishing this event in 5th after 10 eliminations. Very proud of myself and this big step.
Super cool to arrive to the beach and just see the wind blowing without even questioning it.
Tough racing with hard competition and there were 30 individual heats that I had to be 100% on it. Then fighting through the strong wind and big waves with the foil was mentally challenging.
I sailed every single heat on the 5.1 Flight EVO, SLR2 Foil and JP HF Slalom 81.
Time to take a breath recover!"
I was betting on the fact that we’d have more fin races than foil! Turns out, the foil was super competitive in these conditions, but on the fin I still had a fighting chance!
High wind slalom isn’t my strongest point as I tend to be either wave sailing or free styling in those conditions but after these 3 days of racing I’ve definitely changed perspective.
I absolutely loved the rush of being over powered and flying over the chop in 30+ knot winds.
The first day I was still finding my slalom feet but as we got more races in I decided to go all in. I realized to have fighting chance I had to be full power all the time.
My best races were on the 6.5, even though I had more power, I think the weight of the sail kept my board from flying too much as opposed to my 5,6 where I was in control but tended to get lifted.
I never got really dialled in with the starts, but at this event it seemed as if the race really only started after the 1st mark.
I’ve done some of the best jibes of my life and think I could really fall back on my slalom experience from the past years to take the right tactical decision on the straight and at the marks.
The whole race I was pushing to capitalise on the every gust, lull and jibe, and the race wasn’t over until it was over.
Sometimes I caught some riders at the last mark after chasing them, other times I got beat on the finish line after leading the whole race. It was thrilling!
Sometimes I wish I could let it go and just enjoy one discipline, but I’ve already registered for Fuerteventura and can’t wait to be out on the racecourse again with everyone!!"
Nico Prien: "What a way to finish my best ever PWA competition. Winning an elimination in the PWA for the first time and taking 0.7 points onto my score sheet was such a rewarding feeling.
It’s been three physically tough days. My legs and feet are bruised and my body is hurting.
Looking at the ranking it was well worth it. I’m finishing this event in 5th after 10 eliminations. Very proud of myself and this big step.
Super cool to arrive to the beach and just see the wind blowing without even questioning it.
Tough racing with hard competition and there were 30 individual heats that I had to be 100% on it. Then fighting through the strong wind and big waves with the foil was mentally challenging.
I sailed every single heat on the 5.1 Flight EVO, SLR2 Foil and JP HF Slalom 81.
Time to take a breath recover!"
Bruno Marotti:
It was a really intense 3 days of racing, to be honest I expected more wind than what we got, so I was more prepared for same full power Fin Action.
Anyway I'm actually in part happy with my foil performance, I just need to adjust same details on my foil setup and I think that I can be even more competitive on it.
Super happy with my gear and obviously happy to take one elimination completely over power with my 5,7 RS: FLIGHT.
Also consider that I feel really competitive in both discipline, foil and fin even if we are running as one, are completely two different things."
Thank you to the organizers of the event and to all of the competitors for putting on such an amazing spectacle and special congratulations once again to our team for the incredible performance. That every rider was able to win an elimination, some on fin and some on foil is incredible and just goes to show their diverse skill ranges, discipline and dedication. Congratulations Team. Enjoy a few days off before the next epic battle in Fuerte!!
