2023-07-12 06:31:58
Pozo Izquierdo, the home of the wind, hosted the first day of the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Gran Canaria on Tuesday, which started with the riders of the Big Air men’s category flying high, this discipline being the great novelty of this sport. “For the first time in wingfoil history, we have seen the Big Air modality, with which we have enjoyed the riders flying over the water during the men’s qualifiers held today,” commentators from the GWA (Global Wingsports Association) said.
During the men’s Big Air (high jumps) qualifiers, only nine riders got a pass for the great event of the discipline, among which the young Ancor Sosa stood out, who managed to win by just half a point (a total of 20.97) by German Benjamin May. “I’ve been here for a month, but today seems to be the windiest day; However, I love the strong wind, I suppose because I am from the Canary Islands”, declared the Majorero competitor.
Along with Sosa and May, the French Camille Bouyer, Julien Rattotti and Alan Fedit have also qualified to compete in the big Big Air event, scheduled to start this Friday; the Finnish Axel Gerard, the Dutch Chucho Nonnot and the Italian Giulio Gasperini. Remember that each rider will have 30 seconds to perform one of their three Big Air trick attempts. The height of the jump will account for 80% of the score, while the technical difficulty the remaining 20%.
The best tricks, from Fuerteventura
During the first three rounds of the Freestyle modality, the stands of Pozo Izquierdo enjoyed the tricks of the youngest, Ancor Sosa (Fuerteventura) and Benjamin Castenskiold (Denmark), only 15 and 13 years old, respectively. During the final of the last set held, the Canarian competitor won thanks to the frontsides, a maneuver that requires a lot of technique and with which he scored almost 21 points. “Both Ancor and Benjamin perform impressively”, said Álvaro Onieva, chief judge of the GWA. In his opinion, everything indicates that Pozo Izquierdo will live an exciting final with magic tricks.
Despite the spectacle that the Majorero gave, Castenskiold was the only athlete who achieved a ten (the highest score) during the day, with precisely the same manoeuvre. «It is the first time that I sail in Pozo Izquierdo and the wind is perfect for sailing. The heats have been very good and the waves are perfect to do the tricks»declared the youngest rider on the GWA tour.
For local favourites, Liam Dunkerbeck and Marino Gil, the qualifiers didn’t go so well as they couldn’t clear all of their heats in the Freestyle discipline, although in Dunkerbeck’s case we will see him compete directly in Big Air. “It is the first Wingfoil World Cup to be held in Pozo Izquierdo, something very good for the town”said Dunkerbeck, who made it to round four in Freestyle, so he’s “very happy” but waiting for “what’s coming”
However, this Wednesday we will see the two compete again in the Slalom category (wingfoil racing), together with the original Olympian from Gran Canaria, Ángel Granda. Other Spanish riders who will participate in the races flying over the water are Ancor Sosa, Xavier Corr and Jeremy Rodríguez.
The PWA Windsurfing World Championship is sponsored by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, through the Departments of Sports and Tourism; the Tourism area of the Government of the Canary Islands; the Town Hall of Santa Lucía de Tirajana; as well as private companies such as Red Bull, Windsurf Journal, DailyDose.de, Jaklar, Poema del Mar, Loro Parque Foundation, Seven Island Film, Surf Magazine, Volkswagen, TVE, WS, WIND, SURF, Folling Magazine, Wing Surf, Wing Magazine Sufers, WING and AS Action, among others.
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