Freestyle Pro Tour Paros - Day 1
by Freestyle Pro Tour 30 Jun 16:25 BST
Caers looked unstoppable today, only scoring less than 40 points in his first heat of the day © Freestyle Pro Tour
The opening day of the Freestyle Pro Tour (FPT) Paros kicked off exactly as forecasted - nuclear winds from morning till late afternoon, accompanied by nonstop freestyle action.
The day, as per usual, kicked off with registration, followed by a stickering session for the riders, before a skipper's meeting took place briefing the riders on the format of the competition. Head judge Flo Ragossnig gave a short rundown of the new competition format - already ran in both Cape Town and Sardinia - where the traditional equal number of moves per tack format is replaced with a minimum amount of moves per tack - just one in the case of today's elimination. What this leads to is a format of competition more skewed to favoring move diversity over consistency on both tacks, bringing more action and excitement to the crowds.
All throughout the morning, the wind continued to get stronger, and by the time the skipper's meeting was over and the first heats began hitting the water, the speeds began reaching close to 30 knots. Most riders were sailing either on 4.0 or 4.4 sails, as the wind continued to build even more throughout the first round.
The first round of competition already saw some exciting heats hit the water. Yentel Caers (JP Australia/Neilpryde) opened up his very first heat with a huge Double Air Culo right in front of the judges boat, receiving a huge 8.2 with his very first move of the competition. An early showdown between two Italian riders Eugenio Marconi (Duotone) and Pier Bongianni was a close battle, with Marconi just edging out in the end after a high scoring Kabikuchi and Burner 360. The highlight heat of the first round however ended up being the battle between Sokratis Saraliotis and Bodhi Kempen (Severne). The two traded moves throughout the entire heat, with Saraliotis coming out on top by just 0.5 points, throwing down some massive combos on the inside, with Air Flaka Ponches, Shaka 360s and Futures.
Round 2 once again saw some big heats with Yentel sailing yet another 40+ point heat against Tigo Kort (JP Australia / Neilpryde). Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne) showed why he's the one wearing yellow at this event, putting together an amazing heat against a charging Takumi Moriya (Severne), who also looked very in form after taking down Maarten Molenaar (GunSails / WeOne) in the first round. Both riders pulled out Shiftys on the inside, but Lennart was able to add to his big move with a Double Burner and Air Flaka Ponch amongst other moves, taking the win. The Greek showdown between Manolis Chrysopoulos (JP Australia / Neilpryde) and Sokratis Saraliotis came down to the wire, as the judges took additional time to re-calculate and evaulate the scores, with Chrysopoulos securing a place in the semis.
The first semifinal heat was a rematch of the FPT Sardinia finals, with Yentel Caers facing off against Jacopo Testa (GunSails / WeOne), who made it up to this point without much trouble. The Italian however was stopped once again by Caers who pulled out some huge moves, including a mandatory Yentel classic in a Double Air Culo, and a massive Shifty Shaka to take the win.
The second semifinal was an all-Greek showdown with Manolis Chrysopoulos facing off against Lennart Neubauer. What started off as an exciting heat, with both riders opening with nice moves was quickly derailed by Chrysopoulos severely cutting his lip open after losing control while ducking the sail, causing him to get off the water early, giving Neubauer the win.
The finals heat was a full-force display of freestyle prowess. Both Lennart and Yentel delivered amazing heats - both scoring over 40 points, with Neubauer putting together the highest heat score of the day nearly reaching 45. Yentel didn't hold back, sending yet another Double Air Culo on the way out in addition to a massive Air Kabi. On the inside, a clean Double Ponch and the highest scoring move of the day - a 9.1 Shifty Shaka were some of the highest-scoring moves on his scoresheet. However, Lennart looked unstoppable in this heat. Filling out his scoresheet with a Double Air Culo, Air Funnell Burner, Double Burner and Double Culo on the outside, and a Shifty and Air Flaka Ponch on the inside cemented the Greek rider as the victor of the Pro Men's single elimination.
After the Men's competition concluded, the Youth and Juniors fleet hit the water. They battled hard against the tough conditions, with some of the youngest competitors on tour, including Konstantinos Promponas sending sick Spocks at just 12 years old. Yoad Shaham was another standout performer, but nobody was able to best Pier Bongianni who was in a league of his own, comfortably picking up the single elimination victory after two heat wins in the small 5-man fleet.
After an official announcement of the winners of both eliminations, Day 1 of the FPT Paros came to a close - nuclear winds, exciting action and big moves all peered their heads today, and with the way the forecast is looking, the rest of the event is shaping up to be much of the same. Stay tuned to the Freestyle Pro Tour social channels and follow the action here on freestyleprotour.com to make sure you don't miss anything and keep up with the action!
Watch the Highlights from the first day here: