Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam Day 2
by Chris Yates 20 Jul 12:52 BST
Racing on Day 2 on Day 2 of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam © Carter / PWAWorldTour.com
Day two of the 2025 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam didn't disappointment as the Sotavento wind machine continued, although slightly lighter than yesterday, especially earlier on in the day.
The world's best racers were once again given a stern test as variable winds together with a lumpy sea meant they had to be alert at all times with a new swell also running through the course. By the end of the second day, another four eliminations for women have been completed, while a further three eliminations for the men were finished and things remain incredibly close at the top as we head into the last three days of racing.
Slalom X
Women's
Having had thoughts about whether to continue racing last night after yesterday's hardcore conditions, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) will no doubt be a much happier campier at the end of day two as she now leads the event after the opening eight eliminations. The Aruban started the day with two solid second places before extending her advantage at the top by securing back-to-back bullets to sign off, which were her first wins since the opening elimination.
Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) couldn't quite repeat yesterday's performance, but even so, she enjoyed another decent day on the water as she never finished outside of the top four in today's racing with a second, third and two fourths and although she has lost pole position the 25-year-old is still Offringa's closest rival, but now trails by 4.3 points.
Justine Lemeteyer (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) picked up where she left off yesterday to start with as she bagged another two third places in Eliminations 5 and 6, but then she lost a bit of momentum with a fifth and an eleventh place, which sees her lose some valuable ground to the top two.
What a Difference a Day Makes
Having experienced a disastrous start yesterday, Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) enjoyed a much better day as she managed to show her true potential. The Brit started the day in eight place, but rises all the way into fourth place at the close of the second day and is now just 0.1 of a point behind Lemeteyer in third.
Gibson completed a brilliant hat-trick to start the day before doing brilliantly to battle back in Elimination 7 after round the first buoy in last she managed to battle back into third place, while she then finished the day with an excellent second place to cap a great day on the water and she is now firmly back in the hunt for the podium.
With Gibson flying up the ladder, Blanca Alabau (WeOne / Severne Sails) and Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) both slip one place to fifth and sixth respectively and those two are locked in a tight duel with just a point separating the.
Men's
Maciek Rutkowski (JP / NeilPryde) continues to build on his bright start from yesterday and the Pole currently leads the event after the opening five eliminations by 2.3 points. Rutkowski has raced brilliantly thus far and started the day by securing his second bullet in three races before claiming another solid second place in Elimination 4. Rutkowski then finished outside of the top two for the first time this week in Elimination 5, but he currently discards that result such has been his level of consistency.
Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing) remains right in the thick of the action in second place, but loses a little bit of ground on Rutkowski after today's three eliminations. The reigning Foil Slalom and Slalom X world champion is yet to finish outside the top three and would probably normally be leading the ranking with his current performance, but for an on-song Rutkowski and the remaining three days are shaping up to be thrillers with a great battle on our hands.
After finishing sixth in the opening elimination of the day, Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) knew it was absolutely imperative that he claim a bullet within the next race or two if he wanted to stay in contention and that's exactly what the Italian managed to do as he claimed a clearcut victory in Elimination 4, but he still loses an extra point from the overnight rankings - now 4.3 points off the top compared to 3.3 points at the start of the day. The defending event champion currently discards the sixth place from Elimination 4, but will need to crack the recipe for more bullets over the next three days as it doesn't look the top two are going to put a foot wrong at the moment.
Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) enjoyed a great day on the water as he secured his first elimination victory since Gran Canaria last year, while incidentally this is the first time the Flying Dutchman has managed to win an elimination in Fuerte. Vonk enjoyed a phenomenal battle with Mortefon in the last elimination of the day, but laid the pedal to the metal heading into the final gybe to power past his French rival to secure the bullet, which he was understandably delighted with. Vonk now has his sights set on more bullets and trying to force his way into the podium positions - currently 4 points off of Iachino in third. As well as his victory, Vonk earned an excellent second place in Elimination 3, while he currently discards his seventh place from the fourth elimination.
Elsewhere, Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) gains five places from the overnight rankings which sees the Bonairean rise from tenth into fifth place. After a shock quarterfinal exit in yesterday's second race, Frans was able to discard that today as he qualified for all three Winners' Finals where he finished fourth, fifth and seventh to cap a fine day.
Fellow Bonairean, Amado Vrieswijk (Point-7), slips one place to sixth after missing out on the Winners' Finals for the first time this week in Eliminations 3 and 4. Vrieswijk was able to win both b-finals for maximum damage limitation before ending the day with a sixth place as he pipped Frans on the finish line.
Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) also slips one place to seventh after a slightly mixed bag of results, which started with a 15th, but then got progressively better with a tenth before signing off day two with a fifth place.
Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) started the day in seventh place and the 23-year-old made a bright start to proceedings as he booked his secured his place in the top eight of the two opening eliminations, but unfortunately, during Elimination 4 the Frenchman suffered a significant cut on his arm, which required stitches and a trip to the hospital, which sadly rules him out for the remainder of the event and he now faces a race to be fit in time for Tenerife.
The top ten is completed by Jimmy Thieme (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) - 9th - with the Frenchman earning one of his best finishes to date on the World Tour in Elimination 4 - 4th - while Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) - 10th - will be ruing his luck that the Elimination 3 b-final had to be cancelled at the death due to the fourth mark drifting when he was winning the heat.
Bruno Martini (I-99 / S2Maui) breaks into he top 16 - 11th - after getting things together in Eliminations 4 and 6 - where he finished 6th and 9th.
The top 16 is completed by Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails), Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails), Lohan Jules (I-99 / S2Maui), Alexandre Cousin (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) and Pierre Macquaert (JP / NeilPryde), who qualified for his first Winners' Final of the event in the last elimination.
With another solid forecast to come the skippers' meeting has been called for 11:30am (GMT+1) with the action commencing from 12pm onwards - once the wind has properly filled in.
You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker via www.pwaworldtour.com
Current Ranking 2025 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Women's Slalom X
After 8 Eliminations (2 Discards)
1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Femke van der Veen (NED | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails)
4th Jenna Gibson (GBR | Duotone Windsurfing)
5th Blanca Alabau (ESP | WeOne / Severne Sails)
Current Ranking 2025 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Men's Slalom X
After 5 Eliminations (1 Discard)
1st Maciek Rutkowski (POL | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
5th Taty Frans (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
6th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
7th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
8th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
9th Jimmy Thieme (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails)
10th Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)