2025 Freestyle Pro Tour Naxos - Day 3
by Freestyle Pro Tour 20 Oct 10:04 BST
17 - 21 October 2025
2025 Freestyle Pro Tour Naxos © PROtography official
Day three at the Freestyle Pro Tour Naxos started off calm once again, with light winds and no chance to kick off the fin eliminations. But calm conditions never stop the action on the FPT — and today, all eyes were once again on the Naxos Lagoon for the Tow-In Finals. After a packed week of qualifiers and semifinals, it was time to decide who would earn a coveted spot in the Super Final — three places for the men, three for the women.
The day opened with the women's final, featuring Maaike Huvermann, Lisa Kloster, Ziva Batis, Elena Dominick, and Linda Mankova. Each rider had three runs, with their two best moves counting toward their final score. The atmosphere was electric, with riders cheering each other on as they took turns launching off the kicker.
Despite strong efforts from both Linda Mankova and Elena Dominick, it wasn't their day — both riders went all-in on spocks and funnels but struggled with timing in the choppy conditions. Maaike Huvermann once again proved why she's the rider to beat, confidently landing an Air Funnel and a Burner off the wave to secure the top spot and book her place in Tuesday's Super Final.
Hot on her heels, Lisa Kloster pulled out a clean Funnel and even went for a double pop on her second run, nearly sticking the full two rotations before getting caught halfway through. It was still enough to claim second. In third, Ziva Batis, a newcomer to the Tow-In discipline, impressed with her composure and consistency, landing two perfect Funnels before attempting a Spock to close her session.
Next up was the men's final, and with just three Super Final spots available, the pressure was on. The 10-man fleet included both tour veterans and new names, with riders given just two runs and their best move counting.
Leander Halm continued his impressive run of form this week, throwing down a perfectly clean Burner 360 off the small kicker for a 7.67, while Piero Rautnik came close to landing the first Triple Funnel of the competition but had to settle for a 7.33 after stomping a solid Double Air Funnel on his first run. Both riders narrowly missed out on a top-three finish.
Yentel Caers once again delivered when it mattered most — a classic Air Funnel Burner at the buzzer secured him the final qualifying position. Takumi Moriya impressed the judges and crowd alike with a super technical Double Burner, one of the hardest moves in Tow-In, especially without the help of wind power to carry momentum through the second rotation.
But the standout performance of the day came from Tigo Kort. The Dutch rider has been on a mission all season, steadily improving event by event. After starting strong with a stylish Burner 360, Tigo went for broke on his second run, throwing a One-Handed Burner — a move similar to the one Sam Esteve landed to win in Geneva last week. Not only was it stylish, but technically brilliant, especially given the smaller kicker size in Naxos.
With the Tow-In action wrapped up, the riders came together for something different — a beach cleanup in celebration of World Beach Cleanup Day. Together with Flisvos Watersports Naxos, the crew collected bags of trash from the shore, a small but meaningful way for the riders to give back to the ocean that fuels our sport.
Just as the cleanup wrapped, darker clouds rolled in, and a light breeze started to fill the lagoon — the perfect setup for a quick Foilstyle session. With Lennart Neubauer and Dudu Levi already qualified from the first heat earlier this week, the second heat featuring Yentel Caers, Tigo Kort, Julien Join, and Leander Halm hit the water.
Conditions were light and tricky, with most riders on 5.2s and Leander pushing it on a 4.8. It turned into a game of consistency, with riders focusing on nailing clean, controlled moves rather than big-risk tricks. Yentel Caers sealed the deal with a Burner, Culo, and Air Funnel, scoring a 12.91 and advancing to the final alongside Tigo Kort, who landed Burners on both tacks and a Shaka on port to claim the last spot.
That set the stage for a Foilstyle final showdown between Lennart Neubauer, Dudu Levi, Yentel Caers, and Tigo Kort — but before the heat could kick off, the wind vanished as quickly as it arrived, forcing the heat to be postponed.
That should have been it for the day — but the wind had other plans.
As evening approached, the breeze returned once more, and the Foilstyle Final was suddenly on. The four riders — Lennart Neubauer, Dudu Levi, Yentel Caers, and Tigo Kort — hit the water, all but Dudu who was on 4.8, were on 5.2s, working hard to get up on foil in the marginal conditions. With only three moves to count and an extended 18-minute heat, consistency and confidence was the name of the game as the horn blew to kick off the last heat of the day.
Dudu Levi came out charging, going for Backloops, Burners, Culos, and Air Funnels, even adding a Shove-It Spock to the mix. Despite his solid effort, he admitted after the heat that he "crashed a lot" — his consistency just wasn't there today. Tigo Kort filled his scoresheet with Upwind Burners and a wet Pasko, but it wasn't enough to break into the top. Yentel Caers also struggled to match the level of his previous heat, despite two clean Paskos and a mix of Burners and Culos.
Then came Lennart Neubauer — and the hometown hero wasn't holding back. After a disappointing early exit in the Tow-In, the Greek rider came out firing, determined to redeem himself. In what he later called "one of the better foil heats of his life," Lennart delivered a masterclass in lightwind foil freestyle.
His heat sheet was stacked: Burners, Funnels, Shove-It Spock, Cana Brava, Chachoo, and more — but the highlights were undeniable. A clean Air Bob, a massive Pasko, and the move of the day — a Shifty on a 5.2 in completely flat water. The beach erupted as he landed it, a fitting finish to an unexpected session of world-class Foilstyle.
And with that, Day 3 at FPT Naxos came to a close. Tomorrow's forecast shows little promise, hinting at a potential lay day unless the wind surprises again for Foilstyle. The Tow-In Super Final remains scheduled for October 21st, where the top 3 men and top 3 women will battle it out amongst each other one last time for glory in Naxos.
Stay tuned to Freestyle Pro Tour channels for the latest updates, highlights, and all the action from the lagoon!