Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam Day 2
by Chris Yates 19 Jul 18:48 BST
Balz Mueller is aiming for his first PWA podium © John Carter
Maaike Huvermann strikes hammer blow to lead Women's Freestyle, while Lennart Neubauer edges the closest of duels against Yentel Caers as Freestyle level goes through the roof.
The second day of the 2026 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam more than lived up to expectations as the contortionists of the Freestyle world once again raised the bar for what is possible in the Freestyle realm. Yesterday saw an incredibly high level already, but overnight the swell picked up slightly, while the wind continued to howl, which provided the perfect concoction of conditions for the world's best to take things to another level, while plenty of drama unfolded in both the Men's and Women's fleets.
Freestyle
Women's
Maaike Huvermann's (Severne Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) main objective at the start of the event was to defeat Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and earn a maiden world title, and after today, the 28-year-old has taken a major step towards achieving just that after beating Offringa in a tightly contested Single Elimination Final.
A Different Dynamic
Winning a heat against Offringa isn't something new for Huvermann. In fact it's something she has achieved on three separate occasions on the World Tour prior to today - Fuerte in 2017, Bonaire in 2019 and last year here again. However, the key difference here is that those victories were to force a Super Final in a Double Elimination, rather than winning a Single Elimination to lead the event. Huvermann didn't count a single sliding move as she performed a full power move assault to come out on top.
That might not sound particularly different on paper, but trying to defeat Offringa once in a Freestyle heat is difficult enough already, trying to do it twice in a row is nigh on impossible, so for Huvermann to have her nose ahead at a World Tour event is a huge deal. Of course, Huvermann will face an anxious wait as she prepares to try and defend her Single Elimination crown, but she will at least do so in the knowledge that she is now just one heat win away from achieving a lifelong dream of becoming world champion - and she'll even get two bites at the cherry if needs be.
An emotional Maaike Huvermann after winning the Single Elimination: "I'm stoked. I've waited about 15 years for this moment. It's a dream come true. I know it's not the end result, but to win the single is just amazing."
Meanwhile, Offringa is in a position in a Freestyle competition that she hasn't been in since 2007 here in Fuerteventura. The Aruban is used to being the one that everyone else has to hunt... now she is the one who needs to attack to keep her phenomenal record intact here.
Offringa is a class act and was as gracious in defeat as she is in victory, but I think she'd admit that she didn't sail her best final and as a 28-time world champion she's not going to go down without a serious fight. In both the quarters and the semis the Aruban broke the 30-point barrier, but a slow start in the Winners' Final cost her dearly. That's not taking anything away from Huvermann, who was brilliant and courageous, in fact it's a mark of respect towards her as the Dutch girl is perhaps the only sailor who can ruffle Offringa's feathers because she is a genuine threat in the Freestyle arena.
A gracious Sarah-Quita Offringa after the final: "Obviously, I'm a little bit gutted to not win the final because that's the goal when competing here in Fuerteventura. But overall, I'm extremely proud of my sailing today. I think I probably put together some of the best heats of my life in those first two rounds. I even landed a pasko in competition, which was a first for me and for the Women's division, so that is a total highlight.
Looking at my sailing, I'm extremely happy, and I'm also very happy for Maaike for taking the win—a big congratulations to her! The overall level today was really high and I'm glad to be a part of it. I'm excited in the Double. I showed in my first two heats that I can perform at a really high level, so that's going to be my mindset for the Double."
The Double Elimination is going to be super intriguing - and whatever the outcome - there's going to be a new piece of windsurfing history written into the books.
Lisa Kloster (Starboard) was a cut above the rest of the fleet and deservedly completes the podium at this stage. The German sailed a strong semifinal against Huvermann and things were neck and neck for a long time before Huvermann eventually asserted late on. However, Kloster can be proud of how she sailed today as she proved she has once again upped her level, while reducing the gap between herself and the top two after landing a variety of sliding and power moves.
Men's
The top two seeds - Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) and Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) successfully navigated their way into the Single Elimination Winners' Final to set up a mouthwatering battle after defeating Takumi Moriya (Severne Windsurfing) and Balz Müller (Severne Windsurfing), respectively, in the semifinals.
However, what was originally billed as a blockbuster final looked as though it may turn into an extremely one-sided affair after Neubauer came absolutely flying out of the blocks. The Greek raced through the 40-point barrier within the first half of the heat as he threatened to blow Caers out of the water, while the Belgian uncharacteristically struggled slightly early on.
Caers did well not to panic and instead slowly grew into the final and you could feel the momentum swing in the heat. After a blistering start it felt like Neubauer went quiet for a few minutes, while Caers exploded into life as he quickly landed a pasko, a shifty shaka and an improved double air culo to leave the two contortionists virtually level after producing a staggering level of Freestyle. Both sailors finished with exceptionally strong moves - an air bob into culo for Caers and an air funnel burner for Neubauer - but crucially, for Neubauer at least, his move was deemed the highest scoring move of the heat - 8.10 points - which ultimately swung the final in his favour. Come the end of the heat just 0.11 of a point separated the two sailors such was the closeness of their duel.
Neubauer was consistently the stand out sailor in the Single Elimination as the only sailor to post a heat score over 40-points in each of his heats sailed, but this will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of Caers, and you can be sure he'll be frothing for revenge in the Double Elimination, which promises to be just as exciting as the Single.
Neubauer already looking forward to the Double: "Right now I think freestyle is more alive than it has ever been. Balz [Müller] is proving that we are not done yet with new moves. A couple of years ago, we all thought things like the shifty, shifty-shakas, and double air culos were the new thing, but that's already old. I'm quite excited to start thinking about a bit of innovation myself."
Balz Müller (Severne Windsurfing) was in inspired form today and Mr. Freestyle deservedly earns his first top three finish in a Single Elimination after defeating Moriya in the battle for third and fourth place. Müller recorded the highest heat score of the entire Single Elimination in his quarterfinal against Jacopo Testa (WeOne / GUNSAILS / AL360) - 45.4 points - as he managed to bring his free sailing into the competitive scene.
Balz Müller on his first top three finish on the World Tour: "I'm speechless! I can't believe it. Usually when it comes down to the wire, I usually don't perform. The more I load myself up with stress, the more it's not working out most of the time, but today it worked out. I'm just so hyped to windsurf. I just need to empty my head of thoughts and go out there and do my thing and have fun. It's crazy, it took me 22 years to finally make it happen, it's insane. But I'm excited for the Double. It's not yet over, but I'll give my best."
Testa was hugely unlucky to come up against Müller as he posted the third highest score in the quarterfinals - 40.6 points - but was still eliminated. As a slight consolation, the Italian landed the highest scoring move of the day - 8.60 points - for a sick shuvit triple spock, which is the first time that has been seen in a contest. Testa had to do things the hard way last year as well when he eventually finished second, so he'll be one to keep a very close eye on in the Double.
Meanwhile, Moriya made it into the semifinals of the Single Elimination for the second consecutive year and is currently ranked fourth. The hugely talented Japanese sailor perhaps wasn't at his best in his quarterfinal against Steven Van Broeckhoven (WeOne / GUNSAILS), but still found enough to overcome the Belgian Maestro, before clicking into gear in the semifinals and producing more of the kind of performance everyone was expecting after last year's showing. The 19-year-old will now look to at least defend his fourth place in the Double.
The top five is currently completed by Dieter Van der Eyken (Severne Windsurfing), who pushed Neubauer all the way in the quarterfinals, Testa, Van Broeckhoven and Bodhi Kempen (Duotone Windsurfing) - who earns his best result to date in a Single Elimination; all four sailors currently share joint fifth place.
After the completion of the Single Elimination, the opening round of the Men's Double Elimination was also completed and so far the Italians of Ercole Rosso-Chioso (PATRIK), Pier Sergio Bongianni (RRD / AL360), Cosmo Pezzetti, Germany's Sebastian Gux (Tabou / GA Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), Bonaire's Björn Saragoza (HeyYou Sails), Sweden's Primus Sorling (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) and Curaçao's Luka Stomp (Point-7) all managed to book their places in the second round.
The forecast for Sunday looks almost identical to today - both in terms of wind and waves, so there should be more great conditions to resume the Double Eliminations in. The sailors will once again meet at 10:30am (GMT+1) for the skippers meeting with the action commencing from 11am onwards.
Waterspeed - Global Windsurfer Quest
From June until December, every kilometre you log on the Waterspeed app adds to your position on one global leaderboard — the Global Windsurfer Quest has been developed between Waterspeed and the PWA to bring the entire windsurfing community together. Sign up via the app now HERE and record one session before the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam for your chance to win a signed lycra from the winners.
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 simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Current Standing 2026 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Women's Freestyle
*After Single Elimination
1st Maaike Huvermann (NED | Severne Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Lisa Kloster (GER | Starboard)
4th Sandra Schill (GER)
Current Standing 2026 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Men's Freestyle
*After Single Elimination
1st Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Yentel Caers (BEL | JP / NeilPryde)
3rd Balz Müller (SUI | Severne Windsurfing)
4th Takumi Moriya (JPN | Severne Windsurfing)
5th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne Windsurfing)
5th Jacopo Testa (ITA | WeOne / GUNSAILS / AL360)
5th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | WeOne / GUNSAILS)
5th Bodhi Kempen (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
9th Sam Esteve (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Davy Scheffers (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Tim Gerdes (NED | Tabou / GA Sails))
9th Tigo Kort (NED | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Nicolas Akgazciyan (FRA | Goya Windsurfing)
9th Youp Schmit (NB | Flikka / HeyYou Sails)
9th George Grisley (UK | Duotone Windsurfing)