The first EFPT freestyle event of the 2015 season was successful, despite a really small fleet of participants and a competition ban on the first day of the event. The 2014 European Freestyle Champion Steven van Broeckhoven won the event, but the rest of the podium saw new names: Hugo De Sousa and Adrien Bosson. It was the biggest success for the Brazilian in his career so far and the French rider proved his great form after an intense winter training.
A spot overview on Milos Beach (Pic: EFPT)
Steven van Broeckhoven, the winner at Milos Beach 2015
I am happy to win the first tour stop of the EFPT. It was a small fleet, but the level was high. First day we had epic conditions but unfortunately we couldn’t compete because the port police said it was to dangerous for them to rescue. 2nd day we were lucky that the wind kicked in around 5pm which was perfect for my 5.1 m. First heat was against Vladimir Yakovlev, then Adrien Bosson and final against Hugo de Sousa. Hugo was ripping that day and was sailing really strong in his heats. So, I had to make sure to put a good heat together. The wind started to drop during our final heat, it was very tricky, but in the end I sailed a solid one.
Steven van Broeckhoven was the best rider at Milos Beach (Pic: EFPT)
Hugo de Sousa, 2nd place
I had a very good “light wind training” for a quite long period during this winter in Bonaire and it really paid off in Greece! The wind was around 15 to 19 knots, exactly how it is most of the days in Bonaire. So I felt ready and comfortable on the water. Also the Sorobon Masters competition in Bonaire gave me a good preparation, which took place just a few days before the event.
It was a super nice experience for me to finally land most of my moves consistently in every heat! To sail in the final against Steven van Broeckhoven was just great!! Considering that on Starboard tack I had a better heat than Steven and basically lost because of port tack, as I had only 3 moves and crashed one duck and my Culo, it makes me really happy to see that I am also able to compete well. I’m now super motivated for the Canaries and look forward for the second EFPT event in Lanzarote.
From the 25th of June until the 30th I will be in Porto Pollo for a Freestyle Workshop with RRD, which is open to everybody from 14 years! So hopefully I will see a few of you guys there. Thanks to all my supporters and sponsors for everything! And see you on the Canaries!
Hugo de Sousa interviewed by race director Tom Hartmann (Pic: EFPT)
Adrien Bosson, 3rd place
I am now back home and happy with my 3rd place in Milos. It was my first time in Greece and after 4 days there, I can say that I really like the place. The center in Milos is really nice and the spot as well. It’s a thermical spot, so everyday, in the afternoon when it’s sunny, the wind starts to blow and we were able to sail with our big equipment. We couldn’t compete the first day because of a police restriction… However the second day was amazing, 18 knots and less swell than the day before, warm and blue water. The perfect playground for freestyle.
I was a little bit scared first as I didn’t train much with my 5.2m this winter in Cape Town and the weeks before at home, but after sailing the first day with 5.2m and a good warm up during the hours before the single started I was more confident and I had some good heats. I really enjoyed that day and at the end I am third by beating Rick Jendrusch in the losers final.
On day 3, the wind starts blowing earlier and I went for a warm up session to be ready for the double elimination. Unfortunately the wind dropped after the first heat of the double and never returned that day. We had only one single elimination, but we were on the water every day. The wind is always a little bit light, but when it gets a little bit stronger, it’s really nice for freestyle windsurfing! I definitely will come back next time!
The next EFPT event will be on Lanzarote and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m pretty sure that we gonna have some good conditions there! And the same for the other EFPT events in 2015! I’d like to thank my sponsors Fanatic and NorthSails, who give me the possibility to participate in the whole EFPT tour this year!
Adrien Bosson returns from his heat (pic: EFPT)
Tom Hartmann, EFPT race director and head judge
After the Tow-in contest in Podersdorf the first official EFPT windsurf freestyle competition kicked off in Lefkada/Greece. It was great to be back after 2011 at Milos Beach that hosted the EFPT for the 5th time this year. We had really good conditions for the beginning of the event to run a single elimination, but could not finish the whole double elimination due to cloudy weather on the last 2 days that did not help the thermical winds to evolute its full potential. It was a smaller, but quite strong fleet registered this time and the level was really high showing that all the riders made their homework over wintertime. Steven Van Broeckhoven was still the man to beat with his clean, powerful and technical moves. He took victory in the final over Hugo de Sousa from Brazil, who was giving an impressive show through the whole competition firing some of the biggest air moves with explosive style. Now we have a break of 4 weeks where most riders are off for some more freestyle training before heading to Canary islands for the next EFPT event in Lanzarote and the PWA World Cup in Fuerteventura. These are going to be two interesting events with usually stronger winds and more waves … looking forward to the action already!
©continentseven.com 2015, EFPT
