The EFPT Surf Opening 2022 is about to start on April 27
After an eventful winter break for many of the athletes, the Freestyle Pro Tour is very excited to announce that the opening event for 2022 season is a go! The riders trained all over the world this winter, and it’s exciting to finally see them perform at the EFPT kick-off event in Austria. The already classic event will take place from the 27th of April until the 1st of May, and will include Men and Women competing for a total of €15.000,- worth of prize money. 8 ladies and 30 men are registered for the this years Surf Opening at lake Neusiedler.
Lake Neusiedl is known as one of the best destinations for windsurfing in Austria and hopefully the wind will kick in at Neusiedl, the most northern located spot. North-western, northern, south-eastern, southern or south-western wind directions are working well and any of them will hopefully give the lift for the riders to show off their newly trained moves. Spring-time is one of the best times to visit this spot, as the wind will be strongest during the transitional seasons and the water temperatures are fine already.
A big windsurfing & watersport community and the buzz of a new season are the perfect conditions to start out this years European Freestyle Pro Tour with! EFPT
The Women are back
Possibly the most exciting news about the 2022 Surf Opening is the confirmation of the Women’s discipline. After successfully having their first event away from Brouwersdam last year in Theologos, the fleet will now be starting their European title race alongside the men on Lake Neusiedler! We rarely saw women competing at the Surf Opening or at the Surf Worldcup in Austria. We remember the year 2000, when Colette Guadagnino won in front of Tony Frey and Karin Jaggi. This year Maaike Huvermann is the top ranked rider and 2021 EFPT tour winner.
The Men fleet
Last years’ European champion Amado Vrieswijk will try to defend the victory from 2021 along with many other top riders. Amado is the top ranked rider on the list. But riders like Yentel Caers, Jacopo Testa, Adrien Bosson, Sam Esteve, Steven van Broeckhoven, Dieter van der Eyken and many more will challenge the World & European champion from last season. We will be there – it’s our home turf – and follow the action!! See you on the beach.
I’m very excited to start the freestyle season defending my European title at the Neusiedler lake. It’s a very fun spot and I hope to see everyone there! Amado Vrieswijk
The 2021 winners in the EFPT event in Neusiedl Austria: Amado Vrieswijk on top, Jacopo Testa in second and Yentel Caers in third.
- full result & highlight video from the 2021 EFPT event in Austria
Who isn’t on the entry list?
A few big names aren’t on the list: Gollito Estredo, Italian Giovanni Passani and Marco Vinante, the Bonaire crew with Youp Schmit, Taty Frans, Kiri Thode, German Julian Wiemar and Valentin Böckler, Austrian Gabriel Heider or local riders Max Matissek and Max Brinnich. In the ladies fleet Sarah-Quita Offringa, Oda Johanne or Arrianne Aukes aren’t pre-registered. Let’s see if anyone of these riders will show up on the registration day.
Rookies camp
Like last year, the EFPT Austria Surf Opening will be preceded by one of our Rookie camps. On the weekend of the 23rd-24th of April Rookie Coach Dieter van der Eyken will bring a new generation of freestylers to the next level, preparing them to participate in the main event a few days later.
The wind forecast
It’s looking promising on the first two events days so far. Wind from northern direction is predicted , what works quite well on the most northern located spot on Lake Neusiedler. Here are a few more insider infos about the spots on Lake Neusiedler by local Max Matissek.
Ladies starting list (8 women):
Clare Elliott
Elena Dominick
Hanna Poschinger (2)
Iris Zechner
Lina Schmied
Lisa Kloster
Maaike Huvermann (1)
Sterre Meijer (3)
Men starting list (30 men):
Adrien Bosson (9)
Amado Vrieswijk (1)
Andreas Rössler
Antoine Albert (7)
Bodhi Kempen (11)
Dieter Van der Eyken (5)
Dudu Levi (16)
Felix Volkhardt (8)
Eliran Levi
Eugenio Marconi (13)
George Grisley
Ilay Bamnolker
Jacopo Testa (3)
Jamie Howard
Julian Koldeweid
Lucas Nebelung (12)
Mathias Vingaard
Matteo Testa (10)
Maurizio Moritz
Michi Czech
Niclas Nebelung (14)
Oliver Townsend
Paul Simmerl (15)
Pawel Kamierczak
Pawel Palichleb
Sam Esteve (6)
Steven Van Broeckhoven (4)
Tigo Kort
Tim Gerdes
Yentel Caers (2)
