Bonaire local Youp Schmit wins the 2023 FPT King and Queen of the Caribbean in front of Lennart Neubauer and Yentel Caers.
FPT Bonaire winners 2023 – Pic: EFPT
As there were not enough participants for an all-women event, Sarah-Quita Offringa and Oda Johanne Brødholt participated in the men fleet. Sarah-Quita finished in a shared ninth place but had a tough battle with Yentel Caers in the double elimination.
The Queen of Freestyle was excited about the prospect of competing with men as it was something she hasn’t done since she was a kid. Even though Caers has a World and European title under his belt, he rightfully pointed out that he is up against a 20x World Champion. The heat was quite close, with Offringa busting out a radical and clean Spock Culo on the inside of the competition area. Caers felt the pressure but kept cool and put together a solid heat to advance to the next round. The Belgian had an excellent comeback run in the double elimination all the way to place three where his run got stopped by Lennart Neubauer.
Sarah-Quita Offringa competes with the men – Pic: EFPT
Returning from injury- hungrier than ever – Lennart Neubauer meant business and was not phased by Caers’ comeback. In the space of 7 minutes, he landed Spock Culo’s on both tacks, numerous Flaka/Shaka/Ponch variations, double power moves like Air Funnel Burners and Double Culo’s, and a soaring Kabikuchi as a cherry on top. Caers also sailed a massive heat, with an exceptionally nice Air Bob Culo. Still, his moves, however impressive, lacked the power that his opponent put on display. When Neubauer landed on the beach after the showdown and got asked about how he felt, he calmly responded that “that was only the best heat of my life”. He also disclosed another essential piece of information that had slipped everyone’s attention – the Youth European Champion was on a 5.6 throughout the whole matchup.
Youp Schmit wins the event – Pic: EFPT
Unsurprisingly, the Greek won and got a second chance against the winner of the single elimination Youp Schmit. Neubauer would need to beat Schmit twice to claim the event win and the crowd was yearning to see that happen. The final started with a Culo 360 from Lennart, who nearly slid into Youp as he closed out the move. Backed by his home crowd, Youp powered on with a Shaka Flaka. Lennart raced past and went for a Flaka Ponch but crashed. He decided to swap his 5.6 for a 5.2, but that decision seems to have been to his detriment. He crashed a couple of moves and had to get his head back in the game. Schmit wasn’t slowing down and kept filling up his scoresheet. There was an impressive comeback though, with Spock Culo’s on both tacks from Lennart, as he attempted to prove his versatility. Both riders lost a lot of ground towards the end of the heat, stretching the limits of what was considered the competition area. With a Chachoo crash on the buzzer by Lennart, the heat was over and Youp Schmit was announced as the event winner.
Check out a video of the final heat.
Youp Schmit vs. Lennart Neubauer Double Elimination Final – FPT King and Queen of the Caribbean
Result – FPT King & Queen of the Caribbean 2023
1. Youp Schmit
2. Lennart Neubauer
3. Yentel Caers
4. Bodhi Kempen
5. Nigel Hart
6. Tim Gerdes
7. Steven van Broeckhoven
7. Adam Sims
9. Bimbi Clappers
9. Pawel Kazmierczak
9. Tigo Kort
9. Sarah-Quita Offringa
etc.
