Current PWA tour leader Victor Fernandez (Fanatic/North) and his team mate Klaas Voget (Fanatic/Simmer) get tuned up in Klitmöller, where the second stop of the 2010 PWA wave tour will take place from 13th to 19th of September. Below you find a little interview , produced by Fanatic, about their stay so far, their expectations on the event and their goals. Both are favourites for the podium in the upcoming PWA wave events.
Victor, the upcoming worldcup is titled ‘Kia Cold Hawaii Worldcup’ – is it really that cold? How was your first session? Have you been in Klitmöller before?
VF:I guess is a bit cold when you come from the south of Spain for example,where we had 34 degrees right now, but it’s ok, I’m comfortable in my 4/3 wetsuit. This is my 3rd time here and we had really good windsurfing sessions.
It looks like you’ve found a pretty nice place to stay there! How’s the village? Are the locals looking forward to the event?
KV: Klitmöller is full of nice houses to rent, it’s a really friendly and calm Village right behind the dunes. The locals are really looking forward, i think it’s going to be the biggest sports event up here as far as i remember and Klitmöller is known for it’s excellent windsurfing conditions. The event is based on the support fom the local community, even the bakery has a windsurfer on their paperbags and supports the event. Former PWA Rider and Klitmöller local Robert Sand is working on the organization of this event for a long time already and I think he also can’t wait to see the green flag going up for the first heat.
VF: Yes,we rent a nice house near the sea, where we can check the conditions walking up the dunes. The village is beautiful and quiet. I think the locals must be exciting to have a PWA wave contest here for the first time. This place deserves it to have a high level contest because conditions can be very good.
Klaas, Klitmöller is almost your home ground. What kind of conditions can we expect for the contest?
KV: The wind system we have here is a classic low pressure winds from westerly directions. That’s when the northsea produces some good size waves. The stronger the wind, the better the waves are. Everything from south-southwest to northwest works in Klitmöller, but the best direction is southwest. Then the wind comes cross-sideshore from the left and the waves can be really good. The more the direction goes towards northwest, the further down we have to go into the bay and it will be more cross-onshore. Sometimes the wind can blow from northeastern direction and it can be starboard tack, but that’s rare and the waves normally stay pretty small.
How did you get prepared for the upcoming events in Klitmöller and Sylt?
VF: After the PWA World Cup in Pozo I stayed there for doing the Spanish Wave competition in Pozo and El Medano. Then at the beggining of August I have been training at the gym with my coach in Almeria. Afterwards I went to Canos de Mecca in Tarifa. I sailed 2 good days and drove dircetly to Guincho for a week to test some boards with Klaas and Sebastian Wenzel. Now I am here in Klittmoller preparing for this event already 2 weeks before the start.
KV: I scored a couple of good days up here in July. After that I’ve been in Guincho for testing boards, so I know what I will be using here. I’ve done quite bit of physical training in the past few weeks. Also I have spent a bit of time on the SUP, I even competed in the SUP Worldcup in Hamburg last weekend in a 10km race. I got punished by the pros, but it was still a good workout.
On the picture from your rental house at Klitmöller we see a lot of boards! What kind of gear did you guys bring to compete on the North sea?
VF: I bring a lot of gear with me. All my wave sails from 3.4 up to 5.7. I took 6 boards with me too, 2 production boards (76 Newave and 79 Quad), my 3 custom Quads from Pozo and a new Custom 90. lt is a single fin for light onshore winds for Klitmöller and Sylt.
KV: As the wind can be anything from X-Offshore to Onshore, from light to stormy, I have sails from 3.6 to 5.4 with me and different type of boards. I took two singlefin NewWaves (76 & 83) for the more onshore conditions, to get going early and fast and then have the production Quad 72 and 79, as well as two small customs around 70-72l, one singlefin and one quad, if the conditions will be more Cross-Shore or the wind gets really strong.
Next to you guys – who are the riders to look at in Klitmöller?
VF: I guess many other riders. We have variaty of conditions so it is going to be a difficult competition. Guys like Philip Köster, Ricardo Campello, Kauli Seadi, Dany Bruch, Dario Ojeda. They all have a great level and also a lot of experience.
KV: I think there are many guys, who can do really well up here. Philip Köster for sure, as one of the best, if not the best jumper on this tack. He could do really well, but also guys like Alex Mussolini, who won on Sylt last year. Kauli has been here at Klitmöller a few times and for sure he is hungry to get a better result than he got in Pozo. Also for Jonas Ceballos, Dany Bruch and Dario Ojeda it’s not the first trip to Denmark. Kenneth Danielsen is one of the hottest locals up here and could also do really well, as he knows the place like nobody else.
What are your goals for Klitmöller and the rest of the year?
KV: Klitmöller is my training ground and a lot of friends will be coming up from germany, so I’m looking for a place on the podium for sure. My dream final would be Fernandez vs. Voget 🙂
VF: My goal is always to do as good as I can. A victory here would be incredible for me and I am training hard for it to fight for the title. Thanks and good luck for the contest!
© Fanatic 2010
