FPT: Freestyle at the boot trade show
At the FPT event, top-class windsurfing freestyle was on display on the 62-meter pool at boot show in Düsseldorf
For the second time, the Freestyle Pro Tour, in collaboration with boot Düsseldorf, hosted the first tour stop of the year on the 62-meter-long indoor pool in Hall 17. And for the second time, 28-year-old Dutch rider Maaike Huvermann took the women’s title. In the men’s division, Yentel Caers from Belgium narrowly edged out Lennart Neubauer, competing for Greece, after a thrilling final.
The 11 riders from Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and Belgium had already put on a spectacular show in the pool on Friday and Saturday.
Two riders from each group secured a spot in the final. While Europe’s top female freestyle windsurfer, Maaike Huvermann, faced off against the world’s third-ranked rider, Lisa Kloster, Lennart Neubauer and Yentel Caers battled it out in the men’s division. The “head-to-head” final presented a special challenge for the riders: whoever won a duel was not allowed to perform the winning trick again in subsequent rounds.
Seven-time European champion Maaike Huvermann won three out of three rounds and clinched the final in a quick series of heats ahead of Lisa Kloster.
Huvermann: “It’s great to be back here and to have won again. We’re not used to competing so close to the audience. That’s really special at boot.”
The 2025 World Championship runner-up, Lennart Neubauer, had already predicted a close men’s final. “Yentel and I will push each other to give more and more. We’ll probably raise the difficulty level and the scores with every run.” The 30-year-old Belgian achieved his highest score with a Double Culo, which the judges awarded 9.83 points.
It wasn’t until the fifth round that reigning world champion Caers prevailed with a Burner Air Funnel. 21-year-old Lennart Neubauer had to settle for second place.
Caers: “We put on a great show here! It was really fun and it’s something special to be able to hold a contest like this in a hall here in the middle of Germany in the winter.”
Women
1. Maaike Huvermann (NED)
2. Lisa Kloster (GER)
3. Elena Dominick (GER)
Men
1. Yentel Caers (BEL)
2. Lennart Neubauer (GRE)
3. Steven van Brokhoeven (BEL)
Other participants
Leander Halm (GER)
Foivos Tsoupras (GER)
Tigo Kort (NED)
Bodhi Kempen (NED)
Niclas Nebelung (GER)
January 25, 2026 © DAILY DOSE | Text: Hoeppner / Eva Puschmann | translation: DE
