PWA/WWT Windsurf World Cup Sylt 2026 - Update 2
Men's Freestyle Action in Westerland
Westerland, September 27, 2026 — On Sylt, the second day of competition featured men’s freestyle action. As a reminder: The women’s freestyle and foiling events on Sylt were shortened. This is one of the differences from the other multi-discipline event on Fuerteventura. On the Canary Island, men and women are treated equally at such sporting events, including when it comes to per-person prize money. In exchange, there are “only” two disciplines to watch. With three disciplines, however, the Citroën Windsurf World Cup Sylt holds Super Grand Slam status and thus sits at the very top of the PWA hierarchy.
Twenty-three men are competing on Sylt to crown their world champion in this second and final Freestyle World Cup of the year. It’s a relatively small field. In Fuerte, there were still 30 competitors at the start. The only competitor flying the German flag is Arne Jörn, with sail number G-888. He was eliminated in the first round by Sam Esteve. Although top favorite Lennart Neubauer was born in Bremen, he competes for his adopted home of Greece.
And things are looking good for Lennart Neubauer in the race for the world championship title. His toughest competitor, Belgium’s Yentel Caers, was eliminated in the third round by a narrow margin of just one point against Japan’s Takumi Moriya.
This put Dieter van der Eyken—who put in a surprisingly strong performance—and Takumi Moriya in the first semifinal, while Balz Müller and Lennart Neubauer will face off in the second semifinal. As the wind died down, Van der Eyken defeated the Japanese competitor, making the 34-year-old PWA president the first confirmed opponent in the final. Then the wind died down completely. The decision therefore had to be postponed.
It’s shaping up to be an extremely exciting finish. Balz Müller had already made it onto the podium in Fuerteventura. The Swiss rider is taking big risks and could still pull off a surprise in the event standings.
The weather forecast doesn’t look promising, however. Here’s how the PWA assesses the situation. “As things stand now, it will be a real close call as to whether the single elimination can be completed, while Tuesday and Wednesday will hopefully be windy enough for competition—currently, 14 to 21 knots are forecast.” There’s no longer any talk of a freestyle double elimination, in which Yentel Caers could still fight her way to the top.
September 28, 2026 © DAILY DOSE | Text: Christian Tillmanns | Fotos/Grafiken: PWA / John Carter | translation: DE
