PWA World Cup Fuerteventura 2026 - Freestyle - Day 1
The top eight men are still in the running
The 38th Fuerteventura World Cup kicked off on Friday just as hoped: with plenty of wind. The trade winds, blowing diagonally offshore, had already been tugging at the palm trees throughout the night and causing doors and windows to rattle.
Before the action on the water got underway around 1:30 p.m., however, the traditional event was to be officially opened in proper style.
Local officials welcomed the riders, photos were taken, and freestyle world champion Yentel Caers was thrilled with the successful start: "This is going to be awesome. The wind is blowing hard. I'm really excited to be back here, and everyone is giving it their all. So it's going to be an exciting week for us freestylers and, later on, for the slalom riders, too."
And then it was off to a flying start. The men kicked things off, and while Yentel Caers was able to rest at first and didn’t face George Grisley until the second round, Lennart Neubauer posted the highest score of the day: the judges awarded him 41.8 points.
Balz Müller also advanced to the next round. With 37.7 points, he posted the second-highest score of the day in this first round.
Steven van Broeckhoven finished third in the day’s standings based on points in this round. Like all the other top performers, he also advanced to the next round. There were no unexpected surprises.
The elimination round continued immediately afterward. Caers defeated Grisley, and Neubauer eliminated Davy Scheffers. Once again, Lennart Neubauer was the only one to score over 40 points.
Yentel Caers came very close to the 40-point mark but still trailed Neubauer. Is this an omen, or can Caers still step it up?
And so — hopefully tomorrow — Dieter van der Eyken and Lennart Neubauer will face off in the quarterfinals, Balz Müller will take on Jacopo Testa, Takumi Moriya will face Steven van Broeckhoven, and Bodhi Kempen will have the pleasure of challenging Yentel Caers.
The eight women registered for the competition had the day off today. Like the men, they are expected to compete in their first event on Saturday as part of the single elimination bracket.
But judging by the weather forecast, that won’t be the end of it. The double-elimination bracket will continue to provide excitement. By the way, the women are competing for the world championship title, while the men will compete in one more event on Sylt.
July 18, 2026 © DAILY DOSE | Text: Christian Tillmanns | Fotos/Grafiken: fuerteventura-worldcup.org / Tom Brendt | translation: DE
