PWA World Cup Fuerteventura 2026 - Slalom X - Day 5
A showdown between Pierre Mortefon and Matteo Iachino
High tension on Fuerteventura – the men’s Slalom X world championship title was decided in the final race.
Pierre Mortefon and Matteo Iachino were the two riders vying for the title. The Italian held the advantage; he would have had to finish at least sixth in the first final of the day to secure the world championship title early.
But Matteo Iachino faltered and was eliminated in the semifinals; his fifth-place finish there wasn't enough to advance to the final. That opened the door for his French rival. Pierre Mortefon won the tenth race and thus kept his chances of winning the world championship alive.
This ramped up the tension, because even in the final race, Iachino knew he would have to finish at least sixth to secure the world championship title if Pierre Mortefon were to win that race as well.
Both sailors fought their way into the final, and then the race began around 4:00 p.m. local time. Matteo entered the jibe in the lead, navigated the sausage section with ease, and rounded the next two buoys in first place.
On the second-to-last run, Pierre Mortefon managed to overtake him. Iachino had to luff up and jump over a wave to avoid crashing, but then held on to second place all the way to the finish.
And that was enough to win the event on Fuerteventura and claim the title of Slalom X World Champion.
Second place went to Pierre Mortefon, and third place went to Maciek Rutkowski of Poland. Amado Vrieswijk’s third-place finish in the eleventh final was enough to move him past Nico Prien into fourth place. As a result, Nico finished this World Cup in fifth place.
Final resultsEndergebnis Slalom X men
1. Matteo Iachino (ITA)
2. Pierre Mortefon (FRA)
3. Maciek Rutkowski (POL)
4. Amado Vrieswijk (NB)
5. Nico Prien (GER)
Tomorrow, the wing foil freestylers will take over the arena at Sotavento Beach, followed later this week by wing foil races and a Supercross demo event featuring wings. The next PWA event will take place this coming Friday in Tenerife.
July 26, 2026 © DAILY DOSE | Text: Jürgen Schall | Fotos/Grafiken: fuerteventura-worldcup.org / Tom Brendt | translation: DE
