PWA Ulsan Slalom World Cup Korea 2010

The 2010 PWA Ulsan World Cup, Korea - Event Preview

Prepare for breakneck speeds and cunning tactics as the PWA’s fastest race fleets descend on Ulsan’s Jinha beach for the opening round of the 2010 slalom season.

From May 15th through to May 21st an elite group of windsurfers will battle it out around the buoys to make their mark on the first stop of the 2010 PWA slalom world tour. The beautiful beaches around the town of Ulsan will provide a dazzling backdrop to the fierce competition that will be taking place on the tropical waters of the Sea of Korea.

Tipped For The Top

Men
We wouldn’t expect anything less than for the undisputed champion of modern slalom, Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde), to be firing on all cylinders and to clean up at yet another event. He’s dominated the racing scene in Korea for the past two years, and hasn’t dropped out of the top 3 for as long as we can remember, so we doubt he will here.

The only people to have knocked Albeau from the top spot at an event over the last four years, and have the serious potential to do it again, are British boy racer Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra) who beat him in Podersdorf last year, the terminator Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne) who took honours from Albeau in 2008 at both Alactai and Sylt. And, Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine) and Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde) who finished first and second respectively at the first ever PWA world cup in Ulsan during 2007, leaving Albeau to settle for third.

Also in with a chance of claiming a place on the podium is heavyweight speedster, Finian Maynard (RRD, Gaastra). Following an impressive run of events towards the back end of last season, Maynard climbed the ranks to finish second overall. With a new sail sponsor to impress and plenty of determination, you can count on him hitting the racecourse hard this year, starting with Ulsan.

Another name whispered through the wind is that of flying Frenchman, Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard, North). He notched up a few podium finishes last year, and we’ve been told by more than one source that he’s up to speed and ready to make his mark.

Women
The ongoing battle between Switzerland’s amazingly successful world champion Karin Jaggi (Patrik Diethelm, Severne) and the fierce French champion Valerie Ghibadou (Tabou, Loft) finally tipped in Ghibadou’s favour last season, with her taking three straight bullets and the world title. As it stands, Ghibadou is yet to enter Korea, leaving the doors wide open for the legendary Jaggi to claim an early lead…

That is if the likes of hardened young racer Sarah Herbert (Starboard, Naish sails) and freestyle world champion turned slalom racer Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra) allow her! Herbert had a successful season in 2009 scoring higher than Jaggi at the final event in Alacati, perhaps she’ll claim her first crown in Korea. Offringa entered just one round of racing last year, as a bit of taster, and finished ahead of both Jaggi and Herbert. Being used to toppling seasoned pros off the top spot surely makes Offringa a likely contender in Korea.

In it to win it

With a €55,000 prize purse up for grabs, expect high-octane explosive action whilst the very best sailors in the world push their boards to the limits around the fast and furious downwind slalom course.

Keeping In The Groove

For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com

Here you can use our:
• Live ticker service for heat-by-heat bulletins
• Check live elimination ladders
• View results
• Read daily news summaries
• Browse awesome action photo galleries

There’s also a dedicated event website for fans at www.pwaulsan.com

Or for more information, please contact the PWA office via info@pwaworldtour.com

PWA/Paul Griffiths

Boah, hoffentlich bessert sich die Windprognose noch. Gerade mit E-11 telefoniert, windstill ist es vor Ort.

Das war Tag 1:

Zitat von PWA

The 2010 PWA Ulsan World Cup, Korea – Day 1

The Sea of Korea is all set for the inevitable onslaught of the coming days, and the local community gear up to welcome the charismatic competitors at what is bound to be an extravagant opening ceremony where local culture meets western rock with a sky full of fireworks.

For the fourth year in a row Jinha beach will play host to the PWA’s most poignant players at the inaugural event of the 2010 slalom season. Over the course of the morning, fifty-seven men, and thirteen women fled to the beach with gear in hand to register their intention to race round the buoys and stake their claim to the overall world crown.

Who’s Who
In the men’s fleet, the very best racers from around the globe made the trip to Korea, including a long list of former PWA champions from the 2009 slalom world title holder Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde), to the twelve times overall world champion, Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne), the 2007 Ulsan World Cup winner Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine), and the 2009 Podersdorf champion Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra).

The women’s fleet in Ulsan is also a star-studded affair with the likes of thirteen times PWA world champion, Karin Jaggi (Patrick Diethelm, Severne), battling it out with freestyle world champion turned slalom racer Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra), French champion Sarah Hebert (Starboard, Naish), and many more.

A Day At The Beach
Light winds gave both the men’s and women’s fleets plenty of opportunity to relax and rig their new gear to perfection. A gentle breeze tempted a few sailors out on the water on their 9m+ sails and big boards, but they were left to quietly admire the tropical views rather than tear it up round the racecourse’s turquoise waters.

Race Ready
Whilst the sailors were preparing, we took the opportunity to catch up with a few of the fleet’s hotshots to find out what they’ve been working on over the winter.

Robby Swift (JP, NeilPryde)
“Antoine, Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde), and myself have been hard at work developing the new race sails. This year we’ve gone for something which has a much lower aspect ratio, which we believe gives more bottom end grunt, and has less swing weight, allowing us more control and better performance around the race course.”

Josh Angulo (Angulo, Gun)
“As you know, I’ve recently signed a new deal with Gun sails, and so I’ve been tuning those up recently. But, before all of that came about I was working really hard on our Magnum slalom boards. Last year they were very quick in a straight line but weren’t performing as well as they could have in certain race situations, so I’ve tweaked them slightly to make sure they go round a course much better this season. Now the boards have more lift which will help when I’m in dirty air or I need to pinch up to make a mark in lighter winds.”

Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard, North)
“I’ve been working really hard all winter on absolutely everything. I spent 6 weeks working on the sails in Maui with Kai Hopf and barely had time to sleep! Since then I’ve been working non stop on my new boards, as well as testing the North Shox.”

Finian Maynard (RRD, Gaastra)
“When I started working with Gaastra at the end of last year, I thought I would have a lot to do in terms of getting the sails to work well with my boards, but they actually paired up extremely well. So I’ve put quite a lot of time into developing the new X-Fire’s, especially the bigger board, as that was the area I felt needed improving the most.”

The forecast is looking hopeful for the week ahead here on Jinha beach, so we should see some first class action as and when the wind arrives.

Stay In The Groove
For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com

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Heute gab es 3 komplette Durchgänge der Herren:

Im Gesamtranking führt Antoine Albeau vor Björn Dunkerbeck und Micah Buzianis.

Den 1. Durchgang hat A2 gewonnen, den 2. Dunki, den 3. Finian.
Gut gemischt...

Das war Tag 2:

Zitat von PWA

The 2010 PWA Ulsan World Cup, Korea – Day 2

The French flag is flying high with Alice Arutkin and Antoine Albeau leading their respective fleets after an adrenalin-pumping day in Ulsan.

When the clock struck twelve on the second morning of competition, Jinha beach turned into a hive of activity as an elite group of windsurfers were let loose on the race course for the opening round of the 2010 PWA slalom world tour.

The women opened up the proceedings with the utmost finesse, and completed four frantic rounds of competition before calling it a day. With fifty-seven registered in the men’s fleet, every full elimination saw fourteen heats before the finals begun. The hardy competitors endured three rounds of high-octane action before the sun went down on a remarkable day in South Korea.

Albeau On Top… Just
Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) proved consistency is key after racing to the front of the fleet on the Sea of Korea, scoring a bullet in the first round final, a fourth in the second, and a second in the third elimination today.

Reaffirming his dominance, Albeau was streets ahead in the first winner’s final leaving fellow JP/Pryde team mate, Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde) to settle for second, and Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne) with third.

After such a strong performance in the opening round, everyone thought that Albeau would be unstoppable for yet another year. However, the Terminator, and a few other sailors, thought differently. Dunkerbeck laid his cards on the table from the word go, accelerating ahead of the pack to gain a comfortable lead and take line honours. Could this be a return of his winning ways? PWA President, Jimmy Diaz (Starboard, North) was also on impeccable form during this final, proving that he too has what it takes to battle with the best, finishing second. Israeli sensation, Arnon Dagan (Tabou, Gaastra), put in a great performance also, leaving Albeau to fight it out for fourth.

Following a dreadful start to the regatta due to being over the start line early in his first heat, a lightening quick Finian Maynard (RRD, Gaastra) stormed to victory in the final of race three. This left Albeau tussling for second with another of his long term rivals, Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra).

Arutkin All Over It
A consistent set of results helps Arutkin to lead the way here in Ulsan.

The women’s fleet was battling hard right from the start, with a general recall in the first race of the season. Those pushing it to the extremes were the former world champion, Karin Jaggi (PD, Severne), and archrival, Sarah Hebert (Starboard, Naish). This left the course clear for rising star, Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North) to power off towards the first mark and never look back. Morane Demont (Starboard, Severne) followed her fellow French lady to second, with Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra) settling for third.

Race two saw Hebert make amends to her score card by taking the next bullet, with Arutkin having to follow in both hers and Demont’s wake.

In the third race of the day, the legendary Jaggi showed the girls why she’s the most successful female racer on the planet with a return to form and a victory in the pocket. Arutkin continued to play the consistency game, and notched up a solid second place.

Offringa flew off the start line in the fourth race, and led by a considerable margin until the last mark where it all went horribly wrong. Having not seen the world champion fall off during an explosive freestyle heat for a while, it was a shock to see her swimming at the gybe mark. Arutkin was quick to take advantage, and stole the show from Offringa.

Close Call
Britain’s Dan Ellis (Mistral) and Frenchman Benoit Moussilmani (Starboard, Simmer) met with some force, causing a spectacular crash on the first leg of their heat in race two. The unfortunate moment left Benoit sporting some interesting headgear for the remainder of the day making him easily recognisable from the beach. However, it didn’t seem to effect his performance too much as he stormed to 2nd place in the loser’s final of the last race!

Final Words
Antoine Albeau
“It’s always tough at the first event because everybody turns up with new gear, and I’d only trained with Micah and Robby Swift (JP, NeilPryde) over the winter, so I wasn’t really sure who would be going fast. There are loads of guys that could have made tremendous improvements over the winter, and we don’t get to find out until the first event. I’m still trying to get used to my new sails too on the course, but I’m very happy with how they’re performing. The 9.5 was great in the first and last race along with my big board, and the 8.6 went well with my medium sized board in race two. Overall I’m pleased with my performance and happy to be leading for the moment.”

Finian Maynard
“Just six weeks ago I encountered a fairly large injury to my left knee, and it’s not back to 100% yet, so I was quite worried about how I’d perform here. My last race win has filled me with confidence though, so I’ll continue to push it hard for the rest of the event, and see where I end up.”

Results
Men
1st Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) 6.7pts
2nd Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne) 7.7pts
3rd Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde) 15pts
4th Arnon Dagan (Tabou, Gaastra)19pts
5th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard, North) 20pts

Women
1st Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North) 3.4pts
2nd Karin Jaggi (PD, Severne) 7.7pts
3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra) 8.0pts

Stay In The Groove
For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com

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Eben mit E-11 telefoniert, er wusste ja auch nicht, wo er steht dies Jahr. Er ist relativ optimistisch, der Speed sei da, sagt er...
Fehlt halt leider nur an Wind, heute war nix.

Zitat von herry

Hi,

und A.A. aktuell auch mit dem nach innengelegten schothorn ala gaastra unterwegs...

Das habe ich vor Monaten schon gesagt, daß Pryde wohl etwas mehr im Köcher hat als nichts neues. Man sah es ja in der Beschreibung zur Registrierung...

Tag 3 ist um:

Zitat von PWA

The 2010 PWA Ulsan World Cup, Korea – Day 3

The French double ‘A’ duo remain at the front of their fleets after a frustrating day waiting for wind on Jinha beach.

A sunny start to the day saw everyone rise early with high hopes of completing a few more rounds of competition. Right from the start the wind teased many of the world’s finest onto the beautiful Sea of Korea, but unfortunately it wasn’t consistent enough to hold any official heats.

With plenty of time for rest and recovery, and the sailors on standby for most of the day, we took the opportunity to talk to the young rising star from France, Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North), about her performance here and her plans for the future. At just 18 years old, she’s suddenly found form, and will surely be a future PWA champion before long.

PWA: How does it feel to be at the pinnacle of world tour slalom right now?
AA: “I’m really happy to be in 1st place at the moment, and also very surprised because I didn’t get the opportunity to train that much this winter as I broke my foot. I only really got back on my slalom gear a couple of weeks ago at the IFCA Youth Championships where I also surprised myself with a win!”

PWA: What were your goals for the event?
AA: “To finish in the top 3. I really hope that I can achieve this now.”

PWA: The 1,3,2,1 on your score sheet must have given you the confidence that you can do that surely?
AA: “Well, I’m not usually very confident about my racing, especially against people like Karin Jaggi (Patrik, Severne), Sarah Hebert (Naish), Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra), and Morane Demont (Starboard, Severne). They’re all such good sailors, but like I said, hopefully I’ll be able to stay in the top 3.”

PWA: What gear were you using in the races yesterday?
AA: “In the first few races I was on my North F10 9.0m and my Starboard Isonic 111, and then for the last race when it was a bit windier I changed down to my 8.0m and 101. That probably sounds like big gear, but I have to feel fully powered up when I’m racing, otherwise I’m not very comfortable.”

PWA: Will you be training hard back at home in France before Costa Brava?
AA: “No. I wish I could, but I have to go back to school and finish my exams, so I wont have any time on the water between the end of this event and going to Spain.”

PWA: Will you be competing on the wave tour again this year?
AA: “Yes, for sure. I really enjoy wave sailing and love going to the events because there’s no pressure on me to perform, which means I can learn more and have fun with inspirational people. It’ll be really tough for me to break into the top 5 there, but I’ll try my best.”

PWA: After finishing your exams, will you concentrate on windsurfing for the next few years or will you be heading off to university?
AA: “I would really like to carry on competing on the world tour, but I also want to go to university, so I’ll try to combine the two from September onwards.”

Looking Ahead
The forecast for tomorrow looks promising so we should see some more of Alice and the rest of the competitors on the water in the very near future.

Stay In The Groove
For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com

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Zitat von Matze3010

Ich kann mir irgendwie kaum vorstellen, dass E-11 bei seinen Körpermaßen nicht ähnlich große oder größere Segel fahren kann um auch auf genug Vortrieb zu kommen???

So gravierend können doch die Materialunterschiede in der Zwischenzeit nicht sein, oder irre ich mich da???

Das Problem ist nicht, daß er es nicht könnte. Aber man ist ja limitiert was die Segelgrößen angeht. Du mußt dich vor dem ersten Worldcup für 6 Segelgrößen entscheiden, nur die darfst Du im ganzen Jahr benutzen. Wenn die Größen für die diesjährigen Windverhältnisse nicht passen, Pech gehabt.

@ Pat: Björn hat mehrfach davon gesprochen, daß ihm letztes Jahr etwa 100 Segel-PS gefehlt haben. Dazu auch ein gewisses Board-Dilemma. Seine Boards halten selten länger als ein Worldcup, sind danach schlicht weich. Von Sportwagen auf Geländewagen-Niveau, um auch mal da eine parallele zu ziehen. Er musste seine 3 Boards aber wie die 6 Segel das ganze Jahr einsetzen. Was meinst Du wohl, warum Starboard nun zum iSonic Wood auch einen Carbon aufgelegt hat für 2010?
Sicherlich hat er sich auch ein paar Patzer geleistet. Früher aber auch, aber da hat er das mit dem Material rausgerissen. Das war die letzten Jahre aus diversen Gründen nicht möglich. Früher war es egal, wenn er mal eine Halse vergeigt hat. Da lag er schon einen Schenkel in Führung und konnte locker weiter machen. Wenn Du im Slalom erstmal hinten liegst, gibt es eine Menge weiterer Nachteile. Früher gab es fast nur Anders Bringdal, heute 2-3 mehr, die es einem schwer machen.

Aber schauen wir mal, wie es weitergeht das Jahr. Es gibt immer noch gewaltige Materialunterschiede, auch wenn das manch einer nicht glauben mag. Pryde liegt sicher deutlich vorn.

Heute ist leider auch kein Wind gewesen. Die Prognose für die nächsten Tage sieht auch sehr sehr schlecht aus...

Das war Tag 4:

Zitat von PWA

The 2010 PWA Ulsan World Cup, Korea – Day 4

Heavy rain and zero wind put a halt to proceedings on the fourth day of world-class competition at Jinha beach.

On the morning of day four, the organisers were hopeful that racing would commence with a weather front that was forecast to pass through the Sea of Korea. Unfortunately, the competitors were greeted with bucket loads of rain and no wind whatsoever, leaving them sheltering for much of the day in either their hotel rooms or the equipment tents. After another frustrating day on standby, race director, Juan Antonio Aragon, finally called it off at 17:00.

Following two consecutive days on standby, all of the sailors have fully recovered from their frantic day of racing earlier in the week, and are now chomping at the bit for more fast and furious, adrenalin-pumping action. The current forecasts for both Wednesday and Thursday show promising signs of allowing the local thermal wind to have an effect, so they should have something to get their teeth stuck into.

Battle Of The Blogs
With the current demand for immediate information from anywhere in the world, and the shameless approach to posting all and sundry on the internet, we thought we’d weigh up the options on the best sailor blogs to follow from Korea.

The sailors sent in their entries all afternoon, and the one’s below are the prime cuts.

Aus120.com - Sean O’Brien’s blog looks smooth, is bang up to date via a twitter feed, and has plenty of pictures. Plus we’re promised some videos soon.

Dan-ellis.com – Dan Ellis’s (Mistral) site contains daily updates, with plenty of videos. They’re not the best quality, but are amusing all the same!

Kiani.riders.dk – Kurosh Kiani (Angulo, Simmer) has a good mix of entertaining and informative posts in both static and video format. Well worth a look.

Chrispressler.com – Not only does Chris Pressler (Starboard, Severne) keep the content fresh on Continent Seven, but he also finds the time to fill his own blog with wise words and great pictures when he’s racing on tour.

Pritchardwindsurfing.com – HD video, high res pics, and a built in bang up to date twitter feed all contribute towards Kevin Pritchard’s (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine) awesome blog. Check it out.

PWA Ulsan World Cup – Results After Day 4
Men
1st Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) 6.7pts
2nd Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne) 7.7pts
3rd Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde) 15pts
4th Arnon Dagan (Tabou, Gaastra)19pts
5th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard, North) 20pts
6th Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine) 24pts
7th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard, North) 24pts
8th Sylvain Moussilmani (Starboard, Simmer) 31pts
9th Ben Van Der Steen (JP, Simmer) 34pts
10th Steve Allen (Severne) 34.5pts

Women
1st Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North) 3.4pts
2nd Karin Jaggi (Patrik, Severne) 7.7pts
3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra) 8.0pts
4th Morane Demont (Starboard, Severne) 9.0pts
5th Sarah Hebert (Naish) 11.7pts

Stay In The Groove
For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com

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Zitat von bernie b

Interessant
Gerade zum Schluß der letzten Saison wurden Seine Ergebnisse top(Platz 1, Platz 1)
Und wo wir gerade bei offenen Worten sind; Starts und Halsen scheint Er nicht nur letztes Jahr verlernt zu haben, auf dem neuen Video glänzt Er auch nicht.
Aber sicher schiebt man alles besser aufs Material, das kann sich ja nicht wehren.
In der Vergangenheit war auch immer das Material schuld; erst war es Pryde, dann Thommen, nun Starboard /Severne.
Hoffe Er findet bald eine Marke die für Ihn genehm ist.

Er hat zum Ende der Saison mal einen Heat gewonnen, ja. Mehr aber auch nicht. Keinen einzigen Worldcup mehr. Eklatant ist er auch im Speed hinterher gefahren, da sieht man dann auch schnell die Leistungsfähigkeit der Riggs. Das sind andere Boards, oder meinst du er hat auch das Geradeausfahren verlernt? Halsen sind eher unüblich beim Speed, Starts auch.
Wenn das Material scheisse ist, dann sollte man das auch erwähnen. Zu seinen letzten Neil Pryde Segeln kann das wohl niemand sagen, ich jedenfalls nicht. Daß er Pryde verlassen hat, war einzig und alleine darin begründet, daß Pryde seine Speed-Ambitionen nicht mehr tragen wollte, wie Björn es damals wollte. Er wollte den Weltrekord und war monatelang nur für dieses Ziel in Frankreich und der Welt. Focus nur auf Speed. Und er hatte ja zuvor länger komplett ausgesetzt für seine Search Projekte.
Die Thommen-Boards waren nur im ersten Jahr gut, die silbernen aus 2004/2005. Danach die totale Vollkatastrophe.
Die Starboards haben gehalten, einen Worldcup. Ich hoffe jetzt halten sie länger. Bei North ist er weg, weil die Rahmenbedingungen nicht mehr gepasst haben. Kein Developmentcenter auf GC wie versprochen, nachdem JD sich von GC verabschiedet hatte. Dazu erhebliche finanzielle Abstriche, die es nicht mal möglich machen, überhaupt weiter zu diskutieren. Oder warum meinst Du, daß bei North letztes Jahr fast alle Fahrer weggingen?
Zu Severne kam er, so wie er zu North kam. Er hat das genommen, was man seit Jahren verbockt hat oder mangels Können auf die Beine stellen konnte. Jetzt investiert er auch da harte Arbeit und viel Herzblut, hoffentlich kann er diesmal ernten. Die Wahrheit ist halt immer unbequem, ob es passt oder nicht...
Wenn ich mir seine Heats in Korea durchschaue, da ist er wohl häufig als erster an der 1. Tonne gewesen. Zumindest gingen viele Heats auch auf sein Konto. Schade, daß kein Wind mehr ist.

Absolute Sauerei finde ich mal wieder, daß die Tourstops noch immer nicht stehen. Wenn man gewusst hätte, daß z.B. der Highwind Pozo überhaupt nicht stattfindet, hätte man sich die Anmeldung vom kleinsten Segel sparen können und lieber etwas anders aufteilen können. Das ganze System ist komplett was für den Hintern und bedarf echt mal einer anderen Ordnung...