Marco Lang – AUT-66

“After some really good training in Tarifa, I went for my first competition to South France for the Swiss Championship. I had a pretty good feeling after my winter training and was seriously motivated to hit the water! We had between 12 knots to 50 knots, so literally the whole wind range, so this made it a pretty hard event and to add to it there were also quite a few top PWA guys competing there, including the likes of Patriek Diethelm, Ludovic Jossin, Cederic Bordes and from Germany, Vincent Langer! So it was good Test for the upcoming season. In the end I made the 6th place from 74 starters. I am really happy with this result and for sure next year I will be back again!”

World Cup Riders get some training at an incredible Swiss Event

The Swiss Windsurfing Season Opening in Hyeres was a complete success. A very short summary would go something like this; more than 45 knots of wind, 80 participants from 15 countries, 5 eliminations, VW California as the new main sponsor, beautiful sunshine, tough action and all racers had to rig their smallest sails they could find.

These superb conditions were used by a number of World Cup Riders as the ideal preparation for the coming season. Vincent Langer, Cédric Bordes, Patrik Diethelm, Karin Jaggi, Matteo Iachino, Gunnar Assmussen, Marco Lang, Ludovic Jossin und Jocelyn De Sousa were there.

Excellent Results by the Swiss Riders

The international participants came in numbers larger than ever before. More than 15 World Cup Pros took part and dominated the races against the mostly amateur Swiss riders. It was a welcome opportunity to compete with world class athletes. Cédric Bordes (Tabou/Gaastra) proved to be the quickest, followed by the Swiss World cupper Patrik Diethelm (Patrik/Loftsails). Matteo Iachino (F2) was a strong contender finishing third. The best non PWA rider was Baptiste Beer (SUI 166, Patrik/North) who finished in the excellent 8th position.

Sometimes, less is more…here comes the wind!

The forecast announced 30 to 50 Knots for the Easter weekend. And it proved to be accurate. Starting on Saturday, the wind rose to 35 knots. Some riders had to give up the competition as they did now have access to sails smaller than 7m2! And it got even better on Sunday. An average of 40 Knots with gusts over 50 made for a lot of spectacular races.

Short and choppy waves

According to the riders the uneven waves were more problematic than the strong wind. They had to use all their experience and talent to perform in these conditions. Small sails, short fins, little boards, everything for more control. Patrik Diethlem even claimed that he had never before participated in a race with a sail of 4.9 m2!

VW California Cup 2013

The VW California Cup 2013 is organised by Swiss Windsurfing consisted of 13 Races, mostly in Switzerland with some race in France and Italy. Starting in March, the competition lasts all the way through until October. The events last for 2 to 4 days. Depending on the location and wind conditions, Formula and Slalom races are held. Licensed riders compete in 5 groups, depending on age. The overall winner receives the VW California Cup 2013 at the end of the year.

Swiss Windsurfing is an association holding the VW California Cup under the patronage of Swiss Sailing. For more information, please visit www.swisswindsurfing.ch.

RESULTS

For fans of watersports then this video will quench your thirst, it includes some nice action from Kai Lenny as well as the XXL surfing awards and mark our words, there is some serious eating it in there!

Lastly, this cool one with a nice sound from the wakeboarding scene.

Good news, we are all still here. Even better news, Boardseeker brings you a healthy update this morning. Check out the action that went on around the world in the last few days before the apparent end of days.

Jason Polakow and Robby Swift report in with this edit from their recent trip to Chile. Outstanding action.

Up next is one for spanish listeners or just fans of top level windsurfing. Having featured in our afternoon news section yesterday, Gollito now stars in another movie which shows off the champions that have come out of Venezula.

Something esle of high quality is this sweet looking website from the Austrian slalom sailor Marco Lang, keep up to speed with the Marco as he progresses on the 2013 PWA tour – www.marco-lang.com.

More from the five times World Freestyle Champion, Gollito Estredo. Team QSW recently hooked up with Nik Baker to interview the freestyle champion himself, if you’ve ever wanted to find out what goes on inside the head of Gollito then this is one of the best chances.

Finally for those interested in the European Freestyle Pro Tour, it looks like the calendar for next year is beginning to appear on their website. So far just a couple of events but rumour has it that there is quite the potential for 2013. Check it all out here – www.efpt.net. Whilst you are there be sure to take a look at the nominees for the European Freestyle Pro Tour Rider of the Year and get your votes in. For the UK we have Adam Sims and Andy ‘Bubble’ Chamber nominated, a fair chance for a Brit to hit some pretty decent headlines. Obviously there are also a few others in contention…

Until this afternoon.