SOTAVENTO SHOWDOWN

Sotavento provided the world’s best Freestylers with the ultimate all-round test as they had to deal with anywhere from relatively light 20 knot winds to howling 40 knot offshore winds in their opening event of the year. We hear from the men’s and women’s top three.

- Sarah-Quita Offringa, Lennart Neubauer, Oda Brødholt, Adrien Bosson, Yentel Caers and Maaike Huvermann

SARAH-QUITA OFFRINGA - 1ST - FREESTYLE WORLD TITLE NO.15

The title tally is up to twenty-four in total and fifteen for Freestyle. I have won fifteen in a row now! This year’s competition was nerve racking actually. I think because I am also competing in waves and slalom. In freestyle the heats are very intense as in just eight minutes you have to perform between six to fourteen moves. I felt like I was not in the right mental state for freestyle. We started with the women on the first day, which caught us off guard. I usually take my time in the morning watching the heats and get mentally prepared and now we had to just jump straight in. I was very nervous in the single. In the first two heats I actually sailed quite well, but then in the final I dropped the ball. I still won it by 0.4 of a point against Oda, but I think I got a bit lucky there.

For the double I was still nervous. It was a bit of a new feeling for me this year as I felt the pressure and I never managed to shake the nerves off. I didn’t really mind the light conditions, but it meant we had to revert back to basics rather than being able to perform the high-level moves. It wasn’t my highest level, but it was good enough for me to win the title, which is what matters in the end.

LENNART NEUBAUER - 1ST - BACK-TO-BACK VICTORIES