The final and 5th day of the EFPT event in Vieste started with thunder, lightning and loads of rain in the morning. But in the afternoon the wind started to fill in and the freestyle competition got kicked off. The decision to run 4-man heats in order to speed up the progression of the rounds was a good idea but unfortunately the competition had to be abandoned  halfway through the second round due to the dropping wind. Just when the wind started dropping Yentel Caers put down the highest heat score with over 33 points. Yentel seemed to be on form, as he also won the first ever Foilstyle competition on the day before. Read more about that by following this link: Yentel Caers wins Foilstyle event 

After the wind picked up again the women took to the water and showed Bobs, Shakas or Air Flakas. It was soon into the semi-finals with Brodholt facing off against Huvermann, and Clare Elliot up against Lisa Kloster. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Huvermann and Brodholt face off, hence a great battle was sure to be had. With light winds, the Norwegian Oda ended up missing a significantly scoring move on her Starboard Tack side, giving the current European Champion the opportunity to capitalise.  In the other semi-final heat Lisa Kloster made the best out of the light wind conditions and advanced to the final.

The final had to be sailed twice, after the first attempt was abandoned due to the conditions. After swapping some gear around, with Huvermann and Kloster both trying out a 5.2 for the first time, there was a 12 minute window with enough wind to get a result. Despite having to get used to the new set-up, Huvermann showed us why she has been the only woman so far to become European Champion. Winning by a safe margin of 5 points, the Dutch rider continues her streak on the European Freestyle Pro Tour.
After the final, Kloster said that she was “just happy to be on the water with Maaike, I knew she is so much better, so I didn’t even feel the pressure and was just trying to do my best and enjoy our time together out there!”

Unfortunately due to the deteriorating conditions it was not possible to finish the men’s single elimination or start the women’s double elimination. 

Result Women – EFPT Vieste 2023

1. Maaike Huvermann
2. Lisa Kloster
3. Oda Johanne
4. Claire Elliott