The BEST windsurf racing of all time?! Top 5 Racing Moments from the PWA World Tour 2025

This week we're looking back at the best racing moments from 2025. So whether it be on the foil or the fin, we have had some insanely epic battles throughout the season. So we're going to dive straight in at number five. Now there's a few contenders for this, but we're going with Hugo Sjoberg against Cyril Evrard, a battle of the next generation. Despite this only being the first round, every place counts like every heat. This is the last day. If you want to move up the rankings, you've got to be getting into those semifinals. And until now, despite showing some great speed, Sjoberg hadn't made a semifinal. Evrard had made one. So this was a big battle. Who would win out? Two GA boys, first and second. And we've got Maciej Rakowski in there. The Wolf making a show. The Wolf's gone down heavy, heavy, big crash from the German Wolf there. Wow. So the swell is starting to pick up. It's looking good for the waves the next few days, but it's making it tricky for the Slalom boys. And the Wolf takes a big hit from a qualifying position. It looks like Sjoberg in fourth place, Evrard pushing through. We've also got Hooper, who's been looking very consistent in this competition. Strosmar leading, Rakowski second, then Hooper, then Sjoberg, and we lose another one. That was Fortune. Sasha Fortune goes down. So we've got some tricky racing conditions here in Silt. Evrard at the moment now pushing for the semifinals. We've got Sjoberg in fifth place, and he's going to push hard to get ahead of Cyril Evrard. Strosmar rounding first, Rakowski in second, then Hooper, Evrard. Ooh, little wobble from Evrard and a good jibe from Sjoberg. Sjoberg's in the game here. These two have got the battle for fourth place, and Sjoberg has rolled over the top of Cyril Evrard here. So Sjoberg looking all right, although it looks, with that swell, you can see a few touchdowns happening, and the boys are going for it here. Evrard going back from underneath. Sjoberg, as the swell comes through, this is going to be a great battle as we come into the last jibe mark here, and this is the third quarterfinal. All the top three safely around. Cyril Evrard needs to keep it together. Great jibe from the young Belgian rider. Sjoberg, we know he's got the speed, but Evrard came back at him now, and this is do or die now on the last reach. Let it all hang out. Could Sjoberg show his speed here? He's been going great on starboard, and look at the speed of Hugo Sjoberg over the top of Evrard. Evrard's going to try and hold him off. Sjoberg's not slowing down. We saw him have a massive crash up in Denmark at a previous competition. Evrard looks like he's got a harder line though. Evrard's going to come back here. Sjoberg's holding him, and Sjoberg, I think, might have just got it, but it was on the line. Cyril Evrard, Hugo Sjoberg, with a great battle there. What an exciting battle that was. Speed, tactics, it had it all, and it shows why foil racing is so good to watch. You can just take different lines, and also proving some of the best racing happens in that fourth and fifth spot in the qualifying. Next up, we go to Fuerteventura, where on the first day of Slalom X action, it was absolutely cranking. There was everyone running around trying to find smaller sails. It was crazy. Also, the usual dominant, Serakita Ofringa, was looking vulnerable. We've got the Patrick Riders down this bottom end. This will be Davico. This will be Lemetier. We've got the Neil Prides in the middle. Oh, look at that, one on the Neil Pride firing. Femke van der Veen as well, with a great start of that top end on the Saverne. So, well, I think it's Femke van der Veen. We're going to put her name in it because she's just been in Terminator mode so far, but looking very good at the top. Could be Blanca Alabao. We will get someone's getting some serious lift off up the top end, which is either Femke or Alabao, but down this bottom end, we've got Justine Lemetier as we come into the speed run. A little bit further back, we've got Jenna Gibson on that duotone. We've got Davico. Looks like we've got Serakita Ofringa, but it is Justine Lemetier rounding first place. Second place, Jenna Gibson flying down. She liked this speed run. Like I say, the fastest woman in the world, and she's airborne, and she's spinning out, but she's somehow trying to get it back together. She's not in the drink. She is still up there and competing, but Lemetier is the one that's going to win this speed run. They're going to go round in first place, so Lemetier rounding first, Serakita Ofringa in second, Jenna Gibson in second now because she's gone on the round the outside of Serakita Ofringa. Femke van der Veen in the drink. We got Blanca Alabao coming through, Davico coming through, and here we go. The obstacle is coming up, the dreaded sausage. Justine Lemetier, Jenna Gibson, all of Great Britain hold their breath. Oh, she's looking a little out of control. Oh, she's nailed it. Not the cleanest landing, but she's nailed it, and that will feel a massive relief because this is hard to jump at the best of times. Putting 40 knots and crazy chop, it's even harder. Oh, not a good jump from Alabao, I think. Alabao just T-boned that thing. Oh, Jenna Gibson's in the drink. She's in the water opening the door for Lemetier to come through, and Serakita Ofringa. Gibson drops back to third place. Lemetier comes through. Serakita Ofringa now up into second place. She hasn't had the best speed though, Serakita. Oh, some big crashes on that sausage just in the background there. Lemetier could get this win wrapped up here. She's got the speed. You know, in these crazy wins, they haven't got that edge from Serakita, and Gibson is making really good ground on the duotone. She actually looks like she's rolling over the top of Serakita Ofringa, and Jenna Gibson has took second place, and well, she's closing in on Lemetier here. Two jibe marks to go. Justine Lemetier with the advantage. It's a very wide jibe from Lemetier, and she's in the water. She's in the water opening the door for Jenna Gibson with a good jibe from the Brit, and Jenna Gibson has now got the lead on her own, and she's got a little free run at this. It's in her own hands. One jibe mark to go. Jenna Gibson is leading this fourth and final elimination for the women. Here she is. Jenna Gibson from Great Britain has got the lead here. One jibe mark to go. Just needs to keep it nice and safe, if you can do that in 40 knots of wind and mega chop and swell. Serakita looks like she's almost out the harness. She looks like almost terrified, I would say. She doesn't look her normal comfortable self. She is in survival mode. Jenna Gibson slowing right down for this jibe mark, and why not? Just get round it. Get safely round it, and she gets in on the next tack. Surely this is a win for the Brit. She's had a disastrous day, but this will make it feel a lot better. Justine Lemetier in second place with a very wide jibe, but should stay in second place here. Just Serakita offering her in third, and Lemetier's gone down in the background. Oh, no. Oh, Lemetier hits the drink. Serakita is going to get second place here, but out in the lead, surely there's only one winner. From Great Britain, Jenna Gibson will get a good race and finish the day with a bullet. That is going to be, well, that's going to help her sleep better tonight. If she'd have had a disaster in this fourth, that would have been a difficult night, but she wins the fourth and final elimination of the day, Jenna Gibson, and that will put her in a better headspace coming into tomorrow for day number two. Serakita gets a second place, so that gives her a first, a second, and a second. She won't be leading this event. Femke van der Veen will, but we don't know where Femke van der Veen is. Coming in at the number three spot, we're going over to Guadeloupe for the first foil slalom event of the year. Now, with the forecast not looking good, it was definitely going to be a lot of pressure on the one day of wind they had, and the guys needed to deliver. Matteo Uchino definitely did that, but Amado Ruiz, like, crashed out in the first elimination. So, in the second one, when he found himself in seventh place coming into the first mark, he needed to make a move, and he did just that. Jordi Vonk, maybe. He's been having some good pin-end starts. He's confident about his speed. Where is the 0.7 of Amado Ruiz? Like, he's right back in the pack there. Amado Ruiz, like, not the best start. We've got the GA boys looking good with Struzma and Mattis. They're out. Nico Preen a little bit further back. We've got Cedric Borde. Wow, this is going to be a very exciting race. When you've got Cedric Borde, Amado Ruiz, like, in about fifth and sixth, you know you're in for some excitement. Nico Preen's going to get pushed here. There he is. Amado makes his move right up into fourth place. What a jive from Amado Ruiz, like, and absolutely came out smelling the roses there, and not good news for Nico Preen fans. He's dropped right out. So, before we go into the top two racing moments for 2025, we've got to do an full fleet slalom X races over in Fuerteventura. What a spectacle these were. The comments just coming over the live stream, I know you guys at home loved it. Let me know in the comments below, do you want to see more of this type of racing? Were the riders happy? I heard a few moanings, but definitely watching was definitely a spectacle and definitely something I want to see more of. For the number two spot in our top five racing moments from 2025, we're going over to Fuerteventura. After some incredibly tense battles throughout the slalom X event in Fuerteventura, we got to elimination nine. Four riders in contention for the event title, Jordi Vonk, Maciek Rakowski, Pierre Mortaphone, and Matteo Iacchino. And little did we know that this four-minute race could be a big turning point in not just the event title, but the world title. Just about here we go. Maciek Rakowski needs a good one. Oh, and he's had a good start of that top end on the Neil Pryde. Great start down this bottom end from the Italian, Matteo Iacchino. Jordi Vonk in the middle is pushing out. Pierre Mortaphone also looking good, but the Polish rider is coming on strong, but so is Pierre Mortaphone. Jordi Vonk pushing through. Matteo Iacchino, this is going to go right around all the way to the mark as Pierre Mortaphone is powering through, and I think he might have the edge. Oh, Jordi Vonk. Jordi Vonk has absolutely gone. He has gone. That's his first mistake we've seen from Jordi. Oh, it's a disaster for the Dutchman, but Pierre Mortaphone hangs on. Rakowski on the inside, Matteo Iacchino in third. Then we've got Tati Franz, Amado Vrieswijk. We've got Jimmy Tieme. Oh, it's a disaster for Vonk fans. He was looking so good, but it's all about the Frenchman now. Pierre Mortaphone and Maciek Rakowski from Poland as Maciek Rakowski goes to the front. We've got to navigate this sausage now. Who is going to falter? Who is going to step up when it counts? This is the final no room for error, and Maciek nails it full speed. Pierre nails it full speed. Maciek is on one here. He looks like he means business. A great jibe from Maciek, a good jibe from Pierre Mortaphone. Gets a little bit stuck on the swell, though, as Tati Franz goes down. No, it's Amado that goes down, and guess who steps up? Mr. Consistent, Matteo Iacchino up into third place. Maciek Rakowski now, though, with two jibe marks to go. Oh, this is good news for Maciek Rakowski fans. Vonk is swimming. Maciek Rakowski couldn't afford a mistake. A win here would give him back some advantage. He'll still have some work to do, but this is exactly what the Polish rider needed. He hadn't had a win since day one. So Maciek Rakowski, two jibe marks to go. He's got Pierre Mortaphone charging him down. Does he get a good run here? It looks like he does, but it's a great jibe from Pierre Mortaphone. A really good jibe from Pierre Mortaphone to put the pressure on Maciek Rakowski. Matteo Iacchino is there, but I don't think he's close enough to challenge Pierre Mortaphone. I think we'll have a look at Maciek Rakowski coming into this last jibe mark. This could come all the way down to how this swell lines up, and Pierre Mortaphone is going to roll over the top. That jibe... Oh, he caught the swell, and Maciek has eaten the water, and Pierre Mortaphone has caused all sorts of problems, and he will definitely be leading. He's won two eliminations today. If he could just keep it together, as Matteo Iacchino keeps it safe. He knows the second place is what he needs to do now, but Pierre Mortaphone has held this nerve here. He rolled over the top. He caused a bit of chop for Maciek. Maciek went down, and he is still swimming back in fifth place. What a disaster for the Polish rider. All of Poland will be saying, whatever they say over there, but they won't be happy. Oh my god, but the French will be cheering. Pierre Mortaphone, what a day for the current champion. Wow. Pierre Mortaphone will be leading, going into the final day. Could he get back-to-back Superec wins? Matteo Iacchino gets a second place. Tati Franz just edges ahead of Amado Vriesveit for third and fourth, but what a race that was. What a bit of drama. I knew we were going to have it, but I didn't see it playing out like that. Yes, so Jordi Vonk actually getting knocked unconscious, and that put him out for the entire event. What did that do? That left him in fourth place, agonizingly close to the podium, and it was Pierre Mortaphone that went on, showing some strong performances to take another world title. What is the number one racing moment from 2025? Well, it has to be this. Japan, the last event of the year, the last race of the year. Three contenders for the event win, and the world title. Justine Lemetier, it had all gone wrong. She's crashed out in the semis, and it left Alabao and Urzin with a big battle. The wind was absolutely cranking, and the girls did not let us down. What a race. It's a good start. Clean away. Who's there? Blanca Alabao in the mix. Lina Urzin in the mix. Urzin does not back down. I'd be worried she's going to push too hard, but she can handle it. Look at this. The two are going head to head. What we love to see. Blanca Alabao not backing down. She needs someone up there with her, Blanca. That's what she needs. If she's going to take the event win, she needs someone in between her and Urzin, but so does Justine Lemetier. She's hoping for her friend, Mal D'Avico, to get in there, but at the moment, Urzin is doing enough. If you could speak to Urzin right now, and you're her coach, you're saying just stay in second. Don't push. Just stay in second. That's enough for this event win and the world title. Blanca Alabao doing what she needed to do. It's a wide gybe and Urzin coming on the inside now. Urzin, look how high she is on the foil. This is deadly stuff right now, and Urzin goes into the lead. This is what she needs to do. A win here in this final would give her the event win and the world title with Blanca in second, but Blanca's not backing down either. Blanca pushing hard over the top. They've left the in the dust. Surely Justine Lemetier would need a miracle now. Luna Urzin looks on it. She wants to win. She's battling Blanca for the win here. Blanca, to take the event win, it would not be enough just to beat Urzin. Oh, just touches down. It's so close. You cannot imagine the determination it takes to race like this in this sort of wind. They are absolutely flying in controllable conditions, but Urzin takes the lead. Blanca has a little touch. Urzin powers through. Lina Urzin from Slovenia is heading towards a world title in 2025. It all looked like it had gone yesterday when she missed the winner's final, but Blanca Alabao coming back strong. Lina Urzin, one or two gybe marks to go. Two gybe marks to go, and this is the reach which has caused the problems in the past. We saw Pierre Mortefon go down. We saw Justine Lemetier goes down, but Urzin looks solid here. She looks comfortable in the crazy conditions we've got. Two gybe marks to go, two and a half reaches to go, and Urzin powering to the front. Surely this is it for the Slovenian. Surely she looks comfortable. How is she look so comfortable in these conditions? Blanca Alabao as well, and there's the gybe. What a solid gybe from Urzin. This is not far off now. One gybe mark to go. Gnarly conditions. Two riders pushing oh so hard. If they go down, they've got so much room to get back on. They are streaks ahead of the rest. A win here for Urzin would be the world title and an event win. Oh, foot comes out the strap from Urzin. Did she take it out? Did it come out? Because Blanca Alabao is pushing down the power now. Blanca Alabao going for the win in this last elimination. Blanca Alabao, and oh my life, Urzin's on the edge right now. Nose is clipping. Blanca's pushing. This is coming down right to it, and Urzin's had to go behind. Blanca, it's a massive crash from Urzin. Oh no, this could be for Lemetier. Oh my god, this is like a rocky moment right now. Urzin needs to get back on. If there is one person in between Blanca Alabao and Urzin, Justine Lemetier will be the world champion. We need to follow this. This is like a Rocky Balboa moment. If she gets up in time, but that's a big crash. Where is the next rider? Let's give us, we need a higher shot. We need to see where who is in number two. If it's still Urzin, she's back on. She's back on. It's properly Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed, but here comes Mai Davico. Mai Davico, could she do it for Lemetier? Oh my life, imagine it. Oh, if Mai had been closer then, Lemetier would be the world title. It would be the world champion, but I think she's too far back. Blanca is going to win this last one. I'm going to do the official math straight after this, but my calculations, this is what's happening now. Blanca Alabao wins the last elimination. If Lena Urzin is in second, she still wins the event. Look back. I need to see where they are. Mai Davico is too far back. Oh my god, it was literally 30 meters in it for a world title for Justine Lemetier, but Lena Urzin, by my calculations, is just about to win the world title. This is it. As far as my reconnection is, oh my god, how close was that? How close was that? But Urzin is a second. Okay, let's do the maths. Second place, this is absolute scenes. So what a dramatic end to 2025. Yes, Urzin going for that world title. If she'd have won that last race, she would have been the world champion, but in the end, it was Justine Lemetier who thought she'd lost it that took the world title on count back level points with Urzin. Urzin has to settle for second, but Blanca Alabao with a win in the last race took the event win. I mean, it doesn't get more dramatic than that. You couldn't write it, and that is it for the 2025 racing moments. Do you agree with them? Do you agree with the order? Have you got any others you would put in there? Let us know in the comments below. I'm really interested to hear your thoughts, but that is it for this episode. Stay tuned to the channel, subscribe to PWA because there are more videos coming.