May 23, 2024
The second day of the 2024 FPT Vieste held a lot of promises but unfortunately never materialised. An early morning start saw the riders attempt running some Foilstyle heats, with the first one being officially completed. After the wind bowed out the plan was to run the first of the Tow-In discipline qualifications in front of the Panini di Mare at the Spiaggia Lunga. Unfortunately luck was not on the athlete’s side, with some technical difficulties meaning the session had to be postponed. Check out the quick highlight video of the atmosphere on the beach, and read more about today’s events and whats to come below.
Rustling leaves and waving flags greeted everyone at the skippers meeting at the early hour. The forecast was right in that there would be some wind with potential for a thermics boost. After a few test runs the trigger was pulled and the first heats got out there. Tigo Kort (Neilpryde/JP) took the first heat victory of the competition against Foilstyle newcomer Dudu Levi (FutureFly/Gunsails). In very light winds Kort impressed, as he still managed to launch into a Kono right in front of the beach. Levi’s best answer was a surprising Forward Loop attempt and if it would not be for crashing it, he might have been able to mount a solid defense.
In the next heat it was up to Maaike Huvermann (Severne/Maui Ultra Fins) and George Grisley (Duotone) to prove that the conditions were still contestable. Grisley, being a heavier rider, struggled to get onto the foil and despite Huvermann managing to attempt a few moves, the heat was soon called off. With no more improvement to be seen, the Foilstyle competition was put on hold and all focus now shifted to Tow-In.
With many entires in this discipline, the qualification is divided up into three rounds. The best 3 riders from each round will advance to a 10 person final, with one wildcard spot left for the highest scoring rider that didnt qualify from across all qualification rounds. Check out the line up below:
Unfortunately due to technical difficulties the Tow-In qualification could not take place. However, a few practice runs were made, providing for some spectacular imagery.
The plan for tomorrow is to catch up on all things Tow-In. Stay tuned for the full schedule in the morning! Curious about more? Watch the full wrap up show for today:
