Foilstyle Delivers and Tow-In Turns Up the Drama | FPT Naxos Day 2 Recap

After a lively opening day and a calm morning at the lagoon, the second day of the Freestyle Pro Tour Naxos once again brought light winds to the Aegean. While not enough breeze filled in to get the Fin competition underway, the riders didn’t sit still — instead, the day turned into a showcase of the adaptability of Freestyle, kicking off with a Foilstyle Super Session and wrapping up with a high-stakes round of Tow-In Semifinals. With the foilboards rigged and ready, seven riders hit the water for the Foilstyle showdown, split into two heats.

Heat 1 featured Steven van Broeckhoven, Sokratis Saraliotis, Lennart Neubauer, and Dudu Levi, while Heat 2 included Leander Halm, Julien Join, and Tigo Kort.

As soon as the call was made, Heat 1 got underway in marginal but contestable wind, using a one-by-one format that rewarded precision and timing — with two moves per tack counting toward the total score.

Local hero Lennart Neubauer thrived in the tricky conditions, drawing cheers from the beach as he linked an Air Bob, Burner, and a slick Cana Brava before capping off his scoresheet with a Pasko in a fleeting gust — an impressive feat considering he was sailing on a 5.2 and mostly underpowered. His technical variety and execution earned him 15.59 points, comfortably securing a spot in the finals.

Joining him was Dudu Levi, who continued to prove his fast learning curve on the foil. Sailing only his second-ever foil heat, the Israeli rider impressed with a clean Burner, Culo, and a Switch Chachoo, scoring 11.62 points and advancing alongside Lennart.

Steven van Broeckhoven couldn’t quite fill his scoresheet, missing one move on port tack, while Sokratis Saraliotis struggled to get foiling for most of the heat, crashing a few Shaka attempts as the wind dipped lower.

When it came time for Heat 2, the wind faded further, forcing the competition on hold before any solid attempts could be made. With the Foilstyle now postponed, all attention shifted toward the lagoon’s next spectacle — Tow-In practice and semifinals.

Before the men’s semifinal showdowns, the women’s fleet took to the water for their Tow-In training session, giving the crowd a glimpse of what’s to come in the main event. Maaike Huvermann looked razor-sharp, confidently linking Funnels and Double Funnels, and even throwing in a Culo attempt off the wave, showing she’s ready to push the women’s level once again.

Lisa Kloster brought huge energy to the session, trying two new moves she’d never attempted before — a Culo and a Bob, both in regular stance, some of the trickiest moves in Tow-In. Smiling on the beach afterwards, she said the runs gave her confidence heading into the competition and that she was “born ready.”

Ziva Batis matched the intensity, consistently landing Funnells and Air Funnells, while Elena Dominick spiced things up with Tow-In Spock attempts, earning nods of approval from the beach crowd.

Following the women’s runs and a short men’s warm-up session, it was time for the Men’s Tow-In Semifinals, split into two stacked heats.

Semi-Final 1 lineup:
Lennart Neubauer, Foivos Tsoupras, Leander Halm, Ercole Rosso-Chioso, Tomek Wyrzykowski, Takumi Moriya, Eugenio Marconi, Rafal Curylo, Jakub Felman, Pier Bongianni

Semi-Final 2 lineup:
Yentel Caers, Tigo Kort, Piero Rautnik, Sokratis Saraliotis, Alex Halank, Jacopo Testa, Pawel Szulc, Nicolo Ippindo, Kiril Kirilov, Michi Czech

The first semifinal brought plenty of drama — and a shocking upset. Newly crowned Tow-In World Champion and hometown hero Lennart Neubauer crashed both his attempts, leaving him without a score and visibly frustrated on his way off the water.

Meanwhile, rookie sensation Tomek Wyrzykowski kept his momentum rolling with another perfectly executed Double Air Funnell, scoring 6.33, the highest of the heat. Leander Halm, fresh from his breakthrough in Geneva, kept the charge alive — landing a clean Burner off the wave before one-upping himself with a Burner 360 on his second run. “I want to go bigger,” he said after his first attempt — and he did exactly that.

Foivos Tsoupras once again showed his unique style with a perfectly executed Flaka Shaka, before an unlucky rail catch sent him crashing hard on his second run. Takumi Moriya and Pier Bongianni rounded out the advancing group, both earning their spots with powerful, well-timed runs — Takumi with a Double Funnell and Pier with a big Burner off the wave.

Then came Semi-Final 2, where the action truly exploded.

After a crash on his first attempt, Yentel Caers reminded everyone why he’s the rider to beat. On his second run, he landed what witnesses — including Steven van Broeckhoven, Tigo Kort, and Bodhi Kempen (watching from shore due to injury) — called the move of the day, scoring an incredible 9.33.

Tigo Kort carried his Geneva form into Naxos, landing a textbook Burner 360 on his opening run and following up with a regular-stance Culo, while Jacopo Testa matched his score with a Burner 360 of his own after recovering from a heavy crash earlier in the heat.

Piero Rautnik pulled out a sick Air Funnell Funnell, a move that would have easily landed him in the top 3 in the previous elimination, while Nicolo Ippindo secured the final spot in the finals with a high One-Handed Burner despite a sketchy landing.

With both Foilstyle and Tow-In in full swing, anticipation is building for an action-packed Day 3. If the wind allows, the Foilstyle Super Session elimination will continue. If not, all focus turns to the Men’s Tow-In Finals and the Women’s Tow-In competition, where the top riders will battle it out for glory at the Naxos Lagoon following an early morning beach cleanup.

Stay tuned to freestyleprotour.com for the latest updates, and follow the Freestyle Pro Tour on social media for behind-the-scenes action straight from the heart of the Aegean.