Pozo Izquierdo bot erneut einen unvergesslichen Wettkampftag, als am Donnerstag nach dem Abklingen des Calima endlich stärkere Winde aufkamen und damit die ideale Kulisse für einen actionreichen Tag beim Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup schufen, an dem sowohl die Hauptrunden der Männer und Frauen als auch die der U21-Jungen abgeschlossen wurden. Da die Bedingungen eher grenzwertig waren, gab es im Verlauf des Tages einige große Überraschungen, die die Spannung nur noch steigerten, doch am Ende des Tages standen zwei sehr bekannte Namen ganz oben auf dem Podium.
Women's
Daida Moreno Writes Another Chapter in Pozo History
There are few stories in windsurfing quite like Daida Moreno’s (Goya Windsurfing) relationship with Pozo Izquierdo. The Gran Canaria icon, who is no longer competing regularly on the international tour, had to come through the Challenger Round to even make the Main Draw, despite being the defending event champion. From there, Daida produced a flawless performance, winning every single heat she sailed to claim a dominant victory as she continues to keep a stranglehold over her home event. Although the conditions weren’t exactly firing, that didn’t stop Daida from pulling the trigger on a double forward effort towards to the end of the final.
Despite the demanding conditions throughout the week, Moreno looked pretty comfortable on her local waters. However, 28-time world champion Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) never seemed entirely comfortable in the challenging conditions. After narrowly securing her place in the final, the Aruban couldn’t quite match Moreno's consistency in the title-deciding heat, but still kicks off her season with a solid second place.
Alexia Kiefer Quintana (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) completed the podium in third after making the most of her local knowledge to finish ahead of Belgium's Sol Degrieck. At just 16 years of age, Degrieck still has the opportunity to fight for the women's under-21 title, which should conclude on Friday.
Following her victory, an emotional Moreno said: "This is my 23rd victory here at Pozo Izquierdo. I've trained incredibly hard to be able to compete at this level again. I'd like to thank my coaches, my family, my friends and the organisers for all their support. Many times I've thought this is the last time... but I keep coming [back].”
Men's
Köster Produces Buzzer Beater to Deny Paré
The Men's Professional competition produced some of the biggest talking points of the event. The quarter-finals immediately delivered blockbuster match-ups, with Liam Dunkerbeck (Duotone Windsurfing), Marino Gil (JP / NeilPryde / MFC), Philip Köster (Severne Windsurfing) and Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) all lining up in the opening heat.
The first major upset came when Gil, who was one of the favourites for the event and won here previously in 2024, narrowly missed out on qualification by just 1.14 points after his good friend Dunkerbeck snatched the decisive score in the closing moments.
The surprises continued in the semifinals as Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) failed to reach the final, while reigning world champion Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails / MFC) and Miguel Chapuis (Flikka / North Sails) advanced alongside Dunkerbeck and Köster.
The final itself was a tightly fought affair, but it was Köster who took the early lead as he stomped a perfect double forward. However, Paré soon manoeuvred himself into the lead and looked on course to earn his first victory in Gran Canaria. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, Köster had other ideas and he pipped Paré to the win after landing a backloop in the dying seconds to successfully defend his event title, while boosting his own world title aspirations. In the end just 0.61 of a point separated the two of them.
Meanwhile, Chapuis, who sailed impressively throughout deservedly walks away with his second World Tour podium and by far his best result to date in Gran Canaria as he continues to go from strength-to-strength, while Dunkerbeck just misses out on the podium in fourth place.
U21 Boy’s
Earlier in the day the Boy's Under-21 Final was sailed, which saw local favourite Carlos Kiefer Quintana (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) go head-to-head with the in-form Gregory Stathopoulos (Goya Windsurfing).
Kiefer Quintana looked confident on the waves throughout the final, but Stathopoulos dominated in the air as he landed a perfectly executed double forward and a one-footed backloop to earn the highest scores of the heat and deservedly secure him the Under-21 title.
During the prize-giving ceremony, event organiser Björn Dunkerbeck praised the standard of competition, highlighting that true professionals are those who can perform not only in Pozo's famously extreme winds, but also when conditions are marginal and every point becomes even harder to earn.
Attention now turns to Friday, when the Women's Under-21 competition will conclude the event.
Result 2026 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave
1st Daida Ruano (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Alexia Kiefer (ESP | PATRIK PATRIK Sails)
4th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne Windsurfing)
Result 2026 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave
1st Philip Köster (GER | Severne Windsurfing)
2nd Marc Paré (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails / MFC)
3rd Miguel Chapuis (ESP | Flikka / North Sails)
4th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing)
Result 2026 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - U21 Boy’s Wave
1st Gregory Stathopoulos (GRE | Goya Windsurfing)
2nd Carlos Kiefer Quintana (ESP | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails)
3rd Takumi Moriya (JPN | Severne Windsurfing)