14 races on five event days is the result of the 2017 Formula Windsurfing World Championships that took place during the Multivan Summer Opening on Sylt. It was as thrilling as never before. Nine different competitors were able to win a race. The decision about who would be the 2017 Formula Windsurfing World Champion was taken until the last day of the competition. The top-4 of the overall ranking around Vincent Langer (GER-1), Steve Allen (AUS-0), Sebastian Kördel (GER-220) and Alexandre Cousin (FRA-752) all had the chance to take this years title. In the end it was Vincent Langer from Germany who won against his contenders and became Formula Windsurfing World Champion 2017 for the first time. Steve Allen (AUS-0) from Australia came second in front of Alexandre Cousin (FRA-752) from France on third place.
It was a very exciting last event day on Sylt. Optimal conditions allowed another four races. Only the last race brought the decision about the Formula Windsurfing World Champion 2017. Especially Gunnar Asmussen (GER-2) had a great start into the day. He won two races in a row. This however did not affect the chances on the title anymore and he finished fifth in the overall ranking. Also Sebastian Kördel, who was fighting with the strong winds and could not place himself under the Top-5 in the several races had to give up his chances on the title. He finished fourth in the overall ranking.
During the last two races Alexandre Cousin gave way for the final duel between Vincent Langer and Steve Allen. Steve Allen would have needed a victory in the last race with at least two places in beetwen him and Langer. With Casper Boumann (NED-52) winning the last race of the day Vincent Langer was crowned the new Formula Windsurfing World Champion 2017.
Vincent Langer is really happy about his victory: „Yesterday I was quite sad because of the one race that I had to cancel, but I forgot about that quickly. This morning I got out on the water at 9am already to get everything prepared. The day went very well for me. Now I am absolutely happy about the World title.“
The Formula Windsurfing Vice-World Champion Steve Allen is also happy about his second place: „Congratulations to Vincent Langer. He sailed very smart and really consistent. In general it was a great fight between the two of us. I am a bit disappointed wiht my performance. I made lots of small mistakes which actually cost me the win.“
Alexandre Cousin (FRA-752) is pleased with the third place: „I am really happy to have finished on the podium. Although I could not win the title like last year it was a great competition with all the others. The event itself was very nice and well organised. There were lots of spectators and Sylt is one the best places in the world to host such an event.“
The Youth fleet (U-20) also showed a great performance amongst the big field of competitors. Julien Pockrandt (GER-18) took the victory in front of Michele Antoine Becker (GER-277) and Martins Dzirnieks (LAT-188). The first place amongst the Grandmasters (Over-45) went to Ulf Sjöstedt (SWE-8) followed by Arvydas Moliusis (LTU-789) and Bernd Timme (GER-1961). The positions one to three in the category Masters (Over-35) went to Steve Allen, Gunnar Asmussen and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (ARG-3).
With over 120.000 visitors at the Formula Windsurfing World Championships and at the Kitesurf Masters the Multivan Summer Opening 2017 was a full success. The surrounding program with live bands and DJs made the event spectacular for everybody. The Multivan Summer Opening will be back next year and will again guarantee a great start into summer.
