From Brouwersdam to Alaçatı. Podiums, titles, final thriller
What a weekend for Team Neilpryde! From the Dutch coast to the Turkish Aegean, our riders delivered on both ends of the age scale. One crew chased freestyle glory in storm conditions, the other raced foils in the next generation of the PWA Youth & Junior Slalom World Cup.
DAM-X, Brouwersdam (NED): freestyle in full-power mode
The forecast promised wind, and Brouwersdam delivered more than anyone asked for. The FPT event at the tenth DAM-X started in strong winds with showers passing through, and on day two the breeze kept cranking up while the rain poured down. Sails shrank from 4.4 to 3.6 and 4.0 as the wind peaked.
Yentel Caers was in his element. He won the Single Elimination with a double-moves-only heat topped off with a Shifty, then charged all the way to the Super Final, which he lost by just 1.10 points. That made him second overall. On top of that, he was crowned Tow-In World Series Champion 2026.
Bijou Shahmirian found her element when the wind hit its absolute peak. In 3.6 and 4.0 sail conditions with choppy water, she threw big forward loops all through the Women’s Double Elimination and finished third at the event. In the season standings she also took third place in the 2026 European Championship.
Alaçatı Windfest, PWA Youth & Junior Slalom World Cup (Turkey): patience pays off
In Turkey, the story was the opposite: light winds. The riders spent three days waiting on the beach, with 134 young athletes from 15 countries all hoping for the breeze to fill in. On the final day it finally did, and the fleet raced four foil eliminations. Conditions ranged from pumping to stay on the foil to powered-up racing as the wind built.
Diederik Leemans stayed focused through the waiting game and delivered when it counted, stepping onto the U21 Foil podium in third. Teammate Mario Boekstegers was right in the mix and finished fourth, just off the podium. The season finale in Miami (21 to 25 October) will decide the overall world champions, so both riders still have plenty to fight for.
Big congratulations!
Yentel, Bijou, Diederik and Mario: huge congratulations from all of us. Whether it’s storm freestyle or light-wind foil racing, you showed what our team is made of. We’re proud of you and can’t wait for what’s next!
