Valerie won 7 of 10 finals at the PWA Alacati event!

I watched the races, Valerie has speed that simply leaves her rivals in her wake… 

I visited the first two days of the competition as a guest of The Loft Turkey importer Husnu Baylav.

Alacati is truly a windsurfing paradise! Great winds, super atmosphere, excellent top-flight pro racing and more beginners than I have ever seen! In this photo Husnu displays his home spot- he and his windsurfing friends began windsurfing Alacati back in the beginning of 80s.

The Loft team was present on the race course with Valerie Ghibaudo, Antoine Questel, Ludo Jossin, Ruben Petrisie.... from SeaSnow Extreme Team (Loft Turkey) Lena Erdil, Sinan Gerzile, Can Coskun, Gulce Pulcu and Aydin Gozen… 9 racers participating with Loft Blades!
The Loft team enjoyed an excellent BBQ dinner at Husnu`s Alacati home… it was my first visit to Turkey, it was fantastic! I plan to be there again next year! The stay in Alacati I enjoyed so much… many thanks Husnu and his wife Pelin!

Lena Erdil is our latest Loft team rider, she worked her way up the rankings and took 4th position- her best ever performance in a PWA event. This result establishes Lena as a top competitor, and a new name to look for in the PWA slalom events 2009.

Event excerpts from the PWA-
“The 2008 Pegasus Airlines Alaçati PWA World Cup – Event summary womens fleet:

For the third successive year, the PWA returned to the shores of Alaçati, Turkey for the Pegasus Airlines World Cup. Before the event had even started its name had been etched into the history books, after the biggest fleet in almost decade signed up for the ensuing six-day showdown.
The event marked the final stop on the women’s slalom tour, and would subsequently crown the 2008 Women’s Slalom World Champion.

Day 1
In the women’s fleet Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou, The Loft) and Karin Jaggi (F2, North) took the reigns of their first race. In this instance it was Ghibaudo that took top honors, leaving Jaggi simmering in second and Verena Fauster (F2, Gaastra) in third as the sun set on day one.

Day 2
Jaggi seemed the most determined out of the ten finalists. After a spirited performance she sat untouched at the front of the fleet, leaving Marta Hlavaty (MauiSails) and Lee Korzitz (Tabou, Gaastra) to fight it out for second. On the finish line, Jaggi won by a clear margin, and Hlavaty sneaked ahead of Korzitz to take second. Valerie had an extremely bad start, from which she recovered to fourth.

The third and final race of the day saw Ghibaudo return to dominance after victory in her semi final. In the ensuing final she laid waste to Jaggi’s advances to add another victory to her name. Jaggi had to make do with second place and Armenia’s Sarah Hébert (Starboard, Naish) mopped up the remaining podium place in third.

Day 3
Race four was dominated by slick sailing from Ghibaudo, who had her foot firmly on the throttle. On the finish line she was rewarded with the victory almost an entire reach ahead of the chasing pack. Padding out the all-French podium was Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North) in second, and fifteen year old Morane Demont (Starboard, Severne) in third.
Following a short break, Ghibaudo showed she needed little more than a single reach before she dominated the fifth women’s race. Familiarly, it was Jaggi who fronted the assault on Ghibaudo, but the domineering French racer showed her mettle, extending her lead all the way to the finish line. Jaggi was left to take second, and Hlavaty finished in third to wrap up another successful day of competition in Alaçati.

Day 4
In women’s race six, Ghibaudo made an uncharacteristic error when she fell gybing, leaving the door wide open for Jaggi to take the victory, accompanied by Fauster in second and Hlavaty in third.
Entering race seven, Ghibaudo showed that her mishap in the previous race was only a flash in the pan, when she sailed to a convincing victory ahead of her long time rival Jaggi. Local, Lena Erdil (The Loft), sailed her best heat yet to post an impressive third place finish.
The women’s final race of the day followed a predictable path thanks to Ghibaudo’s outstanding consistency. She claimed her sixth race win, with Jaggi looking hungry, but unable to overtake in second. Arutkin claimed the final podium position, adding to her solid run of results.

Day 5
In the women’s ninth race, premature starts killed the hopes of Kubat and Demont, leaving Ghibaudo free to take her familiar spot at the front of the fleet, and bag her seventh race win. Unsurprisingly, Jaggi occupied the number two spot, a testament to her outstanding consistency, while Fauster was next over the line, reinforcing her overall third position.
Hitting the water for race ten, Ghibaudo posted a conservative fourth place finish, while rival Jaggi took the opportunity to claim the race win. Keeping the Turkish flag flying high, Erdil crossed the line in second to claim her best result of the event so far, with fellow compatriot, Kubat taking third.
As the final day of competition loomed, in the women’s fleet, Ghibaudo had already done enough to take the event title, likewise Jaggi in second, leaving the battle for third place open for the chasing pack.

Day 6
The final women’s race of the event would have little baring on the top positions, with Ghibaudo and Jaggi already cemented in positions one and two, regardless of the outcome.
Even so, there was pride at stake, and the consummate professionals launched into one last awesome battle for all to enjoy. This time round it would be Jaggi’s day, as she cruised to victory with Ghibaudo close behind in second. Ghibaudo was crowned event winner, but Jaggi’s second overall for the event was enough to crown her the 2008 Women’s Slalom World Champion.
Our congratulations go out to the winners, and all those lucky enough to take part in this amazing event. “
PWA World Cup 08 Alacati slalom results

1st Valerie Ghibaudo (The Loft, Tabou)
2nd Karin Jaggi (F2, North)
3rd Verena Fauster (F2, Gaastra)
4th Lena Erdil (The Loft)
5th Sarah Hébert (Starboard, Naish)

Valerie has clearly demonstrated her superior speed this year. She suffers in the overall standings from her premature starts at the Costa Brava event- dropping her behind Jaggi for the PWA Overall standings slalom 2008:
PWA World Cup overall slalom results 2008:
1st Karin Jaggi (F2, North)
2nd Valerie Ghibaudo (The Loft, Tabou)
3rd Sarah Hebert (Starboard, Naish)
4th Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North)
5th Lee Korzitz (Tabou, Gaastra)

Congratulations Valerie!
Monty

Photos thanks to John Carter, PWA