The rain came and the wind went. There was no racing on day three of the Wingfoil Racing World Cup Italy here in Cagliari and the race committee waited as long as they could before they blew the horn in the light drizzle and abandoned racing for the day.
Now the heat is on to complete the opening series for both women’s and men’s fleets so Sunday’s final medal series group can be determined.
A super short track racecourse and the latest 6.5-meter double-profile wings couldn’t save nearly half the women’s and men’s fleets on day two as some riders sank up to their knees waiting for a puff to get foiling in the six- to eight-knot winds.
It was a dramatic first day of the Wingfoil Racing World Cup Italy with two grueling long-distance races that had riders shaking their arms to send blood to cramping forearms.
A wincing sailor was staring at a bleeding foot, riders ducked through the prop wash of the rabbit start boat hammering at more than 30 knots and a lost leader of the fleet lead a group the wrong way around the course.
The six-mile-long races were almost five times the length of the normal Wingfoil races. So different but so important since the fleet is ranked based on these results going into the next stage of the competition on Thursday.
- No wind on the final day, so the medallists go for a Pikachu ride
- Mathis Ghio wins the men's fleet
- Nia Suardiz wins the women's fleet
- Kamil Manowiecki comes second, and the Pole predicts a brighter future in the light
- Not enough wind for Gold Fleet means competition cuts straight to Sunday's Medal Series
- But... any of the 113 riders can still win, thanks to the 'Golden Ticket'!
- Can Romain Ghio battle his way out of the long-distance race and beat his bro, Mathis?
- And will any of the women be able to topple Nia Suardiaz from the top of the tree
- Not enough wind, but that doesn't mean not enough fun!
- Who can topple Mathis Ghio as the top men's winger? Kamil thinks he can
- Armie Armstrong on the bright future of wingfoiling across the globe
- Saturday is the day for Gold Fleet finals
