Two long distance races with spectacular rabbit starts in 10 to 17 knots of wind
France’s Julien Ratotti uses a new double-profile wing for an upwind speed edge and two bullets
Maddalena Spanu of Italy wins both races in the women’s competition
Today’s results are used to divide the men into three qualifying groups for short-course racing
17 women will race in their own short-course fleet
4 days of long-distance and short-course racing out of Poetto Beach in Cagliari in the south of Sardinia
Open competition with a wide array of different wing and foil equipment
56 competitors, some travelling from as far away as New Zealand
World Champion Mathis Ghio among the favourites
The WingFoil Racing World Cup Cagliari is about to begin, with four days of high speed foiling competition from 19 to 22 October. A world-class field of international competitors is looking forward to competing in a combination of long distance and short course races at one of the most famous watersports venues in the world, Poetto Beach on the southern coast of Sardinia.
No wind on the final day of competition on Silvaplana
Fiona Wylde wins a World Cup at her first attempt
Alessandro Tomasi wins his first World Cup of 2023
Italy and France dominate the men’s top 10
Fiona Wylde (USA) and Alessandro Tomasi (ITA) respectively have become the women’s and men’s champions at Wingfoil Racing World Cup Silvaplana.
With no wind for the final day, the results all hung on the 10 races from the first two days. Tomasi, the 2021 World Champion, earned two crucial wins in the long distance races of the opening day. The dominant performer of the past six months or more has been Mathis Ghio (FRA) who battled hard with Tomasi on that first day but finished runner-up in both long distance heats.
The pump foiling competition was the best way for the riders to work out their frustrations at a lack of wind on day four of the Wingfoil Racing World Cup Silvaplana. Being able to pump the board in light winds is a key racing skill, although the range in abilities across the fleet is enormous. Some look as elegant as a gazelle bounding across the savannah, others are as coordinated as Bambi on ice.
No wind on Lake St Moritz, so a day of pump foiling and balance boards
Balz Mueller shows off his athletic skills and passion for all kinds of foiling
Italian riders ready to take on France’s World Champion Mathis Ghio in gold fleet
There was a change of venue for day three of the Wingfoil Racing World Cup Silvaplana as the fleet drove 6km further up into the mountains to compete on Lake St Moritz. The sunshine was out but the wind never steadied sufficiently for fair racing, so no further results on the board after that mammoth eight-race Wednesday.
HIGHLIGHTS
A new star rose in the women’s fleet on day two of the Wingfoil Racing World Cup Silvaplana. This is Fiona Wylde’s first World Cup event in IWSA wingfoil racing, so it was understandable that the American rider flew across the Atlantic to the Swiss Alps with few expectations. She just wanted to gauge the competition and to get a measure of how her skills compare with the world’s best.
