Strong Levante wind conditions allowed us to complete Rounds 1 and most of 2 for the men, alongside the women’s quarter finals on Thursday at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup at Cadiz in Spain.
The strong wind combined with the top athletes created a brilliant display of freestyle wingfoiling throughout the day.
We witnessed a true battle of the generations, as the more experienced wingfoilers did their best to stand their ground as a whole new fleet of young riders came in to give them a run for their money.
Women’s eliminations
The strong Levante started to kick in at the start of the women’s quarter finals, reaching up to 25 knots. Experience in these tough Tarifa conditions, together with consistency proved to be key elements to advancing through this round.
There were no surprises as all of our top seeded riders advanced through this round to the semi-finals. Nia Suardiaz, Paula Novotna, Flora Artzner and Bowien van der Linden all remained in the competition for an opportunity to take the win at this event. Bowien put on the best female performance of the day, with her toeside frontside 3 scoring her 5.30 points.
Men’s eliminations
There were some stand-out performances for round 2, particularly from the younger riders who showed amazing determination and capability in the strong, difficult conditions. Axel Gerard rode a great heat, landing a 6.30 point front flip that allowed him to advance to Round 3.
River Moore, 14-year-old local rider, lost a very close heat with Xavi Corr in Round 1, so for Round 2 he showed even more determination, closing his heat with an impressive backflip scoring 7 points and giving him the opportunity to remain in the competition for Round 3.
The highest scoring heat of Round 2 went to Frenchman Bastien Escofet, who achieved an overall score of 8.30 for his spectacular front flip. Round 2 finished with an outstanding performance from one of the youngest local riders, Nathan Berger, who defeated Riccardo Zorzi with an unstoppable display of riding which included a massive frontside 7 scoring him 8.4 points and allowing him a well-deserved spot in Round 3.
The wind unfortunately dropped during the final heat of round 2, which will be continued tomorrow, as the Levante wind is once again in the forecast for the coming days.
River Moore is a local 14-year-old competitor who is competing at a World Cup event for the first time here at his home spot. “To compete here at my home spot is just incredible”, said River. “The wind today has been tricky, and it definitely picked up throughout the day.
“I just missed out on my first heat, but in my second heat I was fully powered on my 3-metre wing and managed to land my tricks. The thing with wingfoiling is that we have race and freestyle, and it’s always fast, no matter what. You can go high, the landings are awesome, and it’s just a great sport. It’s bringing a community together, joining people from kitesurfing and windsurfing together.”
We still have two more days of action ahead of us, and today is looking to be a crucial moment in the competition, particularly for the women as we could potentially be crowning a new world champion.
Gemma Hamaini
