Climactic battles poised for finals’ showdown in third and last stop of FreeFly-Slalom season in Jericoacoara
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Brazil 2024
26–30 November, 2024 | Jericoacoara, Brazil
The races for the 2024 Freefly-Slalom crowns are finely poised and will be decided in the finals at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Brazil following an intense opening day of action in Jericoacoara.
The men’s battles on day two saw four Qualifying Elimination rounds, with the top eight riders going forward to the finals’ shootout. The French pair of Oscar Leclair and Julien Rattotti went straight to the final, while the other six qualifiers must fight it out for the two remaining places.
The top six women, including reigning FreeFly-Slalom world champion, Spain’s Nia Suardiaz, booked their places in the finals. France’s Kylie Belloeuvre also advanced to the final after seven women’s Elimination rounds.
The FreeFly-Slalom contests kicked off the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Brazil, which will also feature Surf-Freestyle action later in the week. A fleet of 21 men and 11 women were fighting in the third and final GWA FreeFly-Slalom stop of the year.
Reigning world champion, Italy’s Francesco Cappuzzo, leads the rankings and is keen to retain his crown. But he had a slightly mixed day on the water, failing to win any of the Elimination rounds, ending the day in third place and destined to battle in the semi-final repechage.
By contrast, Oscar Leclair, was on fire. His two wins and two seconds sent him straight to the final with one “match-point” in his pocket, needing only one more win to seal the overall victory in Jericoacoara.
‘Lots of crashes’
“We had strong conditions with a lot of seaweed and a lot of crashes,” said Leclair. “I was battling a lot with Rattotti. In the last race I knew if he won he would go the final in first place, and if I won I would be first. I got the win and it determines the medal series’ positions, so I’m happy about that.”
Another Frenchman, Alan Fedit, finished the day in fourth and also joins Cappuzzo in the semi-final repechage. Fedit’s series of consistent, strong finishes keep in the hunt for the overall win.
“I’m in fourth position, so I’m super-happy about that,” said Fedit. “It was a ‘regular’ course, so that gives a lot advantages for me. I was well-powered on my 4m. It was a great day; long, but good. The last day is going to be intense.
Venezuela’s Jose “Gollito” Estredo made it to the quarter-final repechage, along with Jeremiah McDonald, of New Zealand, who was finding his feet after a year out of the FreeFly-Slalom game.
“I was feeling confident,” said McDonald. “In the last final I was in a Zorzi ‘sandwich’, squished between the two brothers. I was last at the start, but managed to wiggle my way up to sixth. Just enough to get it done. It was great. I really enjoyed it.”
‘Different style’
In the women’s ladder, Nia Suardiaz dominated again, only ceding one race win to her key rival for the title race, Kylie Belloeuvre. Both booked their places in the final, though Suardiaz has the advantage of a “match-point” and needs only one more win for overall victory.
The Netherlands’ Bowien van der Linden finished third on the day and goes to the semi-final repechage with three other riders, all of them vying for their places in the finals’ shootout.
“I really enjoyed these races,” said Van der Linden. “They went pretty good for me. We’ve had a lot of races this year that were goofy oriented: goofy starts and goofy finishes. I’m ‘regular’, so these regular starts made it a lot more fun. This is a different style and I like it.”
Switzerland’s Zara Maillard also earned a place in the semi-final repechage with her sixth place finish after qualification and was delighted with her progress in FreeFly-Slalom this season.
“Definitely I’ve progressed,” said Maillard. “The first races in Leucate [France], I had not trained or anything. I was new and it was really complicated—just the starts and everything. I’ve learned a lot from the other girls.”
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Svetlana Romantsova
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Brazil FreeFly-Slalom finalists
Men
1 Oscar Leclair (FRA)
2 Julien Rattotti (FRA)
3 Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA)
4 Alan Fedit (FRA)
5 Jose “Gollito” Estredo (VEN)
6 Bastien Escofet (FRA)
7 Jeremiah McDonald (NZL)
8 Axel Gerard (FRA)
Women
1 Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
2 Kylie Belloeuvre (FRA)
3 Bowien van der Linden (NED)
4 Mar de Arce (ESP)
5 Orane Ceris (FRA)
6 Zara Maillard (SUI)
Spot Info
Jericoacoara
Jericoacoara offers great conditions for the wingfoilers. Small wind-swell waves curl around the point, where the wind is cross-shore to cross-offshore. The winds are constant and on all day from August to November. The winds are cross-onshore from the right, but Jeri town it tends to be offshore and gusty, with flat waters.
Weather
November is the driest month in Jeri. The air temperature during day can be between 32°C, the highest temperatures, and the lowest of 24°C. The water temperature of the sea is around 20-25°C, so nothing more than a summer shorty is required. Sunrise is at about 05.30 and sunset is 17.30.
Wind
Easterly winds blow cross-shore to offshore in Jericoacoara, between 20–30 knots, or more. You can find the most accurate online wind forecasts on Windguru.
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