Windsurf foiling: Freeride or freerace foil – which one brings you more joy?
Stephan Gölnitz
· 03.10.2026
“You’ve got off lightly, haven’t you?” I hear that several times on this light-wind day on Lake Garda. Yet I’m out there with anything but a mountain of kit. Just a 5.6 Freemove sail, a Severne Alien 120 and, underneath that, a 1400 Red Wing. That’s all I need today. Whilst even many wing foilers are mostly waiting rather than launching, it’s really only the IQ foilers who are out there flying.
Even on the way to the water, everything feels pleasantly straightforward. The board is light and easy to handle, and the small sail weighs next to nothing. It’s only once I’m in the water that I realise I’ve forgotten the halyard. No problem. The lightweight rig can easily be pulled out of the water by the mast. It’s precisely these little details that define the character of a set-up.
Freeride Foil: Flying whilst others are still waiting for a gust
The first attempt at pumping is then crucial. The sail has been deliberately rigged with virtually no loose leech; the profile looks beautifully bulging. This is precisely how the sail generates an astonishing amount of thrust even in the lightest of winds. Instead of rushing off frantically, I start with long, steady pumping strokes. The board accelerates slowly until suddenly that magical moment arrives: a quick kick with my back foot and the large front wing lifts the board out of the water at perhaps twelve or thirteen kilometres per hour – the flight can begin. Of course, a large freeride wing like this rides completely differently to a sporty freerace foil. You can’t edge it extremely sharply – perhaps ten or fifteen degrees – but that’s all it needs. The tilting moment of the foil with its compact outline (“low aspect ratio“) remains pleasantly low. And that is precisely why the wing works so well with the Alien Board, which is just 74 centimetres wide. Nothing feels twitchy or overworked. Instead, the foil gains height effortlessly and inspires confidence right from the very first metre.
Foil riding technique:
The jibes, however, are the real highlight. I can hardly think of any other combination that carries you through the turns more easily, for longer and more safely. Even if the foil does touch down briefly, the bow absorbs the impact cleanly; the foil doesn’t put up a fuss at all and simply carries on. That’s exactly what creates an incredible downwind flow. You string one jibe after another; speed is secondary. It’s not spectacular either. On average, a good 23 km/h over an hour, with a top speed of just over 32 km/h. You’d certainly be faster in full glide on a fin board. But that’s precisely the point: speed feels completely different on the foil – 30 km/h is the new 40 in freeride foiling. And whilst others are still waiting for a stronger gust, you’re already flying across the lake. In a way, that does make you the fastest after all.
Playful, effortless and always on the move
The lightweight 5.6 sail plays its part in creating that ‘free’ foil feeling. It’s playful, requires minimal effort and is so light that I often don’t even clip in when sailing on deep downwind courses. After an hour on the water, my arms and shoulders still feel fresh. With a large fin set-up, I’d probably have spent most of the day standing up and pumping very hard in the gusts – if at all. This is exactly where the windsurf foil really comes into its own: it opens up sessions that simply wouldn’t be possible with a fin.
“Freeride foils are the first to get airborne reliably. If you can pump properly, you’ll even leave many wingfoilers in your wake.”
There is still one small lesson to be learnt, though. The 32-centimetre trapeze lines attached to the boom are clearly too short. If you want to foil in a relaxed manner, you should opt for significantly longer lines. This gives your body more freedom of movement and is what actually allows you to shift your weight right to the front of the board whilst hooked into the harness. With this set-up, the lake becomes one big playground. I tack for kilometres up to the pier and back again, spontaneously changing course from close-hauled to deep downwind without any significant drop in speed. For me, that’s exactly the essence of freeride foiling: lightweight kit, small sails, minimal effort and maximum time in the air. With a sail of up to around 6.7 square metres, this combination is likely to be one of the earliest set-ups that can reliably get you airborne. Anyone who pump cleanly can, leaving even many wingfoilers in its wake on genuinely light-wind days.
Freerace Foil: The thrill of speed with obstacles
A few days later, the complete contrast unfolds at Walchensee. The water is as smooth as glass, with only gentle gusts drawing pale blue streaks across the surface. Two or three wing foilers are making their way across the water. On the shore, the word is: “Today, it’s really only those with 7- and 8-metre wings who are out there.” So, the wind limit applies.
This time, however, a completely different set-up is being used: a large foilboard, an 800 Starboard Racefoil and a 7.2 Gunsails Rapid. Even the very first attempts at pumping show that different rules apply here. I pump, again, and again – nothing happens. The Racefoil demands speed. Only once the board has really picked up speed does the smaller wing generate enough lift. If you try to lift off too soon, you’ll fall straight back down. Once you’ve managed to get onto the foil, the situation changes abruptly. Suddenly, the GPS is showing just under 40 km/h. The Racefoil feels sporty right from the start. The board sits steadily in the air, can be edged sharply and delivers that classic freerace feel. You simply feel incredibly fast – with a bit of overactive imagination, almost like Tom Cruise on a low-altitude flight in Top Gun 2. But you’re also hanging in the harness under pressure, actively working against the sail, and you realise: this isn’t about relaxed gliding, but about performance.
“For a Freerace wing, the board really has to be the right one. Ideally a foilboard – and, above all, one that’s wide enough.”
However, the equipment also demands considerably more attention. The jibe must be executed cleanly, as the foil will consistently fall out of the air below a certain speed. The large freeride foil is forgiving of mistakes, whilst the small race foil rewards precision. There is also a clear difference when it comes to the sail. In principle, any well-behaved, camberless freeride sail is sufficient for pumping. Above all, a stable pressure point is crucial. Any shift in the pressure point is transmitted directly via the mast and board to the foil, making the entire system unstable. On the other hand, those who frequently ride in the absolute minimum wind conditions will benefit from a (foil) camber sail when gliding. The more stable profile maintains forward momentum even when the wind has long since fallen below the actual flight threshold.
“At first, it was simply a matter of spending as much time as possible on the water”
One person who has flown everything from freeride foils to the most extreme race foils is Christian Breidbach, a participant in the 2018–2020 surf-foil camps. “On the first Naish foil, it was initially all about spending as much time as possible on the water with the foil, just like in the early days with windsurfing,” recalls Christian. “I once filmed a video on Lake Garda. Everything’s standing still, just one person foiling. That was me. Then, at some point, the iQ foils came along and were much faster. So I bought myself an iQ foil too, with a 79-centimetre-wide foilboard. It was actually easier to control than the Naish, because of the long fuselage. It was time for the next upgrade when I heard just how fast the Patrik foils were supposed to be. So I bought the 550 front wing. It was fine for riding. But for me, as a recreational surfer, pumping it up was extremely difficult. And the equipment is so fiddly to trim. I once had the chance to take part in a few training sessions with PWA racer Bruno Martini. The other pros would foil for ten minutes, and then it was all about tinkering and trimming. As an amateur surfer, I’ve no desire to do that.
"Race Foil is really cool, but you never stop sweating." (Christian Breidbach)
And jibes? You can’t really do them on the 550 wing unless you’re doing it all year round. The speed was brilliant, of course. I broke the 50 km/h mark. But on the Naish, you were standing up, with one hand on the boom and using the sail to control the speed. On the Race, you don’t adjust anything anymore. You’re always going full throttle, hanging more or less fully forward in the harness. It’s brilliant, but you just can’t stop sweating. I’m switching back now – heading for freerace. I’ve bought a 750 Patrik wing; it’s much nicer to ride and not quite as demanding when jibing.”
Conclusion: Freerace or freeride – which is more fun to foil on?
The result is two set-ups that could hardly be more different. The freeride set-up offers freedom, lightness and endless airtime. The freerace set-up delivers speed and the exhilarating sensation of constantly flying at the limit. One tempts you to cruise leisurely across the whole lake, whilst the other turns every gust into a launch pad for the next rush of speed. And that is precisely why both have their place.
Stephan Gölnitz
Deputy Editor in Chief surf