The Gran Canaria GWA Wingfoil World Cup kicked off the FreeFly Slalom season. Conditions were challenging right from the start: winds of over 30 knots characterised both days of competition and placed high demands on equipment and riding technique. The first day saw three elimination rounds for the men and six for the women, after which Bastien Escofet and Nia Suardiaz were in the lead.
The second day of competition saw a further three elimination rounds in the men’s event. Tom Pansard won two rounds, whilst Francesco Cappuzzo secured the third. The top six qualified for the Super Final: Pansard, Escofet, Cappuzzo, Noe Cuyala, Sebastiano Zorzi and Germany’s Benjamin May. In the women’s event, the field completed another elimination round, which was won by Kylie Belloeuvre. Suardiaz topped the qualifying round ahead of Belloeuvre, Enoha Laurent, Manon Dupé, Bowien van der Linden and Mar de Arce. The six women progressed to the Super Final, where they will compete for the overall title.
Three finals will decide the men’s competition
The men’s Super Final turned into a dramatic three-way battle. The top six battled their way through the rounds until four finalists remained: Cappuzzo, Escofet, Zorzi and Pansard. The rule states that an athlete needs two wins to win the event. Pansard had already secured one point from the elimination rounds. In the first final race, Pansard crashed at the start; Cappuzzo seized the opportunity and won, ahead of Escofet in second place and Zorzi in third. Pansard had to sit out the second final race due to a medical issue. This time, Cappuzzo crashed after the FreeFly section, which opened the door for Escofet. The Frenchman took the lead and secured victory. After two finals, Escofet, Cappuzzo and Pansard each had one win to their name. A third and decisive race was needed to settle the outcome.
Francesco Cappuzzo eventually won the third final race, securing overall victory at the Gran Canaria GWA Wingfoil World Cup. The Italian expressed his relief after the competition: “It feels so good to be back at the top. I’ve had bad dreams over the last six or seven months since Abu Dhabi. I’m so happy to be back at the top here now. The conditions were really challenging; anyone could have won this event. I’m really glad I pushed myself and came away with the win. Now I need to go all out in Fuerteventura and see it through to the end.” Escofet finished in second place, with Pansard completing the podium in third. Sebastiano Zorzi finished the competition in fourth place.
Suardiaz dominates the women’s final
Nia Suardiaz went through to the Super Final with one point from the qualifying rounds. In Heats 1 and 2, Enoha Laurent and Mar de Arce qualified for the main final, where they faced Suardiaz and Kylie Belloeuvre. The Spaniard capitalised on her lead and held on to it throughout the final course. With her victory in the Super Final, she secured overall victory in the Gran Canaria FreeFly Slalom. Belloeuvre finished second, whilst Laurent took third place. Suardiaz commented on her success: “Everything went really well, and I’m absolutely delighted. Today I won my first final. The conditions were incredible. We had really strong wind and big waves – it was absolutely brilliant.” Mar de Arce rounded off the final in fourth place.
View of Fuerteventura
The FreeFly Slalom in Gran Canaria has come to an end. Attention now turns to the Surf Freestyle discipline, which will take place in Gran Canaria over the coming days. After that, the GWA Wingfoil World Tour moves on to Fuerteventura the following week, where the world champions will be crowned. Cappuzzo has made a statement with his victory in Gran Canaria and heads into the final showdown full of confidence. Suardiaz has also cemented her position as the defending champion and is in strong form for the season’s decisive competitions.
All heats and information can be found at wingfoilworldtour.com