The World Cup has been running in Dakhla, Morocco, since 2 November, and once again two disciplines are being contested: In the "Surf Race", the field starts together on a downwind course around several buoys. In the "Surf/Freestyle" discipline, wave rides (criteria: flow, speed, manoeuvres on the wave) and freestyle tricks (criteria: risk factor/difficulty, height, power) will be judged. The GWA Wingfoil World Cup Dakhla will see 20 men and five women from a total of ten countries competing for 10,000 euros in prize money.
In conditions with around 20 knots of wind and solid waves, the regatta organisers decided not to start the surf/freestyle discipline. In 15-minute heats, the two best of a maximum of ten permitted wave rides were to be included in the classification. In addition, five trick attempts were allowed, of which the best move would count.
The women in the starting field were allowed to relax again first, while the men kicked things off this time. And here Titouan Galea ( HERE gives a clip of his "Mission Double-Backflip") set the bar pretty high. A whopping 9.13 points for his best wave ride and a total score of 23.67 points at the end - a score that would not be surpassed until the end of the day.
Also impressive: 17-year-old Dutchman Chucho Nonnot, who practically rushed straight from the delayed plane onto the water and still knocked his almost 30-year-old rival Sebastien Jourdant out of the race. Francesco Capuzzo (ITA) had a much more relaxed start to the event - he had already travelled here three weeks ago to train and was obviously in full flow.
By the middle of the third lap, the wind was increasingly running out of steam. Here are the highlights of the first day in a short clip:
You can also watch the current action at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Dakhla in the livestream and the wind forecast continues to promise solid conditions. Stay tuned!
