GWA Wingfoil World Tour: New generation dominates season opener in Leucate

The 29th edition of the Mondial du Vent in Leucate marked the start of the surf freestyle season of the GWA Wingfoil World Tour. 24 men and 20 women from 12 nations registered for the traditional event on France's Mediterranean coast. Marie Schlittenbauerthe 2025 world champion, was absent due to injury, as were Mar de Arce, Aleksander Acherer and Ancor Sosa. The poor wind forecast forced the organisers to adjust the format. The seeding rounds were cancelled, with the men starting directly in round 4 and the women in round 3. This decision was intended to save valuable time and increase the chances of a complete result.

Surprises in the early rounds

On the third day of the event, the wind finally allowed the surf freestyle action to start with the men's fourth round. The top two riders from each heat qualified for round 5, while the bottom two were eliminated. The first surprises came at this stage. Malo Guenole, one of the freestyle favourites, lost his heat in round 5 against Nathan Berger and Tom Acherer. Other top names also had to drop out: Axel Gerard, Bastien Escofet and defending champion Benjamin Castenskiold did not find their usual rhythm in the lighter wind conditions and were also eliminated early.

The final day of the competition began before sunrise. Crew and riders took advantage of a light Tramontana from 7am. In the first semi-final heat, Chris MacDonald fluffed three trick attempts and failed to land his usual high-score tricks. Charlie Loch put up a strong fight after his injury last year, but was also unable to prevail. Instead, up-and-coming riders Luca Vuillermet and Nathan Berger secured their first final places on the World Tour. The second semi-final was extremely close. Rocco Makana came out on top with 24.60 points, followed by Tomas Acherer. Noe Cuyala missed out on qualifying for the final by a fraction of a point, while Sacha Pallier was also eliminated.

Acherer dominates the final

The men's final started at 8 a.m. in still stable wind conditions. Tomas Acherer and Rocco Makana pulled away from the start, while Vuillermet and Berger struggled to land their signature tricks. Vuillermet worked his way up to the leading group at the halfway point, but his switch to a smaller wing proved to be a bad decision when the wind dropped shortly afterwards. Berger crashed on five of his trick attempts. Acherer was completely unimpressed by the lighter conditions. With 26.63 points, he set the highest heat score of the entire event and secured victory in the season opener. Rocco Makana celebrated his first podium with second place, while Luca Vuillermet completed the top three with his debut podium.

The second round of the women's competition began in steady winds. Ava Segersten delivered an impressive performance in her surf freestyle debut, landing every single one of her trick attempts. She achieved the highest total score of the round. Sofia Ginzinger, fresh from the Junior World Championships, also set high standards in her opening heat. The semi-finals started at 10.30am with some new names. Segersten underlined her ambitions with a 9.17-point front flip at the end of her heat and entered the final together with Ginzinger. Allegra Caffi and Leonie Tröndl narrowly missed out on the top two places.

Suardiaz defends Leucate title

In the second semi-final, Nia Suardiaz landed a solid series of tricks and qualified for the final with aplomb, followed by Manon Dupé. Kylie Belloeuvre showed a strong heat, but was unable to prevail. Zara Maillard crashed her last trick attempts and was eliminated. The final brought an interesting constellation: two experienced GWA athletes, Nia Suardiaz and Manon Dupé, faced two complete newcomers to the World Tour, Ava Segersten and Sofia Ginzinger. Suardiaz took control from the very first trick. By half-time, she had built up a comfortable lead. Although she crashed her last three attempts as the wind died down, victory was already assured. Ava Segersten crowned her dream debut with second place. Sofia Ginzinger, just 12 years old and the youngest participant in the event, secured third place ahead of Manon Dupé.

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