The world’s fastest kiteboarding athletes are looking forward to returning to one of their favourite venues, Cagliari, for four days of competition at KiteFoil World Series Sardinia.
Stunning Poetto Beach, not far from the centre of Sardinia’s capital city, played host to the Formula Kite World Championships two years ago when Daniela Moroz (USA) won the sixth of her world titles and Toni Vodisek (SLO) won the men’s title in a close battle with friend and arch-rival Max Maeder (SGP).
© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Max Maeder and Lauriane Nolot won last year
Then a year ago at KiteFoil World Series Sardinia 2023 Maeder took out the men’s title and France’s Lauriane Nolot prevailed over the women’s fleet. Now, just over six weeks since the conclusion of the Olympic Games, the question is who will establish their pre-eminence in the new four-year cycle leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Games?
© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: The local media are very interested in the event
While Valentin Bontus (AUT) dominated the final day of the Paris 2024 Games to take gold for Austria, on home waters at KiteFoil World Series Austria just a few weeks ago, it was Singapore’s Olympic bronze medallist Maeder who came out all guns blazing to take the top of the podium ahead of his regular training partner, Croatia’s Martin Dolenc.
In the absence of Nolot who broke her leg just days after winning Olympic silver in a trampolining mishap, fellow French rider Jessie Kampman took out the women’s title on Lake Traunsee ahead of Switzerland’s Olympic representative Elena Lengwiler.
© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: New kites are shaking up the competiton towards LA 2028
Austria provided a first opportunity for many riders to race with the new round of equipment which has been ratified as race legal for the next four years of Formula Kite competition.
While Flysurfer dominated the previous couple of seasons in the lead-up to Paris 2024 and is looking strong again with its new generation of kites, a bronze medal in Austria in both the men’s and women’s divisions for Element bodes well for some healthy competition.
Israel’s Gal Zukerman and France’s Benoit Gomez will be keen to repeat or even improve on their performances and climb on to even higher steps of the podium.
© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Will Max Maeder defend his 2023 KiteFoil world title?
After narrowly missing out on the men’s podium, Riccardo Pianosi (ITA), along with the rest of the strong Italian squad, will be keen to put in a good performance on the waters where they do so much training.
Cagliari is also the base for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the Italian team which has been making good progress aboard its silver foiling AC75 towards another showdown with New Zealand in the upcoming America’s Cup. Foiling-mania is running high in the southern Sardinian city.
As well as developments to the kites in the sky, evidence from Austria suggests that both leading foil designers, Chubanga and Levitaz, have made good hydrodynamic steps forward with their latest iterations of mast and foil combinations.
Greater ease of handling whilst maintaining high average speeds is the aim of the game and riders are finding the new foils take very little learning, they just feel easier more or less straight away.
© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: YOG 2028 gold medalist Georgia Speciale (right) is making the switch to kitefoil racing
Racing takes place from 2 to 5 October. The final day will be the medal series which has been streamlined from the recent Olympic format. The Repechage, Quarter-Final and Semi-Final heats are all single races, and preceding those knock-out rounds is the ‘Golden Ticket’ long distance race. This offers the slim opportunity for any rider still to be able to win the overall competition going into the final day.
In addition to regular media updates throughout the competition, the last two days of racing will be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.
