Fantastic Five race winners on a gusty day

Five different winners in six exhilarating races on day three of Kitefoil World Series Sardinia bodes well for a thrilling final medal series on Saturday.

First win of the afternoon went to Max Maeder, no surprise there at all. Surely the 18-year-old from Singapore would score more bullets across the day, just as he had done at Kitefoil World Series Austria a few weeks ago when he won 11 out of 12 fleet races.

But some of the up-and-coming talents in the fleet had something to say for themselves. This is the new era after Paris 2024. There is a huge array of new-generation kites and foils on display on Poetto Beach and from today’s evidence, there are plenty of options for getting to the front of the fleet.

© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Gian Stragiotti was one of the surprise winners of the day

NEW WINNERS

Exactly a year younger than Maeder and sharing the same September birthday, 17-year-old Gian Stragiotti chased the older teenager across the finish line of the first race having led for much of the course. In race two, Stragiotti got the better of Maeder to score his first win of the event. Both of these riders are using Flysurfer kites but in race three it was the turn of Greek rider Cameron Maramenides to fly his Element kite to victory before the lunch break.

As the riders came ashore for a brief rest and recuperation on Poetto Beach, the wind was also picking up significantly. Most had been racing on their medium-size 15 square metre kites for the early session but now the 11 square metres were the weapon of choice as the breeze started gusting up to 20 knots.

© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Cameron Maramenides surging to a race win

BIGGER BREEZE = SMALLER KITES

Maggie Pescetto had been feeling the difference against the newer generation of kites while she was persevering with her older kites that she had used for her Paris 2024 campaign. “The new kites are more stable, they are just higher and faster upwind,” said the Italian Olympic representative. “I hope the higher wind will mean we are all on the smaller kites for the rest of the afternoon because I don’t think the difference between old and new will be so big.”

Pescetto’s performance certainly improved in the stronger breeze, as it did for fellow Italian Riccardo Pianosi who managed to win the final race of the day with his old-generation Flysurfer kite. “I was feeling really fast downwind, it felt great,” said Pianosi who finished fourth at the Olympics a few weeks ago. “It was great conditions and good fun to push so hard.”

© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Riccardo Pianosi's last race victory proves old kit can still go fast

MAEDER V MAZELLA

The only rider to win two races today was Axel Mazella, the Frenchman who had started the day with the leader’s yellow bib. After a poor early session in the lighter breeze, Mazella’s new Ozone 11 square metre lit up the race track in the afternoon. He was fast enough upwind but in a league of his own on the downwind legs, at 39 knots of speed as fast as some of the others but also sailing a deeper angle towards the leeward mark with a much more upright body stance that is his trademark and surely a contributory factor to his performance.

By the end of five races Mazella had recouped some of his losses to the more consistent Maeder and they went into the final race neck-and-neck at the top of the scoreboard. Going into the final day with the leader’s yellow bib brings a crucial advantage. Winning the four-rider final requires three ‘wins’, but the winner of the opening series is rewarded with two wins to carry through. Whoever of Mazella and Maeder came across the line in front would take the yellow bib.

© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Maggie Pescetto going fast in the stronger breeze

In the end it was Maeder who sailed the better final race, as the Singaporean nearly stole the winner’s gun from Pianosi and crossed in second place. Finishing two places further back behind third-placed Maramenides, Mazella missed his chance to retain the yellow bib but still books the second spot directly to the final. The rest of the riders will have to fight their way through the knock-out rounds to join Maeder and Mazella in the final.

In the women, Elena Lengwiler (SUI) closed the gap on Jessie Kampman (FRA) but it’s still the French rider who goes through to the final at the top of the standings. Gal Zukerman (ISR), Pescetto and the rest of the women will be competing in the knock-out rounds of the medal series for the right to join the top two in the women’s final.


© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Kite tangle between Pescetto and Kampman

ONE-WAY TICKET

The final day commences with a ‘Golden Ticket’ race for all those outside the top nine. Whoever wins that race will take the Golden Ticket to join the rest of the contenders in the medal series. It’s a format change that has already been battle-tested on the Wingfoil Racing World Cup but it’s only the second time that the kitefoiling community will experience the Golden Ticket, an innovation which creates the opportunity for any rider to win the competition on the final day.

Saturday’s medal series is set to be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.

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