Smaller Kites Shrink The Riders and Mix the Fleet

Brave riders grabbed their opportunities on day one of the 2025 Formula Kite European Championships, in Urla, Turkiye. Hammering around the course on their smallest kites in 24 knots of wind, rookies and veterans both made their marks at the first senior championship of the year.

© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Riccardo Pianosi (ITA) Staked his claim to the championship with a “picket fence,” all firsts in his scoreline

Unfazed by New Rules
Changes in the men’s fleet rules for this Olympic cycle limited the smallest kite to 11 meters, no smaller, making the days racing challenging for the smaller riders. Bronze medalist Max Maeder of Singapore and Italy’s Riccardo Pianosi, fourth in Paris and hungry for a win, wasted no time in staking their claim to the championship both winning their respective fleets with straight bullets.

Greek rider Cameron Maramenides had one of his best senior starts ending second in his fleet, despite a high-speed crash, racing Maeder to the finish that left him dazed with a bruised leg.

© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: A high-speed crash almost ruined Cameron Maramenides (GRE) solid day

Maramenides has come back from a heartbreaking 11th at the Paris Games, just out of the medal race, leaving him to rebuild his confidence in the off season.

“Having good people around you, I got an insane team now,” said Maramenides who trains as a team rider for Element Kites with Benoit Gomez. “It’s a great group of guys working together to get better, that’s what the sports all about.”

Former European champion Axel Mazela was a leader in the fleet for years and now is coming back from a disappointing Olympics where he finished sixth. After some time off, he said he’s feeling the speed coming back while adjusting to the new fitness and physique required today.

“It’s the same Axel, just losing a lot of weight during the winter time,” said Mazela who is in fourth, only three points from first in his fleet. “We know we have to lose weight to be as fast as possible.”

Though not a factor in the high winds, the new rules have also limited the size of the biggest kite to 21m2, leaving a three-kite quiver of 2m2, 15m2, 11m2.

These changes, along with the women’s limitation to 15m2 maximum size, were made primarily to stay the rising competitive weights of riders.

© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: With smaller kites, riders like Lorianne Nolot (FRA) are adapting their training and losing weight

“At first I was a bit pissed about the change,” said Lorianne Nolot, France’s Olympic silver medalist who broke her ankle right after the games and didn’t start riding again until January. “We have been training with the men and now we can’t go as fast as them. But I’ve been adjusting my training with CrossFit and it’s going better than I thought.”

New Faces on Top of Women’s Fleet
Many riders, like Nolot, have adapted to the smaller maximum kite size rule by losing weight and training with more explosive techniques. But day one was windy with most riders choosing the 9-meter kite.

With the absence of 2024’s usual stars, new women riders took advantage of today’s conditions. Britain’s Lily Young is leading, clear ahead of Catalina Turienzo of Argentina in second and local star Derin Atakan in third. The trio are joined by rising star Izabela Satrjan of Poland in fourth.

Turienzo has been on the rise, winning both U19 and U21 youth worlds last year and qualifying for the Games. Satrjan has been training with and taking races off Nolot all winter.

© IKA media/Robert Hajduk: Smaller riders like Izabela Satrjan (POL) are grabbing their opportunities at the top of the fleet

I was trying to be calm and to manage with the concentration all day,” said Satrjan. “It was hard to stay concentrated in these conditions all day, but I managed it. I’m happy.” With five more days of racing still left and live action Sunday and Monday, riders are expecting a wild mix of conditions on the turquoise waters of Urla.

Results will be updated as they happen, racing will be tracked, and the final days will be live streamed on FaceBook and YouTube.

RESULTS MEN

RESULTS WOMEN