2015 KiteFoil GoldCup - Day 1

by Ian MacKinnon on 10 Jul 2015 Reigning Formula kite world champion Maxime Nocher demonstrated his devastating turn of speed in the kite hydrofoil class, scoring four bullets in five races that cemented his place at the top of the leaderboard on the first day of competition.

The Monaco rider competing in the “yellow” fleet made up of half the 48 racers — the other designated the “blue” fleet — might even have made a clean sweep of five had he not crashed on a downwind leg to the finish line and concede the win to Axel Mazella (FRA), who also had a good opening day at the KiteFoil GoldCup Italy.

Fellow countryman Julien Kerneur (FRA) made hay in the “blue” fleet scoring several bullets that kept him in strong contention in second spot overall when the fleets are re-arranged for day two of the event’s qualifying series being hosted off Hang Loose Beach, Gizerria, south-west Italy.

But one of the bigger surprises on a day of intense, fast-pace racing that saw the riders scythe through the blue Mediterranean at jaw-dropping speeds, was the success of Benni Boelli (GER), who ended in third position overall.

His 15m Flysurfer foil kite, in combination with a Levitaz hydrofoil with radical rear winglet and narrower ASV board, offered him blistering speed that saw him steal third place in the day’s final race despite an ill-judged pin-end start gamble that failed and put him almost at the back of the 24-strong pack.

But in the two laps of the windward-leeward track, which the winners typically completed in about 10 minutes in the breeze that built from a nine knots average to 12kts under clear skies, Boelli was able to blaze a path back into contention.

“This 15m Flysurfer kite is the one I’m used to riding at home, so I feel very comfortable with it,” said Boelli. “Not long ago we found a good set up with the Levitaz foil. The front wing is normal, but the rear wing is experimental and the fuselage is longer. It’s working very well.”

The sheer speed of the Flysurfer kites and Levitaz foils combination prompted Simone Vannucci (ITA), no slouch himself ending eighth overall, to joke that the Levitaz foils should be banned, an impossibility as the class remains “open”.

“I tried these Levitaz foils and they’re very fast,” said Vannucci, owner of ASV Performance and also a Flysurfer team-rider. “These foils should be protested on the grounds of technical advantage.”

Yet even the Flysurfer-Levitaz riders will have to contend with Nocher’s pace on his F-one foil kite, board and Taaroa Sword2 hydrofoil with new G10 wings that ensured he stayed well ahead of a classy field that included the likes of Olly Bridge (GBR) and Peter Mueller (GER), who ended fifth overall riding Flysurfer and Levitaz.

On the third day of the four-day championship the fleets will be seeded into the top “gold” and bottom “silver” fleets to compete for the podium positions. With the seven women mixed in among the men, qualification for the “gold” fleet will be a tough ask for them.

But Alexi Fancelli (FRA), riding a Taaroa Sword2 hydrofoil, managed a good showing just stealing a march on reigning Formula kite world champion Steph Bridge (GBR). Both were able outstrip many of the men finishing about half-way down their respective fleets.



Overall Results:

Rank	Gender	Lycra	Name	Sponsors	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Total	Nett
1st	Male	248	Maxime Nocher	f­one baticoncept monacoyachtclub ageprim	1	1	-2	1	1	6	4
2nd	Male	235	Julien Kerneur	AIRUSH	-4	3	1	2	1	11	7
3rd	Male	241	Benni Boelli	Flysurfer Kiteboarding; Levitaz Kitefoils; XCEL Wetsuits Germany	1	1	3	(25.0 RCT)	3	33	8
4th	Male	84	Axel Mazella	North Kiteboarding, Ion, Le Spot Kitecenter	2	-3	1	2	3	11	8
5th	Male	249	Peter Mueller	flysurfer, LEVITAZ, Element Sports, bleed organic clothing	-5	2	4	3	2	16	11
6th	Male	232	Riccardo	Ozone Kites­Mike´sLab­COGUAkiteboarding­Coconut SportWaterSMFP­ColombiaKite	2	-6	2	3.5	4	17.5	11.5
			Andrea					RDG
			Leccese
7th	Male	87	Adam	Aguera, Sword, Elf	-6	4	5	3	2	20	14
			Withington
8th	Male	244	Simone Vannucci	ASV Performance ­ DaKine	3	2	-6	4	5	20	14
9th	Male	82	Adrian	Levitaz Kitefoils / Surfshop Upsidedown usd.at / LiP­Sports	5	5	4	1	-7	22	15
			Geislinger
10th	Male	131	Romain Castel	F­One // Manera	3	4	5	-7	5	24	17
11th	Male	88	Theo de Ramecourt	CABRINHAPROLIMITCHES CAYTEUX	4	5	3	6	-8	26	18
12th	Male	247	Oliver Bridge	Northkiteboarding, Volvo, Mean line fins, ION	-9	6	6	4	4	29	20
13th	Male	81	Toni Vodisek	GROOVE , ELF, Z­FINS, SPOTZ, HOTEL VODISEK	6	10	-14	5	6	41	27
14th	Male	246	Marvin	Kitefoil Australia, Flysurfer, Ronstan, Patagonia	7	8	7	-12	6	40	28
			Baumeister
15th	Male	110	Guy Bridge	Volvo, Temevento, Edgewatersports, ION	7	7	7	-13	7	41	28
16th	Male	240	Torvar Mirsky	Monkey Fist	8	7	-12	6	10	43	31
17th	Male	242	Benjamn Petit	Ozone, Radical, Orange, FFVL, CKC	9	10	8	5	-11	43	32
18th	Male	237	Tomek Janiak	RRD.IT; BLUEMEDIA.PL; ABCSURF; BRACURU	-10	9	9	7	8	43	33
19th	Male	245	James Johnsen	North Kiteboarding ­ ION	(25.0 UFD)	8	8	8	10	59	34
20th	Male	91	Florian Gruber	Ozone, Temavento, NP Surf, KFA Kite Foil Australia, Black Diamond Finns, Surf­ & Kiteschule Brombachsee	8	-9	9	9	9	44	35
21st	Male	192	Ejder Ginyol	Ozone Turkey ­ KiteboardGokova	13	12	-16	8	9	58	42
22nd	Male	236	Alejandro Climent	Flying Sardine, Meanline fins, Island tribe	10	-12	10	10	12	54	42
23rd	Male	238	Maks Zakowski	Blue Media, Temavento, Ozone, Oneil	11	11	10	10	-14	56	42
24th	Male	86	Denis Taradin		12	11	-15	11	11	60	45
25th	Male	50	Simone Santoni	Grooveboards, RRD Wetsuit, RRD Harness	-14	13	11	9	13	60	46
26th	Male	191	Mike Martin	WindTravel, Ozone	11	13	12	-16	13	65	49
27th	Male	90	Eneour Puill­	SPOTZ­foil.comIkon­Kiteboarding.com	12	-15	14	11	15	67	52
			Stephan
28th	Male	136	Valerio Venturi		15	14	-23	13	12	77	54
29th	Male	231	Andrea	ozone­foxkite­ Mig board	-21	15	13	12	14	75	54
			Beverino
30th	Male	89	Morten Lander	Kitesurferen.dk	18	14	11	15	-22	80	58
31st	Female	140	Steph Bridge	Edgewatersports. Volvo, Northkiteboarding, ION, CAT phones	13	-16	16	14	15	74	58
32nd	Female	137	Alexia Fancelli	Taaroa Hydrofoil, Airush	-16	16	13	14	16	75	59
33rd	Male	233	Lorenzo Giovanelli		17	17	15	16	-24	89	65
34th	Female	133	Elena Kalinina	SPBYC	14	18	17	18	-19	86	67
35th	Male	250	Sebastien Bourdon		15	21	-22	17	16	91	69
36th	Male	189	Enrico Tonon		17	17	18	-19	17	88	69
37th	Male	70	Luca Marcis		-20	18	17	18	17	90	70
38th	Male	139	Mario	LEVITAZ	19	-20	19	17	20	95	75
			Legenstein
39th	Male	239	Ben Turner	WSP.	18	19	20	(25.0	19	101	76
								DSQ)
40th	Male	134	Kieran Le Borgne	Airush, Ketos, SwellAddiction	21	(25.0	18	20	18	102	77
						DNC)
41st	Male	190	Tomek Glazik		20	20	20	-21	18	99	78
42nd	Male	85	Mirco Casale		19	19	-21	20	20	99	78
43rd	Male	234	Oliver Willi		-22	21	22	15	22	102	80
44th	Female	138	Catherine Dufour	Point Co, Oasis, Promutuel, Boralex, Boutique 30 noeuds, Ozone, Camet Kiteboarding, KiteFix, Makani	16	22	-23	22	21	104	81
45th	Male	243	Amil Kabil		(25.0	22	21	19	21	108	83
					DNC)
46th	Female	135	Anastasia Akopova		(25.0	23	19	23	23	113	88
					DNC)
47th	Female	100	Jade OConnor	goldenpages.ie, PureMagic Watersports & Lodge, KFA ­ Kite Foil Austalia	23	23	-24	21	23	114	90
48th	Female	132	Aga Grzymska	Ozone Kites Polska, SU­2 Kiteboards, Xcel Wetsuits Polska, Colorshake.pl	22	24	(25.0	25	25	121	96
							DNC)	DNC	DNC