Cappuzzo wins Course Racing at WingFoil EuroCup Garda, Zorzi dominates Airstyle

2021 ISWA WingFoil Euro Cup © Martina Orsini / Folling Week

The first ISWA WingFoil Euro Cup crowned its champions, with Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA) taking the win with a perfect score ahead of Riccardo Zorzi (ITA) and Pietro Leon Kiaulehn (ITA).

12 short-track course races were run over the course of the three day competition, with the final day being purely dedicated to the new Airstyle discipline, combining trick elements from windsurf and kiteboard freestyle.

The race track reminds of a square - with a reaching start to Mark 1, a downwind leg, a long reach over to the other side of the racing area, and a beat to windward towards the finishing line. The wind limit for racing is currently around 8 knots, but with improving skills and equipment this will soon be much lower.

Cappuzzo proved to be unbeatable on his custom RRD gear around the 500x500m course that held the fleet nicely together and made for some close racing in the stronger winds off Malcesine at Lake Garda. In the lighter winds, the experience of Cappuzzo and Zorzi held off the competition clearly, but it is early days for this young sailing discipline and the skills are improving with every race.

On day too, after a couple more course races, the first heat of the Airstyle format was run in winds starting off with 15 knots, but came heat 2, the wind turned to the left and shut off, bringing the competition to a full stop.

On the final day, the wind was just blowing long enough to allow the completion of the dingle elimination ladder. Cappuzzo and Zorzi had both won their first round heats and were seeded straight into the semi finals. Stefan Spiessberger (AUT) defeated Dell'Omo in his repechage heat to advance to the semi final to face Zorzi, the later competition winner. It was Spiessbergers variety against Zorzis powered moves, with the better end for the Italian. In the second semi final, Cappuzzo defeated Migliorini (ITA) in another close heat that left him injured after close contact with his own foil.

The B-Final was arguably the windiest heat of the day, with Spiessberger showing another display of variety finishing 3rd overall. In the A-Final, the wind unfortunately slowly started to deteriorate leaving the heavier Cappuzzo with not many options. Although he still pulled out some impressive moves, Zorzi's powered, high inverts made the difference in the end.

Course Racing Results:

Results Airstyle:

1st Francesco Cappuzzo ITA
2nd Riccardo Zorzi ITA
3rd Stefan Spiessberger AUT
4th Paolo Migliorini ITA
5th Riccardo Marca ITA
5th Yaris Dell'omo ITA
7th Louka Pitot FRA
7th Luca Gasperini ITA
9th Andrea Crociara USA
9th Pietro Leon Kiaulehn ITA

The new ISWA WingFoil class brought an interesting addition to the Foiling Week at Lake Garda. The class is working closely with World Sailing on the development of the rules and develops both the racing and the expression side of the sport through its national members. Setup as a traditional class association independent from the industry, ISWA represents the competitors and national associations interests for an independent development of the sport.

Although competitions have been difficult to organize due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, the dates and details for the first ISWA WingFoil European Championship (October) and ISWA WingFoil World Championship (November) will be published shortly.

Interested national bodies are welcome to contact the ISWA office at .