GWA Wingfoil World Cup France 2022 Day 2 - Crossover sporting influence
by Holly Keenan 29 Apr 2022 02:49 NZST
26 April - 1 May 2022
GWA Wingfoil World Cup France 2022 Day 2 © Julien Leleu / GWA
The GWA Wingfoil World Cup Day 2 (Today) in Leucate kicked off with sunny skies and light winds.
The lack of wind in the morning provided us with the perfect opportunity to catch up with all the multiple world champions we have amongst us and ask them what inspired them to diversify into wingfoiling. We hear from two of them here...
Maxime Chabloz
Maxime Chabloz is no new name to the watersports world, This man has been at the top of the kitesurfing freestyle scene for the last few years and he has recently become the Ski Freeride World Tour Champion.
"At the first event of the Freeride Ski World Tour, I got 5th which I was thrilled with and then at the following three competitions I managed to win them all, which was pretty unexpected as I had only just qualified the year before. The biggest reason I won was that I went into these events with no expectations, not really wanting a world title but just being realistic with myself about my level. I knew I had the level to win the events, but I never thought to myself I had to win these events."
Fiona Wylde, 25, Hood River, Oregon
Fiona Wylde from Hood River, Oregon. Fiona is a 3 x Sup Race World Champion and holds a PWA Youth World Title in Windsurfing. Fiona has been competing for over 12 years now, and her competition experience has helped her build a strong mindset and correctly prepare herself to perform at her optimum. Fiona is pushing the women's side of wing foiling and had some promising results over the last year on the GWA Wingfoil World Tour 2021.
"I find the woman's side of wingfoiling interesting because when I am wingfoiling in Hood River, there are so many women with me on the water. However, when I come to the events, there are not as many women entering the competition as expected."
See all interviews and videos here...
It might not have been a windy day in Leucate, but it was great to see a buzzing atmosphere at the 25th Mondial Du Vent event.
At the signing session, we had many eager young groms talking to the professional riders about how they could pursue a career in watersports and become a professional athlete.
The wind gods look to be moving to our favour from early Friday morning, which gives us three days of firing competition to come!
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