GWA Wingfoil Race Class European Championships - Day 2
by Gemma Hamaini 16 Jul 2022 02:35 PDT
14-17 July 2022
GWA Wingfoil Race Class European Championships - Day 2 © John Markantonis / Andromedas Sfakianou
Day two - Friday - saw an exceptional day of racing in Rhodes, Greece as we completed seven eliminations for the women and three eliminations for the men in optimal racing conditions.
It was a windy start at Kritika Beach in Rhodes, Greece for the second day of the GWA Race Class European Championships. After a long day of waiting on Thursday, the riders were eager to get started and wasted no time in hitting the water. Eliminations ran at a high pace, with athletes displaying an impressive level of racing from the very start.
Women's eliminations
Seven full eliminations were completed by the women, where Paula Novotna and Nia Suardiaz were in tight competition throughout the day. They went back and forth, until after six eliminations they were all-square with three wins each.
It all came down to the final race of the day, where Nia managed to fly through the start and gained a solid lead on Paula. Despite her best efforts, the Czech could not match the Spaniard, and Nia took the win for the final elimination of the day.
Kylie Belloeuvre finished the day with several third place finishes after riding consistently during the final races of the day.
Still with two full days of competition left, the dual between these riders will surely continue.
"It was really intense racing today," explained Nia."It was hard to beat Paula. The conditions earlier were a bit light but the wind got really good later on. I enjoyed the second race course set-up as it was more technical and really good fun."
Women's current standings after seven eliminations:
1st: Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
2nd: Paula Novotna (CZE)
3rd: Kylie Belloeuvre (FRA)
Men's eliminations
Meanwhile there was an entirely different battle forming in the men's division. Francesco Cappuzzo started the day strong with a dazzling performance during the first elimination. He seemed unstoppable, until the second elimination final where Mathis Ghio showed great determination to take the win.
It all came down to the third elimination where Francesco Cappuzzo had a solid start and maintained his lead for the first three marks, however, as soon as they reached the upwind section, Mathis Ghio accelerated into the lead, leaving Cappuzzo unable to catch up to him.
Mathis was delighted to win his second elimination of the day, leaving Cappuzzo in second and Bastien Escofet in third.
After three complete eliminations, Bastien Escofet proved that consistency is key, and although he did not win any eliminations today, he did gain a 4th, 2nd and 3rd finish, which gives him the overall lead above Ghio and Capuzzo.
With two more days of racing left, we will have to wait and see if Escofet can maintain his lead, or if Ghio or Capuzzo will knock him from his top spot.
"I'm really happy with my riding today," said Mathis. "It was a really tight battle. I felt really fast and I was happy with my speed. It's amazing to ride here in Rhodes, it's windy all day and it's perfect. I really liked the second course set-up. I think if we can push for more race courses like this it would be amazing."
Men's current standings after three eliminations:
1st: Bastien Escofet (FRA)
2nd: Mathis Ghio (FRA)
3rd: Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA)
4th: Riccardo Zorzi (ITA)
U16 / U19 / Masters
We also ran three full eliminations for the U16/U19 and Masters categories. The overall results so far are:
U16
1st Xavier Corr (ESP)
2nd Axel Gerard (FRA)
3rd Bobo Gallagher (USA)
U19
1st Riccardo Zorzi (ITA)
2nd Luca Franchi (ITA)
3rd Petros Kontarinis (GRC)
Masters
1st Benjamin Billarant
2nd Giorgios Tampuris
3rd Pawel Bielinski
Still with two more days of competition left, anything can happen. We will run a maximum of 15 eliminations which could allow up to three discards, so there are still many possibilities.
Saturday's skipper's meeting has been called for 11.30am with the first possible start at 12pm. Be sure to stay tuned as the fastest wingfoilers out there fight their way to the top.