Please select your home edition
Edition
Doyle Sails 2020 - By Sailors For Sailors 728x90 TOP

Pascucci WingFoil Racing World Cup Campione del Garda 2023 ready to kick off

by Andy Rice 31 May 11:24 PDT 1-4 June 2023
Windy start from October 2022 © IWSA / Robert Hajduk

The Pascucci WingFoil Racing World Cup Campione del Garda 2023 is about to begin, with four days of high speed action from 1 to 4 June.

  • Four days of long-distance and short-course racing out of Campione Univela on the western shore of Lake Garda
  • A vital qualifying event for the ANOC World Beach Games in Bali this summer
  • Open competition with a huge array of different equipment
  • 77 competitors from 20 countries representing six continents
  • Some have come from as far as Venezuela, Thailand and New Zealand

Reigning women's and men's World Champions, respectively Paula Novotná (CZE) and Mathis Ghio (FRA) are among the 77 competitors from 20 countries that entered for the event which takes place out of Campione Univela on the western shore of Lake Garda. Ghio also won the European title just a month ago in Athens.

Novotná was absent from that regatta and it was the 16-year-old Nia Suardiaz (ESP) who lifted the women's title in Athens. It will be interesting to see how things play out between the Spanish and Czech riders in the women's fleet when they meet for the first time in Garda.

The last time the Wingfoil Racing World Cup took place in Campione was October last year, when Italian rider Francesco Cappuzzo narrowly beat Ghio to the top of the podium.

"It's going to be hard to beat Mathis again this time," admitted Cappuzzo. "He has been winning nearly all the regattas this year, and the level has increased so much in the last eight or nine months since we were racing in Campione. Everything is changing so quickly, the equipment, the techniques. It will be interesting to see so many new competitors from so many countries this week and how the racing plays out."

While many of the leading lights have already booked their spot at the ANOC World Beach Games in Bali this summer, for others the four days in Garda are a vital opportunity to see if they can join the likes of Ghio and Novotná who have already qualified for this high-profile event being organised by the Olympic Movement. Some view wingfoil racing's inclusion at the ANOC World Beach Games as a possible indicator that this sport might one day make an appearance at the Olympic Games itself. Either way, the stakes are high in Garda and the possibility of a ticket to Bali is certainly an additional incentive to perform.

In just a few years, Campione Univela has established itself as one of the go-to training and racing venues for all types of wind-powered high-performance machines. Lake Garda is one of the most famous watersports venues in the world, and riders from as far away as Colombia, New Zealand, Thailand and Venezuela have flown in to compete on these famous waters, lined on either side by towering mountains.

Still a young and fast developing sport, part of the fun of these World Cups is to see what equipment riders are using. The very best are regularly exceeding 30 knots of speed, and the numbers are creeping up all the time. Smaller foils are faster, provided you can get up and flying in the first place. A larger foil gives you a better chance of take-off in lighter winds although you pay the price with lower top speed. Equipment choices are open, so a whole array of different gear from a wide variety of manufacturers will be on display.

Riders will be watching each other keenly to see what techniques they have developed to make their boards go faster. A year or so ago, racing upwind seemed almost impossible on a wingfoil board, but now it's an accepted part of the sport, with riders expected to handle the challenge of many different types of race course.

The rabbit start is a spectacular massed fleet start behind a high-speed powerboat, and a great way of kicking off a long-distance race. At the other end of the spectrum there are slalom races lasting just three or four minutes. With €10,000 of prize money up for grabs, the winning male and female riders in Campione del Garda will need a full array of skills to reach the top of the podium.

Competition will take place across a range of course formats and will incorporate upwind and reaching starts. The first race takes place on Thursday 1 June.

To follow the action, visit the event microsite.

Related Articles

2023 Caribbean Foiling Championships update
Free equipment transport for competitors Exciting news for competitors travelling from Guadeloupe to the Caribbean Foiling Championships. In a combined effort Compagnie des Iles du Nord (CIN) and Frigodom have teamed up to sponsor the shipping of a 20ft container to and from St Martin. Posted today at 2:20 pm
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Dakhla day 1
Opening battles of last wave stop in Morocco throw up surprises Day one of the competition saw the race director decide to run the wingfoil competition first in the 15 to 20 knots of breeze and small-to-moderate swells. Thirty athletes—25 men and five women—from nine nations, are competing for glory. Posted on 23 Sep
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Dakhla preview
Athletes to vie for titles in desert showdown The battles for the first-ever world championship titles in the wave discipline of the GWA Wingfoil World Tour are finely balanced and will be decided at the third and concluding stop in Dakhla, Morocco. Posted on 19 Sep
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark 2023 overall
French athletes dominate podiums in Denmark French athletes dominated the podiums at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark, as the winners were crowned at Hvide Sande's white sand beach on the final day of the contest. Posted on 10 Sep
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark 2023 Day 5
Spain's Nia Suardiaz clinched her second world title in less than a week Spain's Nia Suardiaz clinched her second world title in less than a week when she won the FreeFly-Slalom discipline at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark in Hvide Sande which gave her the coveted crown. Posted on 9 Sep
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark 2023 Day 4
Tour leaders in pole position for wins that keep them on track to close out world titles The opening rounds in the FreeFly-Slalom discipline at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark saw the tour leaders come out on top, putting them in pole position for wins in Hvide Sande. Posted on 8 Sep
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark 2023 Day 1
Women's Surf-Freestyle World Champion crowned The Spanish teenager Nia Suardiaz clinched her first Surf-Freestyle world championship crown with a victory at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark, fought out amid the stunning backdrop of Hvide Sande's dunes. Posted on 5 Sep
Wingfoil athletes set for Denmark title face-off
Hvide Sande hosts debut GWA event in Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom The planet's best wingfoil athletes are primed for battle on the North Sea at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark, where four world titles could be decided in the coming days. Posted on 4 Sep
North Sails introduces North Learn to Foil Academy
A pathway to add wing foiling to a club or sailing school A turn-key solution for sailing clubs to easily integrate the world's fastest-growing watersport into club programming and engage young members. Posted on 31 Aug
Ronstan Bridge to Bridge Race at St. Francis YC
Mike Martin describes this event as "the best race in the world, ever." Certainly, that description is up for argument, but who could complain about a downwind blast in 20+ knots of breeze between the iconic Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay Bridges? Posted on 31 Aug
Hellamarine-Apelo-A3-@2x_1456x180px BOTTOMSOUTHERN-SPARS-MISSY-FURLING-BOOMS-728-X-90 BottomT Clewring J-class 728x90 BOTTOM