Please select your home edition
Edition
C-Tech 2021 America's Cup 728x90 TOP

2024 Formula Kite World Championships in Hyères, France - Overall

by IKA Media / Andy Rice 19 May 2024 11:14 PDT 14-19 May 2024
Max Maeder & Lauriane Nolot celebrate their second world titles together - 2024 Formula Kite World Championships © IKA media/ Robert Hajduk
Maeder celebrates on the men's podium - 2024 Formula Kite World Championships ©IKA media/ Robert Hajduk
This event marked the end of the Olympic cycle, next stop Paris 2024 - 2024 Formula Kite World Championships ©IKA media/ Robert Hajduk
Nolot celebrates on the top step of the women's podium - 2024 Formula Kite World Championships ©IKA media/ Robert Hajduk
previous next
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20

Max Maeder and Lauriane Nolot have successfully defended their titles at the end of the Formula Kite World Championships in Hyères in the south of France.

There have been times over the past week when others rose up to challenge the riders from Singapore and France, but in the end Maeder and Nolot were just too good for the opposition.

The biggest drama of the final day came in the men's competition, in Semi Final A. After struggling in the early part of the week with ventilation problems with a new foil package, Toni Vodisek of Slovenia was back to his customary high speed on an older, proven foil setup.

Tense Semi

Starting the day in 10th place overall, the 2022 World Champion had a long way to climb if he was going to get into the four-rider final. However, victory in the first semi-final heat suggested the maverick could be back to world-beating form. He pushed hard in the next heat but this time Italian Lorenzo Boschetti took the win just a second in front of the Slovenian.

Eventually Axel Mazella closed out the semi-final, the Frenchman advancing to the final alongside other semi-finallist Valentin Bontus of Austria. However in the men's final, Mazella got his kite caught up with Italy's Riccardo Pianosi in the first tack out of the start. This left the way clear for Maeder to win the world title at a canter. So the 17-year-old from Singapore takes gold for the second year running, with silver going to Pianosi and bronze to Bontus.

Silver for Aldridge

Ellie Aldridge was the only non-French rider in the women's final. While the British rider couldn't quite beat Nolot to the world title, Aldridge took silver with France's Jessie Kampman getting bronze.

Nolot was particularly proud to have won on home waters, just a few kilometres from her house. "I was nervous going out to the start today," she said. "But then I looked up and saw a rainbow in the sky and I thought to myself, there's my lucky charm."

Nolot made the start she wanted, to leeward of the other riders and able to put her foot to the floor and accelerate into the left-hand corner of the race track. While she tacked behind Kampman and the other French rider Poema Newland, Nolot soon moved into the lead by the first windward mark and was never overtaken.

Shaking Legs

"I don't even have the words to explain how amazing this feels," she grinned. "It's so great to see the level in the woman's league and especially the Frenchies. They're absolutely pushing so hard on the water. My legs are always shaking when they're around because they're pushing at such a high level. This week is good for my confidence going into the Games because it proves I am good enough to win the gold medal at the Olympics."

Maeder said the feeling of winning would never get old, no matter how familiar it has become for this serial world beater. "I had fortune on my side, I had good luck, I had good races," he said. "It's an honour to compete against such great competitors, and I look forward to doing it again with them at the Olympics. I am excited and also a little bit anxious to see what's going to come because they are going to improve."

No Sleep till Marseille

After a few days rest in Singapore the hard work begins again for Maeder. "My competitors are going to be better and they have learned a lot during this event. So there is more training ahead, there are still things to improve, there are still lots of things that I've learned this week. So we will put in the time to work on them, to refine them, to make sure that everything is set and in order and even better for the Games."

No doubt that Maeder and Nolot have marked themselves out as the favourites for gold at Paris 2024. But the game changes quickly in Formula Kite and all the athletes will spend the next two months working hard to up their game before the Olympic Regatta this July.

Overall Results: (top three)

Men
1. Maximilian Maeder - SGP - Gold
2. Riccardo Pianosi - ITA - Silver
3. Valentin Bontus - AUT - Bronze

Women
1. Lauriane Nolot - FRA - Gold
2. Ellie Aldridge - GBR - Silver
3. Jessie Kampman - FRA - Bronze

More information at www.kiteclasses.org.

Related Articles

Red Bull Sailing Academy Opens
A new hub for current and future superstars to reach the top of their sport Marina Monfalcone, North Italy, made waves yesterday, as sports superstars gathered to open the Red Bull Sailing Academy, marking the beginning of a new era in the sport. Posted today at 12:53 pm
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria day 4
It's been a week of steady breeze and near-perfect conditions off the Calabrian coast It's been a week of steady breeze and near-perfect conditions off the Calabrian coast, and Gizzeria has put on a great show as host of the 2025 IKA Youth European Championships. Posted on 5 Jul
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria day 3
The invincibles stumble during qualifying The men's competition has moved into its decisive phase, with the top 22 riders now forming a gold fleet. After Saturday's racing, only the top ten will qualify for the medal series and today, the pressure began to show, even on the frontrunners. Posted on 4 Jul
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria day 2
Thrills and spills - with the speed came plenty of racing incidents Day 2 of the Youth European Championships in Gizzeria saw fantastic conditions that gave the racing added pace. With the speed came plenty of racing incidents. Posted on 3 Jul
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria day 1
Rising stars shine at Youth Kitefoil Euros kickoff Some of the world's best young kite foilers started racing today in southern Italy aiming to become Youth European champions. Posted on 2 Jul
World Sailing announces split venues for LA28
The boards will be at Long Beach, with the dinghy events at the Port World Sailing has said it welcomes the confirmation of sailing venues for the Olympic Games LA28 the boards will be at Long Beach, with the dinghy events at the Port. Posted on 30 Jun
Sail Canada introduces Canadian Sailing Team
21 athletes were selected based on the Canadian Sailing Team Sport Canada Carding Criteria Sail Canada is pleased to announce the list of sailors who will be part of the 2025-2026 Canadian Sailing Team. Posted on 26 Jun
2025 IKA Youth Europeans Oreview
Italy set to host the future of kitefoiling in Gizzeria, Calabria The Hang Loose Beach Club in Gizzeria, Calabria is once again poised to welcome kitefoiling's rising stars as the IKA Youth European Championships return to southern Italy. Posted on 25 Jun
Registration now open for GKA Youth events
Germany and Spain events will have U14, U16 and U19 divisions Registration is now open for the two upcoming GKA Youth events of the 2025 season. First up is the GKA Youth Big Air Kite World Championship in St. Peter Ording, Germany. Posted on 9 Jun
Whitehead finish 9th at Formula Kite Europeans
A confident return to international competition in Urla, Türkiye Australia's Breiana Whitehead has made a confident return to international competition, finishing ninth overall at the 2025 Formula Kite European Championships in Urla, Türkiye. Posted on 20 May
Armstrong 728x90 - HA Foil Range - BOTTOMHyde Sails 2024 - One DesignNorth Sails Loft 57 Podcast