Crowning our Champions at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup New Zealand

There was a light breeze for the final of the GWA Wingfoil World Cup in New Zealand where we managed to complete men’s elimination 5, and women’s eliminations 12 and 13.

The conditions were favorable for the start of the men’s elimination 5, with winds blowing at 9 to 11 knots. After several attempts, the final was able to start, but four riders went over early. Titouan Galea, Oscar Leclair, Ancor Sosa, and Camille Bouyer had to sail back to shore, missing out on the final race. This was a window of opportunity for the six remaining riders. The challenging wind conditions certainly did not make it easy, but Bastien Escofet managed to accelerate his way to the front of the pack and head into the final FreeFly section in the lead, pumping his way to the finish line to claim his fourth elimination win. Chris Mac Donald cruised through in second position, and Zane Schweitzer in third. Local rider Hugo Wigglesworth finished fourth, followed by Francesco Cappuzzo who went down due to a drop in wind but managed to somehow finish the course to claim the sixth position.

The final results for the men’s FreeFly-Slalom discipline are:

1st Bastien Escofet 🇫🇷

2nd Francesco Cappuzzo 🇮🇹

3rd Camille Bouyer 🇫🇷

The final results for the men’s Surf-Freestyle discipline are:

1st Chris Mac Donald 🇺🇸

2nd Malo Guenole 🇫🇷

3rd Alan Fedit 🇩🇪

For the women, we managed to complete elimination 12 and 13 while the wind conditions were good. This time, Bowien van der Linden took both wins.

The final results for the women’s FreeFly-Slalom discipline are:

1st Nia Suardiaz 🇪🇸

2nd Aimee Bright 🇳🇿

3rd Bowien van der Linden 🇳🇱

The final results for the women’s Surf-Freestyle discipline are:

1st Nia Suardiaz 🇪🇸

2nd Bowien van der Linden 🇳🇱

3rd Orane Ceris 🇫🇷

For the afternoon, we finished up the Armstrong tow in surf foil competition, putting on a great show for the crowds, with Matteo Ell from Hawaii and Bowien van der Linden from the Netherlands taking the win. 

That’s a wrap for the GWA Wingfoil World Cup New Zealand. It has been an incredible event, with a huge variety in wind and wave conditions. We would like to thank all of the riders, organizers, sponsors, and crew for making our first event in New Zealand a huge success. We look forward to returning next year!

You can view the full results from the GWA Wingfoil World Cup New Zealand here. 

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