Second stop in race for Surf-Freestyle crowns ready to kick off in Tarifa with contests tightening
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Spain 2025
Tarifa Wing Pro
24—27 June, 2025 | Bibo Beach House, Valdevaqueros
Reigning GWA Surf-Freestyle world champions, the US’s Chris MacDonald and Spain’s Nia Suardiaz, will each seek to cement their bids for a third successive crown when the Tarifa Wing Pro kicks off in Spain.
Both MacDonald and Tarifa local, Suardiaz, opened the defence of their crowns in style at the first event of the season at Mondial du Vent, in Leucate, France, in decisive fashion with convincing wins in Tramontana winds that gusted to more than 40 knots.
MacDonald in particular will by hoping for more of the same, with Tarifa’s easterly Levante capable capable of big breezes. The four-day Tarifa Wing Pro event is the second GWA Wingfoil World Tour stop of four in the Surf-Freestyle discipline. Fuerteventura, Spain, is up next, with Jericoacoara, Brazil, scheduled to close out the season.
Both Suardiaz and MacDonald, based in the US’s Hood River, Oregon, won the Tarifa world cup event last year. The 2025 stop marks the sixth edition of the Tarifa Wing Pro in what is becoming a fixture on the calendar.
Next level
Tarifa will once again enjoy a full-quota of 28 men ready to battle for honours. A growing contingent of women, now up to 19, is a reflection of the continued explosion of interest in the sport.
At Mondial du Vent, MacDonald was on another level, saving the best for last when he romped away in the final. His new tricks that were honed in the off-season were breathtaking and he answered sceptics who saw him lose the final event of last season in Brazil.
But in April, in France, it was the Austrian, Tomas Acherer, the winner in Brazil, who pushed MacDonald hard and took second, showing that the American might not always have it his own way.
Twin bother Aleksander Acherer, who also lives and trains in Tarifa with Tomas, is waiting in the wings should either of the front runners slip up. Aleksander took the third podium place in Leucate.
Exciting addition
Another new and exciting addition to the tour line-up is Denmark’s Benjamin Castenskiold. Fourteen-year-old Castenskiold became old enough to compete in his first senior event in France and emerged with a remarkable fourth place, a sign that no one can rest on their laurels.
The men’s ranks are stacked with talented youngsters capable of taking the win. France’s Malo Guénolé, Axel Gerard and Clément Hamon are always pushing, while Spain’s Xavi Corr is seeded fourth in the line-up for Tarifa.
In the women’s competition, it is hard to see anyone upstaging Nia Suardiaz on her home waters. But another Tarifa local, Mar de Arce, is seeded two and has been gradually getting closer to here friend and rival.
But in France Italy’s Sofia Marchetti and Austria’s Viola Lippitsch were only a fraction of a point behind De Arce in the final, signalling that they, too, are within touching distance of the top rung of the ladder.
Be sure to join us here to see how the action unfolds in Tarfia.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Samuel Cárdenas
Event information
- Location: Bibo Beach House, Valdevaqueros
- Dates: 24—27 June, 2025
- The official Race Notice and event schedule can be found here.
- All event information here.
Find everything about GWA Wingfoil World Cup Tarifa by clicking event news.
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