GWA Wingfoil Race Class European Championships 2022

[Toby]

The GWA crew and athletes are on the Greek island of Rhodes for the GWA Wingfoil Race Class European Championships, running this week from the 14th - 17th July.
Rhodes is the perfect location for this GWA Wingfoil Race Class European Championship, due to its constant winds, warm turquoise water and perfect sunshine. Well known for many years as a top windsurfing destination, in recent times Rhodes has also seen rapid growth of wingfoiling on the island due to the great conditions that it offers.

The GWA Wingfoil Race Class events are one-off events that take place according to World Sailing standards and regulations, and this event will include Youth and Masters categories. This means that the winner from this event will become the GWA Wingfoil Race Class European Champion.

As you would expect, all of the big names are here for this event, including Nia Suardiaz and Paula Novotna for the women’s division, who have been neck and neck during every World Tour event this year, and this Race Class event will no doubt produce yet another close battle.

For the men’s division, Francesco Cappuzzo and Mathis Ghio are just two of the big names who will be flying around the race course, along with many of the young gun riders who want to give them a run for their money.

GWA WINGFOIL RACE CLASS EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

WHEN?
14th to 17th of July 2022

WHERE?
Rhodes, Greece. If you are in the area, come and join us on the beach and enjoy the event with us.

[Toby]

There was a warm welcome on the beach in Rhodes, Greece, on Thursday morning (day one) as the riders arrived to register for the GWA Wingfoil Race Class European Championships. Greece is well known for its hospitality and the people of Rhodes have welcomed the GWA crew and athletes with open arms.
Although the conditions looked promising, the wind did not hold out long enough on day one for the start of competition. The time was filled with some tow-in action which gave a great show to the crowds on the beach.

THE UPCOMING RACING
During this event a maximum of 15 eliminations will run throughout the week of competition, allowing three discards. There are 24 men and 6 women registered to compete across Open, Youth and Masters categories.

“The race class is a pure race oriented format,” explains Alvaro Onieva, Head Protest Judge. “There are no obstacles, pump tracks or similar as we have in the Surf-Slalom discipline.

"All of the equipment used is more technical and designed specifically for speed. The Race class is developing many categories, following the traditional footsteps that would be required in an Olympic category.”

Competitors are hopeful to hit the course on Friday!

WORLDWIDE APPEAL
Although this is a European Championship, riders have come from across the world to compete. Although non-Europeans are allowed to participate, they cannot win the official European Champion title.

“I'm from Maui, Hawaii. It’s exciting to be here, it’s my first time travelling to compete internationally,” said Bobo Gallagher. “I’ve been travelling around Europe for about a month already and it’s been great, though the conditions seem lighter than I am used to in Maui."

The forecast for the coming days looks very promising, so we will be back on Friday with what we are certain will be an action-packed day.

[Toby]

Day two - Friday - saw an exceptional day of racing in Rhodes, Greece as we completed 7 eliminations for the women and 3 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.

Mathis Ghio
"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.

[Toby]

Day three - Saturday - Mathis Ghio and Nia Suardiaz Race to the Top

It was a slow start for day three of competition in Rhodes, Greece, but the pace picked up very quickly once the trusted winds kicked in at around 3pm, just as the locals had predicted. We completed one more full elimination for the men and two more for the women.

WOMEN'S ELIMINATIONS

Elimination 8

Paula Novotna went flying through the course with a great advantage to start this third day of racing. Nia Suardiaz had a more complicated start, and was sitting in third place right until the final moments of the race where she managed to overtake Mathilde Lovadina who had been holding on to the second position.

Elimination 9

Nia made a flying start for elimination 9, and this time she managed to stay ahead of Paula throughout the entire course. Paula had her hopes set on yet another win, but Nia had clicked into top gear and there was no stopping her. She cleared the finish line in first place, followed by Novotna and Mathilde Lovadina in third.

On the women’s side, there are now two discards in play. Nia has the lead for now, but it is still a tight race where anything could happen.

WOMEN'S CURRENT STANDINGS AFTER NINE ELIMINATIONS:

1st Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
2nd Paula Novotna (CZE)
3rd Kylie Belloeuvre (FRA)

MEN'S ELIMINATIONS

Elimination 4

It was a disastrous start for Francesco Cappuzzo who went down at the first mark in the final of Elimination 4. Mathis Ghio however maintained an excellent pace and held on to his lead throughout the race, repeating his strong performance from yesterday. He put a safe distance between himself and the rest of the pack, and cruised through in first place. In second was Bastien Escofet followed by Luca Franchi.

With the fourth elimination now complete, the first men’s discard came into play. This switched things around in the overall rankings, meaning Mathis Ghio has now boosted himself up into first position.

Bastien Escofet relinquished his lead when the men's first discard counted, but could he regain top step when it really matters on the fourth and final day of competition?

MEN'S CURRENT STANDINGS AFTER FOUR ELIMINATIONS:

1st Mathis Ghio (FRA)
2nd Bastien Escofet (FRA)
3rd Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA)
4th Riccardo Zorzi (ITA)

Masters
U16 / U19 / MASTERS

We also ran one full elimination on Saturday for the U16/U19 and Masters categories. The overall results after four eliminations 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

[Toby]

Mathis Ghio and Nia Suardiaz hold on to their leads to take the titles!
The wind took a while to kick in on the final day of the GWA Wingfoil Race Class European Championships at Kritika Beach in Rhodes, Greece, yesterday, but the thermal winds did indeed kick in at 2pm allowing further elimination races and a final result: crowning two new European Champions, Mathis Ghio and Nia Suardiaz.

WOMEN'S OPEN CLASS

Paula Novotna (CZE) and Nia Suardiaz (ESP) had been neck and neck all event long and Sunday threw up yet another close race between these two leading female wing racers.

Four very entertaining eliminations were completed on the final day (Sunday) with leads changing hands in each race, often with the winner only emerging on the final blast for the line.

We have seen some exceptional riding from the women this week, and the ongoing battle between Nia and Paula added a whole new dimension to it all.

"I'm so happy to win here in Greece," said Nia. "I really hope to be able to come back here again to compete next year."

GWA WINGFOIL RACE CLASS EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN'S FINAL STANDINGS 2022

1st Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
2nd Paula Novotna (CZE)
3rd Kylie Belloeuvre (FRA)

MEN'S OPEN CLASS

We have seen some very tight races in Rhodes, and the men have pushed through all conditions to give a spectacular show.

Luca Franchi and Francesco Cappuzzo put up brave performances throughout the week, but couldn't rein in the lead Mathis Ghio had built up. Even though he finished second in the final race, once the evet discard was counted with no further races possible, the Frenchman had his first GWA Wingfoil Race Class European title.

GWA WINGFOIL RACE CLASS EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

MEN'S FINAL STANDINGS 2022

1st Mathis Ghio (FRA)
2nd Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA)
3rd Bastien Escofet (FRA)

U16 / U19 / MASTERS

After six eliminations for the U16, U19 and Masters categories, the overall results 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 (FRA)
2nd Giorgios Tampuris (GREC)
3rd Pawel Bielinski (POL)