TEAM NEWS: BASTIEN ESCOFET CROWNED DOWNWIND PARAWING WORLD CHAMPION!

The first ever World Championship title in the sport is crowned in Italy!

In Malcesine, on Lake Garda, Bastien Escofet became the very first Downwind Parawing World Champion after three events where versatility and adaptability made all the difference.

Following his victory at the opening round of the SFT Parawing World Cup in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, the GONG rider arrived at the final with the perfect overall position. All that remained was to deliver against the world's best specialists in a completely different set of conditions.

Foiler: Bastien, GONG team rider, riding the Cruzader Diamond FSP Pro, Neutra Light V3 lowkite, HM77 mast, Veloce (prototype) front wing and Hypertrail stabilizer. Photo: SFT Surf Foil World Tour

A championship raced in hugely varied conditions

The opening day took place in a light southerly breeze with a short-course format combining a beam reach start, a pumping section and a beam reach finish.

Bastien made an immediate statement by winning the opening race ahead of his closest title rival. He also crossed the line first in race two, but the result was eventually cancelled as the wind dropped too much for enough riders to complete the course.

The following day brought a completely different challenge, with two 5 km downwind races held in even lighter wind than forecast. Despite choosing a speed-oriented 700 foil that ultimately proved a little too small for such marginal conditions, Bastien secured two solid second-place finishes after extremely demanding races where simply staying on foil was often the biggest challenge.

With double points awarded for these two races, those results were enough to secure second place overall at the event, more than sufficient to claim the World Championship thanks to his victory a few weeks earlier in Cabarete.

Foiler: Bastien, GONG team rider, riding the Cruzader Diamond FSP Pro, Neutra Light V3 lowkite, HM100 mast, Ypra Slalom front wing and Hypertrail stabilizer. Photo: SFT Surf Foil World Tour

A title built on consistency

More than a victory at a single event, this first-ever Parawing World Championship rewards the consistency and experience of the reigning Wing Freefly-Slalom World Champion, who had already dominated the opening round.

In the Dominican Republic, he had been untouchable, winning almost every race and the overall classification thanks to flawless equipment choices and his mastery of Cabarete's powerful conditions.

On Lake Garda, by contrast, it was his ability to adapt to extremely light wind, varied race formats and sometimes compromised equipment choices that allowed him to retain enough of an advantage to etch his name into the history books as the first-ever World Champion in this young discipline.

"The two days of racing demanded real adaptability. Between the technical races on the first day and the downwinders in very light wind, we had to make the right decisions and fight until the very end to stay competitive. I finished second at the event, but that was enough to secure the first-ever Parawing World Championship title. It's a fantastic reward after this season and a real privilege to be part of the history of this new discipline." said Bastien.

Foiler: Bastien, GONG team rider, riding the Cruzader Diamond FSP Pro, Neutra Light V3 lowkite, HM77 mast, Veloce (prototype) front wing and Hypertrail stabilizer. Photo: SFT Surf Foil World Tour

Lou Thouin completes the World Championship podium

After finishing third in the only validated race of day one, held in around 15 knots on a course combining beam reaches and pumping, Lou backed it up the following day with fourth and third place finishes in two approximately 4 km downwind races in Lake Garda's northerly wind.

Drawing on his extensive experience reading the water, he quickly felt comfortable in this format despite choosing a foil that proved slightly too ambitious for bumps that were ultimately less developed than expected.

"The conditions didn't allow us to race as much as planned, but it was still a great experience. I really enjoyed the downwind races, where my ability to read the water helped a lot. This World Championship podium is encouraging and makes me even more motivated to keep progressing in this discipline, which is evolving incredibly quickly." concluded Lou.

Foiler: Lou, GONG team rider, riding the Cruzader Diamond 5'6 FSP Pro, Neutra Light 4 m, HM77 V3 mast, Veloce Downwind XS, carbon tail M and Hypertrail S stabilizer. Photo: SFT Surf Foil World Tour

Equipment serving performance

Throughout the event, Bastien adapted his equipment to each course and the changing conditions. For the technical races, he rode the Cruzader Diamond 5'10, HM100 mast, Ypra Slalom 800, Hyper Trail XL stabilizer and Neutra Light 6 m lowkite.

For the downwind races, he switched to an HM77 mast, a prototype Veloce 700, coming very soon, an Hyper Trail L stabilizer and a Neutra Light 4 m lowkite. It was a speed-focused setup that ultimately proved slightly too ambitious given winds that were much lighter than forecast. Even so, Bastien extracted the maximum from his equipment to remain at the front of the fleet, once again highlighting the importance of equipment mastery in a discipline where every detail matters.