TEAM NEWS : GONG RIDERS MAKE WAVES AT THE 2025 FRENCH WING FOIL FINALS
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GONG team riders delivered outstanding performances in Leucate, excelling in both Race-Slalom and Freestyle.
In a national championship whose finals looked like a who’s who of the world’s best wing foilers, our riders put on quite a show, from the speed-focused disciplines with Bastien Escofet, to the high-flying Freestyle performances from Lou Thouin.
Race-Slalom: Bastien narrowly misses the title
Bastien just missed the title after a premature start that cost him two small points, placing him second behind Oscar Leclair and ahead of world wing foil racing champion Mathis Ghio. Here’s what he had to say:
“I’m really happy with my speed during this competition. I can have some regrets, but being vice-champion is still great when you see the level of riders.
The competition format was really nice. We did eight heats in the morning, pure slalom with rabbit starts and three jibes. Conditions kept changing. I started on a 7m, switched to a 6m, and finished on a 5m as the wind picked up.
In the afternoon, after a break, we did four more heats with upwind starts, a slalom, and some jump buoys, a bit like boarder cross. It was super fun! I used the Pulse Race 5.5 for those rounds.” Bastien Escofet
Bastien competed on a Racer FSP Pro, Droid SP Aramid CZ, and Ypra Race foil. Photo: FFV.
Lou on the Freestyle Open podium
In Freestyle, Lou Thouin placed his Stunt FSP Pro on the podium, just 0.3 points shy of Ezio Bastianelli in second. Alan Fedit finished fourth, and Axel Gerard took the win.
A great achievement for Lou against some of the top international riders. Unfortunately, he couldn’t continue his momentum in the Youth division, where he narrowly missed the final.
“In Youth, everything came down to the last day in extreme conditions, with steady winds over 55 knots and gusts up to 63 during the first round. We had to put the comp on standby.
In the afternoon, the wind eased a bit and we managed to finish the bracket. It was a tough day for me. I started feeling sharp pain during the Open final, and it only got worse as the day went on.” Lou Thouin
Wing foiler: Lou, GONG team rider, on his Stunt FSP Pro, Droid Aramid X, HM85 mast and Ypra Freestyle.
Podium for Charlie Balloy in Race-Slalom U15
Another great result came from Charlie Balloy, who finished third in Race-Slalom U15 and seventh in Freestyle Youth, a highly competitive category in wing foil.
Congratulations to all our riders for their fantastic performances.
The action continues today with the decisive round of the Freefly-Slalom World Championship in Abu Dhabi, where Francesco Cappuzzo and Bastien Escofet are both in contention for the title.
