THE WORLD TITLE RACE HEATS UP IN LEUCATE!

The second leg of the Surf-Freestyle World Tour in Leucate was the scene of several surprises, reshuffling the cards for all the title contenders!

In the Surf-Freestyle category, the reigning world champion, Malo Guénolé, and the top seeds began the competition by immediately stating their intentions: leave nothing to chance! From the first round, we saw high scores worthy of a final for all the favorites in the event. The most remarkable score of this round 1 being the perfect 10 points of Bastien Escofet who landed a solid combo composed of a Frontside 720 followed by a Frontside 360. A “surprise” novelty on this event as the tour did not score for a combo of manoeuvers in previous events. Last year only one manoeuver per tack was scored. A new rule with which every rider must now deal. The objective of the next training sessions is now clearly set for all title contenders.

The other regulatory novelty disclosed the day before this event is the multiplier factor for an innovative manoeuver which is 1.2 for a flat manoeuver and 1.3 for an inverted manoeuver. The goal is to encourage athletes to innovate and push the boundaries of the sport. A game in which Alan Fedit distinguished himself, repeating in rounds 1 and 2 a performance including 3 manoeuvers in the innovative category, thus benefiting from a multiplier factor for a score of 36.12 in round 2.

Still in the second round, we witnessed the elimination of the 2021 world champion, Titouan Galéa, and Bastien Escofet who could not repeat his performance of the first round. Two surprises overshadowed by the elimination of Malo in the quarter-final against Xavi Corr. A heat that Malo led until the very end, before a score dropped after the buzzer to put him behind the Spaniard for only 0.4 points. Moments later, championship leader Chris MacDonald fell to Balz Muller. Meaning the door was open for a tightening of the title race. An opportunity taken by Alan Fedit and Xavi Corr who reached the final. A match-up that could unfortunately not go to its end due to lack of wind. Alan and Xavi will share first place in this event.

Congratulations to our team riders for their performances at this event! Lilian for his ninth place and Malo who despite a fifth place below his objectives, showed amazing form.

See you in Greece from June 13 to 18 for the next stage of the wing foiling tour!