by Press | Oct 9, 2022 | News Eng
The Formula Kite World Championships (Olympic Class) started in Cagliari on Saturday, October 8th with the registrations of the 150 participants, opening the 2002 king event whose regattas will kick-off on Tuesday, October 11th to end with the finals scheduled on October 16th. Italian Riccardo Pianosi, 17, European Championships bronze medallist a few days ago, one of the most awaited competitors at the Sardinia Grand Slam, doesn’t hide his ambitions: “The favorite for the Worlds is Maeder but I won’t settle for a podium spot: I aim to fight for the most important medal”.
Seventeen years, a natural talent and a veteran awareness, Pianosi is not only aspiring to add more bronze medals to his precious collection built up at the 2021 World Championships, 2022 Kite Worlds Youth and European Championships. “I have high expectations because I come for a good performance at the European Championships, where I stood up to the strongest rivals, with the possibility of preceding them. I hope to do better than the third place I held at the European Championship and at the 2021 World Championship. Of course, sailing with the goal to improve the bronze of last year’s edition could make me a little anxious, but I’m confident of performing a good race” Pianosi says.
Number 1 in the Men’s World Sailing Ranking, Pianosi arrived in Cagliari several days ago, together with a very rich patrol of athletes come, day after day, to a total number of 150 participants (92 men, 58 women) from 44 countries of 6 Continents. “Italians like me will play at home, we trained a lot and we know the location. I like the Gulf of Angels a lot, I’m actually trying some boards to choose the best but for sure I have good feelings with this place”, Pianosi words.
Riccardo has no doubts about who the main rivals will be: “There is more than one rider who can aim for gold, above all Max Maeder, actually the fastest of us and the man to beat. Also, the French guys have good chances, as well as Taradin and Boschetti: Sardinia Grand Slam will be a great show”. In view of an event where the details can make the difference, Pianosi entrusts a wish to the sea breeze: “I’m the lightest man in the top ten, so I prefer to compete in light wind conditions, which allow me to express myself at my best”.
The Sardinia Grand Slam is the traditional sailing event organized in Cagliari by GLEsport, with the financial support of the Tourism Department of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and the Municipality of Cagliari, under the aegis of World Sailing (the International Sailing Federation) and IKA (the International Kiteboarding Federation), as well as FIV – Italian Sailing Federation and CKWI, Italy’s Kiteboarding and Wingsport Class, and with the collaboration of the Chia Wind Club.
The Formula Kite World Championships will have its first official moment with the press conference scheduled on Monday, October 10th at 11.00 am at the Sardinia Grand Slam Village, at the sixth stop of Poetto beach (entrance from Il Nilo kiosk). The regattas schedule will start on Tuesday, October 11th at 10.00.
by Press | Oct 3, 2022 | News Eng
The countdown for the Formula Kite World Championships is almost over: the new “Olympic board”, debuting at Paris 2024 Games, will be in the spotlights at the Golfo degli Angeli in Cagliari, together with its top performers, next October 8th to 16th.
The 2022 World titles will be awarded at the 6th stop of Poetto on the occasion of the Sardinia Grand Slam, a traditional sailing event organized by GLEsport, with the financial support of the Tourism Department of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and the Municipality of Cagliari, under the aegis of World Sailing (the International Sailing Federation) and IKA (the International Kiteboarding Federation), as well as FIV – Italian Sailing Federation and CKWI, the Italy’s Kiteboarding and Wingsport Class, and with the collaboration of the Chia Wind Club.
The event will bring 156 athletes (94 men and 62 women) with their respective entourages to Cagliari, for a total of 6,000 estimated presences in two weeks. Anyway Cagliari, its structures, its beaches and its sea have been populated with faces known to kite lovers.
Among them there is an authentic queen, the five-time World champion Daniela Moroz, Women’s title holder: “I’m really excited to be back in Cagliari. It’s just as I remember – beautiful, mostly sunny, warm, challenging conditions, and the best coffee every morning! I have been coming to Sardinia every year since 2018 (except for 2021) and every year has been incredible! Because it is one of the last big regattas of the racing season, I think it is also a challenge mentally since everyone is generally quite tired from a long year of racing” the Women’s World champion explains.
Daniela expresses honey words for Cagliari: “It is definitely one of my favorite cities in the world – it’s extremely unique and I always love coming here every year. The people are always nice and welcoming, there is beautiful scenery, amazing food, and of course, really good sailing conditions, so it doesn’t get much better than that! When I am not sailing here, I love going on different hikes, walking around the old town in the city, going swimming, and biking along the Poetto beach path”.
By the way, Daniela spent the most of her time saling, to figure out the challenging winds of the Poetto: “I think this is a really difficult place to sail no matter what the conditions are like. It’s not just about going fast, it’s also about sailing smart and understanding how the wind behaves with the local geography. I really enjoy sailing on the offshore mistral wind days because I love the challenge of the shifty wind”. Daniela considers to become familiar with the location of the race in advance as a key point on the road to the Worlds: “It was important for me to get familiar with the conditions and the different types of wind and sea state that we can see here this time of year. In addition to getting lots of hours on the water I also go to the gym every morning to lift weights and go swimming”.
Daniela is very clear what skills you need to win the World Championships (“It’s always a combination of speed, boat-handling, strategy and tactics, equipment, and the right mindset”) and sees great balance in both classes, male and female (“We’ve seen several different people winning different regattas throughout the year”). She also identified who her main rivals will be: “I think the most competitive riders will be the French and British teams. They have been doing really well all year, especially Lauriane Nolot and Ellie Aldridge. Everyone has improved so much, it will be a really competitive regatta”.
Like icons Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal showed in tennis, also in the kiteboarding world rivalry meets friendship: “Lauriane and Ellie are some of my closest friends, and I think everyone in the kite fleet is quite close and always look out for each other. I feel really lucky that I get to compete with some incredible women and I have so much respect for all of them”. The five Worlds title won by Moroz are incredible too, just like her hunger to win more and more: “I just love my sport and learning how to improve every day! I am incredibly lucky to get to do something I love which allows me to travel around the world with some of my closest friends and have fun. I am also just extremely competitive and have a drive to be the best no matter what I do, and there is nothing else I would rather be doing right now”.
Moreover Daniela started looking the Paris 2024 Olimpyc challenge on the horizon, that could be an icing on the cake for her career: “I think this World Championship is another important step towards the Olympics and it is an opportunity to practice competing under pressure and delivering your best performance. I think the Olympics are on everyone’s mind, it’s definitely the long term goal and it’s exciting that kiting will be part of the Games in 2024”.
by Press | Sep 26, 2022 | News Eng
Next October 8th to 16th the traditional sailing event in Cagliari will assign the titles of the Formula Kite World Championship, the “Olympic board” expected to debut in Paris 2024. The Golfo degli Angeli’s crystalline waters and the 6th stop of the Poetto, iconic beach of Sardinia‘s capital, will host the event
Over 150 athletes to be involved, 45 countries and 5 continents represented and a great dream to chase for everyone: Formula Kite Olympic class world title. The wind blows strongly in Cagliari‘s Golfo degli Angeli and the Formula Kite World Championships – highlighting the new “Olympic board” set to make its debut at the Paris Games in 2024 – is day by day closer: the “Gulf of Angels” and the Poetto beach in Cagliari will host the event next October 8th to 16th. The Worlds champions will be crowned on the occasion of the Sardinia Grand Slam, an established sailing event organized by GLEsport, selected to host the kitefoiling IKA World Series queen stage last autumn.
Exactly 156 athletes are admitted (94 men and 62 women), coming from 45 countries, 43 in the Men entry list and 28 in the Women’s one. France takes the lion’s share with 15 participants, 9 women and 6 men.
The reigning champion of the 2021 edition, the French Théo de Ramecourt, will be the among the stars of the transalpine expedition, as well as Axel Mazella, another valid candidate for final victory. World Championships’ silver medallist in Oristano, last year, Mazella was already a brilliant protagonist and winner of the Sardinia Grand Slam 2021 in Golfo degli Angeli’s waters. Serious contenders for the top positions are also Cyprus’ Denis Taradin, leader of the KiteFoil World Series, and Slovenian Tony Vodisek. English team has solid chances too, starting with Connor Bainbridge, who celebrated his birthday last year by leading the Sardinia Grand Slam after day1 and who is currently looking for his best shape.
Bronze medallist eleven months ago and leader of the seasonal ranking, Riccardo Pianosi will attract the support of the Italians, as well as Lorenzo Boschetti. Runner-up in the 2022 ranking, German Florian Gruber is another expected protagonist.
Five-time world champion and several times star of the Sardinia Grand Slam, US’ Daniela Moroz will try to hold her rainbow title from the attacks of British Ellie Aldrigge and French Lauriane Nolot, silver and bronze at the 2021 Worlds respectively. All of them will pay attention to Gisela Pulido Borrell, the Spanish leader of the seasonal ranking ahead of Nolot (winner of 2021 Sardinia Grand Slam) and Moroz themselves.
Since yesterday, many of the expected protagonists are taking part to the European Championship in Greece. However, many other athletes are already in Cagliari, starting from the US national team – with the Women’s world champion Moroz – to French and Dutch teams. Every day the Poetto welcomes new sails. By 3 October all the members and their entourages will be in the Sardinian capital, for a total of 6,000 people expected in the hotels in two weeks.
The World Championship is organized by GLEsport with the financial contribution of the Tourism Department of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and the Municipality of Cagliari. The event will be held under the aegis of World Sailing (the International Sailing Federation) and IKA (the International Kiteboarding Federation), in addition to the FIV – Italian Sailing Federation and the CKWI, the Kiteboarding and Wingsport Italia Class and with the collaboration of the Chia Wind Club.
by Press | Feb 24, 2022 | News Eng
From Oristano to Cagliari it’s a short step: Sardinia confirms itself as a queen of the World’s kitesurf by hosting also in 2022, the Formula Kite World Championships. Looking forward to the five-circle debut of the discipline at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the specialists of the new “Olympic board” will fight for another World title in Sardinia, moving their foils to the Golfo degli Angeli‘s waters.
Cagliari, capital of Sardinia, is the designated city to host the World’s top competition, from October 8th to 16th, 2022 in the context of the Sardinia Grand Slam: only a few months ago, the iconic sailing event organized by GLEsport, had proudly hosted the IKA KiteFoil World Series’ main stage.
Frenchman Theo De Ramecourt and US Daniela Moroz will be called to defend the crowns won in 2021.
The World Championships will be organized by the GLE Sport company. “We are very happy our event has been selected to host the Formula Kite World Championship in 2022”, GLEsport President Gian Domenico Nieddu said. “In Sardinia we’ve been among the first to believe in this discipline, actually having a growing success among young people and about to make its debut at the Olympic level. We thank IKA, the International Kiteboarding Federation, and World Sailing, the International Sailing Federation as well as the Italian Sailing Federation for trusting in our organizational framework: we will do everything to fully respect the great expectations placed on our event”.
“Cagliari and the Sardinia Grand Slam are world-class excellences in kiting. We had no doubts about the assignment of the next Formula Kite World Championship to Cagliari, also considering the excellent work done last year in the organization of the IKA World Series. In Cagliari we have everything we need to set up a successful edition on technical, organizational and media perspectives. We are going to host an incredible fleet with all the seats assigned to national teams from all over the world”, IKA President Mirco Babini commented.
Councilor for Tourism, Crafts and Commerce of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia Gianni Chessa also expresses his satisfaction: “Kite has become a strategic sport for the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, for the enhancement of our regional beauties. Cagliari is an ideal location to host a World Championship, because of its huge experience in the world of sailing, and the ideal climatic conditions of the Golfo degli Angeli are perfect for offering a show that lives up to expectations”.
by Press | Oct 10, 2021 | News Eng
IKA KiteFoil World Series’ leader withstood the attack of his rivals in a day marked by light and shifty wind. Lauriane Nolot was the “queen” among Women, U19 Riccardo Pianosi the best-ranked Italian. Cagliari’s Major Paolo Truzzu took in awarding ceremony
Stronger than the tricky wind: there’s no adversary to hold for Axel Mazella, able to keep Sardinia Grand Slam‘s lead and to secure the win of IKA KiteFoil World Series round 3 on Sunday, October 10th.
Despite some imperfect choices and a racing day with shifty and gusty wind, the 23-year-old Frenchman completed the race with 30 points, preceding countryman Theo De Ramecourt (42 p.) and Brit Connor Bainbridge (47). Hundreds of spectators crowded the Poetto beach to support the protagonists of the event, organized by GLESport in collaboration with the Chia Wind Club and with the technical support of the Yacht Club Cagliari, under the aegis of World Sailing and IKA, the International Kiteboarding Association.
Winner of six out of 14 races in the first three days, Axel Mazella opened the Sunday placing sixth in Race 15 (score discarded), then settled for fifth and 20th (discarded) to secure the overall success. “Today I haven’t taken the right decisions with my strategy. I knew I had some points ahead of the other competitors and I took it easier. I’m really unhappy about the last race because the wind was really tricky and coming from everywhere. Anyway, now it’s time to celebrate“, Mazella commented.
The final racing day, October 10th, started with a brand new podium, topped by Russian Denis Taradin ahead of French Benoit Gomez and Theo De Ramecourt. The latter was absolutely on fire in Race 16: after a tough battle with Taradin, Theo claimed the win going up to second position overall, ahead of Connor Bainbridge.
After a runner-up spot in Saturday’s last race, Italian U19 Riccardo Pianosi went on collecting good displays, including two third positions in Race 16 and 17 that pushed him up to sixth overall. German Jannis Maus won the final run, ahead of Antigua’s Tiger Tyson. “I’m pretty satisfied with my display, considering that the racing week didn’t start as I wished. I was leading the last race, but I couldn’t stand up to Jannis”, Pianosi said.
Lauriane Nolot (232 points) topped the fully French-speaking podium ahead of Poema Newland (249) and Jessie Kampman (300). “I feel exhausted, I gave my best on every race, it was also good training for the Worlds. I’m super happy to take the first position. With Poema we are pushing each other to the best level: she’s super strong and super fast, but in Cagliari, I made better choices”, Nolot stated.
“Sardinia Grand Slam has really shone this year – the IKA President Mirco Babini commented – recording great success in terms of international participation. Hosting athletes from 19 countries and all continents is more than an arrival point: it’s a valuable transition point that leads us to renew the agreement concerning the international class: I’m personally involved in supporting Cagliari’s event also in the future years. Everyone can see the success of Sardinia Grand Slam: local authorities are really satisfied and the feedback from the competitors was absolutely rewarding. The athletes loved competing here for the weather conditions, hospitality and spaces the Poetto reserved for them”.
“After last year’s stop, Cagliari could welcome the KiteFoil show back, hosting World’s best specialists. We’re very proud of this and we’re satisfied with the high technical level, the media coverage and the institutional support. A special thank you to the Tourism Department of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and the Municipality of Cagliari”, OC President Gian Domenico Nieddu stated. Cagliari’s major Paolo Truzzu took part in the awarding ceremony.
The IKA KiteFoil World Series’ updated ranking will be available in a few hours on the IKA official website (www.kitefoilworldseries.com)
by Press | Oct 9, 2021 | News Eng
The defending champion came closer to the final success of IKA KiteFoil World Series’ round 3, winning two races. Nolot new leader of Women’s ranking. The SGS village hosted special guests like Cagliari’s Councillor Floris, Olympic windsurfer Maggetti and a delegation from Luna Rossa
We still have twenty-four hours to the crowning of Sardinia Grand Slam‘s new king, but Axel Mazella‘s candidacy is stronger and stronger. The defending champion strengthened his lead in IKA KiteFoil World Series‘ round 3 taking place in Cagliari (October 6-10), in view of tomorrow’s final showdown. Mazella claimed the win in two out of four races held today in Golfo degli Angeli’s waters. The fifth one was canceled due to weak wind, under 5 nodes.
“It was a good day. I’m really tired about the races, we did fourteen races in three days, it was really intense from the beginning to the end. The wind was shifty, from the right side to the left side, every race was different. The last race was completely different from the other ones because the wind was really shifty from the right side and it was coming from the headland: we’ve got a no-wind zone just in front of it. Everyone had different tactics. On the second leg, I followed Riccardo Pianosi, then on the last one I decided to go even more on the left side and it was better, for sure, because I overtook him. Now I stay focused until the end to win Sardinia Grand Slam” leader Mazella commented.
Behind the European Champion, Brit Connor Bainbridge went up to second position thanks to regular performances, whilst French Theo De Ramecourt climbed up the overall ranking by winning two regattas and flying to the third position.
“I just wanted to have fun, I was really not concerned about position or ranking, I did my line without caring to anyone else. I really enjoyed the conditions and I made the most out of it. The wind was shifty and you really had to open your eyes, then be reactive and opportunist“, De Ramecourt stated.
Among French and Brit kiters, the Italian prospect Riccardo Pianosi excellently interpreted the racing field, going up to seventh Overall with the icing on the cake: the second spot in Race 14. The Italian champion Lorenzo Boschetti is actually tenth, ahead of countryman Mario Calbucci.
“I perceived some strong wind shifts and I was able to read the wind since the first leg, taking a good advantage on the runner-up. On the third leg, Axel read the wind better than me and won the race, but I can be really happy with my performance” Pianosi said.
There’s a new queen in the Women’s ranking: French Lauriane Nolot overtook her countrywoman Poema Newland, whilst another French athlete, Jessie Kampman, is third in the ranking.
Sardinia Grand Slam’s penultimate day was made even more special by the presence of special guests like Andrea Floris, Councillor for Sports at Municipality of Cagliari; Olympic windsurfer Marta Maggetti, fourth-placed at the Tokyo Games; a delegation from the Team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, runner-up at America’s Cup.
Three further races are scheduled in Cagliari tomorrow, Sunday, October 10th: the fight for 2021 Sardinia Grand Slam’s title is on the final straight.
