After topping the round 1 in Austria, both the Singaporian and the French gave encore at Sardinia Grand Slam
Maximilian Maeder and Jessie Kampman are the 2024 KiteFoil World Champions. They claimed the title by securing victory at the Sardinia Grand Slam, the second and final event of the IKA KiteFoil World Series in Cagliari, on Saturday, October 5th. Axel Mazella and Gian Stragiotti completed the men’s podium at the Sardinia Grand Slam, while Elena Lengwiler and Italy’s Maggie Eillen Pescetto finished second and third in the Women’s competition. Martin Dolenc was runner-up ahead of Stragiotti in World Series Men’s final classification, whilst Gal Zukerman placed third among Women behind Kampman and Lengwiler.
THE FINAL DAY: MISTRAL, FUN, AND ADRENALINE
The weather and sea conditions in the Gulf of Angels were perfect in the Medal Series’ day. The gusty Mistral wind cleared the sky of clouds. For the athletes, it wasn’t easy to choose the right part of the race course: they had to quickly decide whether to play it safe on the left or head to the right, where there was more wind. The wind exceeded 15 knots, and some athletes used sails up to 11 square meters. Spectators on Poetto Beach were lucky to witness the final stages up close, with a racecourse very close to the shore and speeds well above 35 knots, providing plenty of fun and adrenaline.
“2024 has been an incredible year,” commented Mirco Babini, president of the IKA. “Finishing the Open circuit of the Kite Foil World Series here in Cagliari is an amazing feeling. Cagliari crowns the two world champions of the KFWS, a competition without restrictions, allowing the use of all equipment to go as fast as possible. Cagliari has once again proven to be an excellent racecourse, and I hope this result leads to significant new developments.”
THE MEN’S RACE: MAEDER ON HIS FIRST TRY
In the men’s Grand Final, Maeder was the fastest from the very start, followed by another young talent, Switzerland’s Gian Stragiotti. Both were born on the same day, September 12, but a year apart: Maeder in 2006 and Stragiotti in 2007. “Another exciting experience here at Poetto has ended,” said Maeder. “We had excellent conditions, and it was a very tough battle. Congratulations to all the competitors, especially the finalists. Gian Stragiotti was the MVP of the event; he really surprised me, and it was a great fight even in the final race. The final went well for me, and I’m very happy.”
Riccardo Pianosi, the last remaining Italian, was eliminated in the quarter-finals, which were won by Connor Bainbridge ahead of Croatian Martin Dolenc, who had already reached the final in Traunsee during the first World Championship event. Bainbridge went on to finish second in a hard-fought semifinal behind a spectacular Gian Stragiotti during Cagliari’s week. Benoit Gomez, who had started the Sardinia Grand Slam with two wins on the opening day and qualified for the Medal Series in third place, was knocked out.
THE WOMEN’S RACE: KAMPMAN TAKES NO PRISONERS
Jessie Kampman also won the 2024 Sardinia Grand Slam Grand Final on her first match point, repeating her victory in Traunsee and clinching the women’s KiteFoil World Championship. “Winning this title was fantastic. It was great racing in these finals,” said the new world champion. “Especially with these weather conditions, I’m happy with the progress made compared to last season,” she concluded, referring to the injury that had forced her to pause.
Italy’s Maggie Eillen Pescetto, an Olympic athlete in Paris 2024, also performed exceptionally well, despite using older-generation equipment. She impressed in the semifinals, finished second behind Kampman in the final race, and placed third overall. “It was an exciting and challenging race because the wind was so gusty out there,” said Pescetto with a smile. “It was part tactics, part luck. I arrived at the windward mark in fourth, on the wrong side, so I decided I had to push to the limit. It’s really satisfying!”
Earlier in the day, Portuguese rider Mafalda Pires Da Lima had been a standout, first winning the Repêchage to qualify for the Medal Series quarter-finals with Karolina Jankowska, then securing a spot in the semifinals by beating Israel’s Maya Ashkenazi (Italy’s Tiana Laporte was eliminated). Pires Da Lima seemed on track for the final but was overtaken by Zukerman for second place in the semifinal.
NIEDDU: “SATISFIED AND PROUD, ALREADY THINKING ABOUT 2025”
“We are satisfied and proud,” said Gian Domenico Nieddu, president of the organizing company GLESport. “We are proud to have hosted the final stage of the IKA KiteFoil World Series, which awarded the world title, and we are already looking ahead to the next edition, where we aim to confirm our technical and organizational excellence. We are grateful to the Sardinia Regional Tourism Department and the Municipality of Cagliari for their support, and we thank all the staff and volunteers on land and at sea for making everything run smoothly.”
MEN’S RANKING
1) Maximilian Maeder SGP 3 points
2) Axel Mazella FRA 1 point
3) Gian Stragiotti SUI
WOMEN’S RANKING
1) Jessie Kampman FRA 3 points
2) Elena Lengwiler SUI 1 point
3) Maggie Eillen Pescetto ITA
KITEFOIL WORLD SERIES’ MEN FINAL RANKING
1) Maximilian Maeder SGP p. 600
2) Martin Dolenc CRO p. 582
3) Gian Stragiotti SUI p. 582
KITEFOIL WORLD SERIES’ WOMEN FINAL RANKING
1) Jessie Kampman FRA p. 600
2) Elena Lengwiler SUI p. 594
3) Gal Zukerman ISR p. 585
Photo: 1) Jessie Kampman and Maximilian Maeder celebrate KiteFoil World Series’ title after winning Sardinia Grand Slam (Credits IKA Media / Robert Hajduk); 2) The hug between Maeder e Kampman (Credits Alessandro Caglieri); 3) Martin Dolenc, runner-up in IKA KiteFoil World Series’ Men classification Credits IKA Media / Robert Hajduk); 4) Max Maeder, master of the Men race (Credits Alessandro Cani); 5) Swiss Gian Stragiotti, in the spotlights at Sardinia Grand Slam (Credits IKA Media / Robert Hajduk); 6) Smiles are never enough for Jessie Kampman (Credits IKA Media / Robert Hajduk); 7) Sardinia Grand Slam Women’s Top 10 (Credits IKA Media / Robert Hajduk); 8) Sardinia Grand Slam Men’s Top 10 (Credits IKA Media / Robert Hajduk); 9) IKA KiteFoil World Series Men’s podium (Credits IKA Media / Robert Hajduk); 10) IKA KiteFoil World Series Women’s podium (Credits IKA Media / Robert Hajduk)