GWA Wingfoil World Cup Morocco 2021 Day Two
Dakhla has been serving up some incredible conditions for the GWA Wingfoil World Cup, Morocco this week, but the wind got off to a slow start for Day Two of competition. It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that the conditions became suitable and the action got underway as we continued with the Surf/Freestyle discipline.
Men’s Round 3
With various false starts, the competition finally commenced at 3pm, with Men’s Round 3, Heat 21. The format for today was changed to a pure wave format, due to the lighter wind conditions. Riders were given 10 wave attempts, with the top 2 scores counting. The heat duration was also extended to 18 minutes, with a 4 minute transition time.
Heat 21 was between Jerome Cloetens and Fabian Muhmentaler, where Jerome unfortunately managed to destroy his wing in the opening minutes of the heat as a large set came in. He managed to complete the entire heat riding with just half a wing, yet still scored several decent waves which gave him the advantage over his team-mate Fabian.
Fernando Novaes from Brazil faced French rider Clement Colmas for Heat 22. Two very calm and collected athletes, they each awaited the most suitable waves throughout their heat, but it was Fernando who managed to beat Clement by just a fraction of a point on his last wave, allowing him to advance to the Quarter-Finals.
Julien Bouyer held a steady lead against Mathis Ghio for Heat 23, where his 8.20 score wave gave him a secure lead throughout. All attention then turned to the final heat of Round 3 where the young 16 year old Malo Guenole knocked out the current tour leader, Titouan Galea. Titouan couldn’t seem to find the same magic as yesterday, and struggled to keep up with the pace of Malo, whose fluid turns and impressive style gave him the lead and the well-deserved spot in the Quarter-Finals.
Men’s Quarter Finals
Camille Bouyer came up against Chucho Nonnot for the first heat of the Quarter-Finals. The pressure to perform during this round was high, and Chucho put up a good fight, however it was Camille with his 8.27 point wave, who advanced to the Semi-Final.
Francesco Capuzzo unfortunately struggled to repeat his strong performance from yesterday, and Hugo Marin managed gradually build up stronger scores to secure his win. Joining him in advancing to the Semi-Finals was Fernando Novaes, who showed great experience and solid riding to advance over Jerome Cloetens. Fernando, in contrast to many of the riders here, comes from a surfing background as opposed to a wind sport background, and this is often visible with his impeccable wave selection.
“I’m really happy to be advancing through another round,” Said Fernando. “I come from a surfing background, and wave selection is everything. I’ve been really careful to choose my waves, and so far it has paid off. I’m just taking each heat here as it comes, and having a good time.”
The last Quarter-Final of the day was extremely close and came down to the last seconds of action, as Julien Bouyer managed to defeat young-gun Malo Guenole by just a fraction of a point.
Tomorrow’s semi-finalists will be:
- Camille Bouyer vs Hugo Marin
- Fernando Novaes vs Julien Bouyer
The Women’s Elimination
Gallery GWA Wingfoil World Cup Morocco 2021, Day 02
Pioneers of this emerging sport, the women of the GWA put on a strong demonstration of skill and talent as they hit the water for Round 1 this afternoon. Paula Novotna from the Czech Republic came up against Brazilian Marcela Witt for Heat 1. Paula maintained a constant lead, after gaining a strong start, despite feeling very unwell today, her performance on the water showed otherwise. She advanced directly through to the Semi-Final.
Heat 2 was between Fiona Wylde from USA, Orane Ceris from France, and Dutch rider Bowien van der Linden. Fiona set the bar high from the very start, showing some very accurate wave selection. This is the first GWA event for Fiona, who is a 3x SUP World Champion, and she proved that she is just as comfortable competing within this discipline. She advanced with a fantastic score of 15.23 points, with Bowien close behind her. Bowien and Orane passed through to Round 2, with Fiona advancing directly to the Semi-Finals.
For Round 2, Marcela Witt from Brazil went up against Orane Cerise from France. Both competitors struggled with the lighter wind conditions, typical of this location in the late afternoon. Orane managed to push that little bit harder, gaining the scores and advancing over Marcela, into the Semi-Finals.
Women’s Semi-Finals
Paula Novotna had to once again regain her strength for her semi-final heat against Bowien van der Linden. She fought hard during the last moments of competition of the day, but Bowien rode an exceptional wave, smooth and controlled, gaining an impressive score of 7.87 points. Paula was not able to top that within the remainder of the heat, and Bowien advanced to the finals.
The last heat of the day was between Fiona Wylde and Orane Cerise, both battling for a spot in the final. Once again Fiona showed great experience with her wave selection and advanced to the final over Orane, with a 12.54 total score. Tomorrow she with face Bowien van der Linden in the Women’s Final.
The action came to a close as the sun went down over Foum Labouir. It’s been another action-packed afternoon, which will be continued tomorrow with both the Men’s and Women’s Finals.
The skipper’s meeting has been called for 8.30 am, with the first possible start at 9 am. We’ll go live as soon as the action will hit the water. The livestream on WINGFOILDAILY.
We are excited for the next days wing foiling action live from the Wingfoil World Cup Morocco 2021!
Words and Pictures by GWA Wingfoil World Tour
Report Gemma Hamaini
Photos Svetlana Romantsova
The GWA crew and athletes are thrilled to be in Dakhla, Morocco, bringing this new emerging sport to Foum Labouir wave spot for the first time. It is an epic location known for incredible wind and waves, and the forecast for this coming week is no exception.
Registration took place at Westpoint Dakhla Hotel in the early morning, where 20 men and 5 women of over 10 nationalities signed up to compete at this event. Ready for the Wingfoil World Cup Morocco 2021.
Wind and waves were pumping from the very start, so the Race Director, Juan Antonio Aragon, decided to start the event with the Surf-Freestyle discipline as the conditions were ideal. By 1 pm, the first Men’s Heats were already underway. Riders were competing in 15-minute heats, where they were allowed 10 wave attempts, with the 2 best waves counting and 5 trick attempts with 1 trick counting for their total score.
Men’s Rounds 1 and 2 were completed seamlessly, as the wind conditions were ideal. Titouan Galea’s opening performance at this event was nothing short of spectacular. He scored an almost perfect single wave score of 9.13 points, and an overall score of 23.67, the highest of the day. He proved right away that he means business here in Dakhla, and set the bar high for the rest of the event.
All riders advanced through Round 1, and for Round 2, it was Malo Guenole who scored an impressive 20.80 points for his heat, locking down his spot in Round 3 and knocking out French rider Francois Prevost in the process.
Things started heating up in Round 3, as riders went full throttle to avoid being eliminated from competition, and focus was on advancing through to the Quarter Finals. Chucho Nonnot managed an incredible heat, having just landed in Dakhla half an hour before he hit the water due to flight delays. He knocked out Sebastien Jourdant from Round 3. Joining him in the Quarter-Finals will be Camille Bouyer, Francesco Cappuzzo and Hugo Marin.
Francesco Cappuzzo went from strength to strength today, gaining an overall score of 18.47 points in his heat against Hendrick Lopes. Francesco rode smoothly and confidently, showing that he was extremely comfortable riding in Dakhla, after having been here training for over 3 weeks now. What a time at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Morocco 2021.
“I’ve been wingfoiling a lot in waves this last year, and these conditions are really similar to what I’m used to at home in Sicily, so i felt really comfortable riding today,” said Francesco. “I have been here in Dakhla for over three weeks now, so that definitely helped. The waves were really perfect this afternoon, and if you chose wisely you could connect the three sections, and that is what always gives you the biggest reward. My dream for sure is to win this event, and I will fight for it. I’ve been training a lot more racing than freestyle and wave, but I feel really good in both disciplines here.”
Gallery GWA Wingfoil World Cup Morocco 2021, Day 01
The competition continued steadily up until 6pm, when the wind dropped, in the middle of Round 3, Heat 5, between Jerome Cloetens and Fabian Muhmenthaler. They had been neck and neck throughout, but the decision was made to call off the competition for the day, and the full heat will be re-run tomorrow.
The skipper’s meeting has been called for 9.30 am, with the first possible start at 10am. We’ll go live as soon as the action will hit the water. The livestream on WINGFOILDAILY.
We are excited for the next days wing foiling action live from the Wingfoil World Cup Morocco 2021!
Words and Pictures by GWA Wingfoil Worled Tour
Report Gemma Hamaini
Photos Svetlana Romantsova
