2019 IKA Formula Kite Europeans – racing begins today
Torregrande, Sardinia
Text Credits: Ian MacKinnon
Photo Credits: ICARUS Sports
A large fleet of young kitefoil athletes lined up for registration on Tuesday on the spectacular Italian resort island of Sardinia to fight for the coveted European championship titles.
Torregrande’s expansive sandy beach on Oristano Gulf will play host to five days’ intense race action in the Formula Kite class, the format for kiteboarding’s Olympic debut at the 2024 Olympic Games.
The inclusion of mixed relay kitefoil racing in the Olympics’ elite roster has drawn 90 athletes (including 30 women) to Sardinia.
One day of the scheduled five has been allocated to mixed relay racing, when the winners on the pristine waters of Oristano Gulf’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) will be crowned European champions in the format for the first time.
The biggest focus however, for the athletes from 22 countries, will be the 2019 European championship title race, where the men and women will compete separately.
The men will be divided into two fleets for an opening ‘qualifying series’ of races to seed the top racers for the closing two days’ ‘finals series’. Expect in-form Slovenian Toni Vodisek (winner of the recent Open KiteFoil World Series events in China), Axel Mazella and Théo de Ramecourt to do well.
In the women’s fleet, the four-times Formula Kite World Champion, the US’s Daniela Moroz, is also dominating the World Series and is likely to prove untouchable in Torregrande.
Among the Europeans vying for the 2019 crown, the French pair of Alexia Fancelli and the returning Anaïs Mai Desjardins are likely to find themselves locked in a ferocious battles with Britons, Ellie Aldridge and Maddy Anderson, over the coming days of pulsating battles.
Full results: formulakite.com
UPCOMING:
KITEFOIL WORLD SERIES FINAL:
02 Oct – 06 Oct 2019
Cagliari Poetto beach, Italy – www.sardiniagrandslam.com
BREAKDOWN OF THE TWO RACING ‘TYPES’ IF YOU’RE STILL CONFUSED:
ABOUT FORMULA KITE
The Formula Kite Class emerged from kiting’s course-board racing discipline, latterly embracing kite hydrofoil’s rapid, cutting-edge developments. By limiting equipment to “registered series production”, the class’s aim is to create a level playing field, ensuring the best athletes win. Formula Kite is the chosen equipment for several Regional Games like the Central American & Caribbean Games, the PanAmerican Games, and the inaugural World Beach Games. Formula Kite is also the selected equipment for kiteboarding’s historic first appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. More here.
ABOUT THE KITEFOIL WORLD SERIES
The IKA KiteFoil Class’s premier GoldCup World Series was launched by the IKA in 2014 to provide an international stage for the fast-emerging discipline of kite hydrofoil racing. It remains an “open” unregulated class, allowing elite racers to use prototype hydrofoil boards and kites to spur ongoing progression and ensure it retains its place as one of the fastest, most efficient and exciting of all sailing disciplines. The KiteFoil Class world champions will be declared on the basis of the tour results of the now-rebranded KiteFoil World Series, better reflecting its global reach. More here.
