Wing · Boom
2021
The first Wingfoil World Cup
At Leucate in France the GWA holds the first official Wingfoil World Cup, the start of a world tour with its own world champions.
La Franqui, Leucate · Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
About two years after the first wings reached the shops, wing foiling had a world cup. From 28 April to 2 May 2021 the GWA held what it called the first official Wingfoil World Cup at La Franqui, Leucate, in France, as part of the Mondial du Vent festival.
There were two disciplines: surf-freestyle, with jumps and tricks, and a surf-race around a course. Titouan Galea won both men’s events, with Balz Müller second in both. Bowien van der Linden won the women’s freestyle ahead of Olivia Piana; Piana won the women’s race.
Leucate was the first stop of a season-long tour, with further events that year including Brazil and Tarifa. At the end of 2021 the first wingfoil world tour champions were Galea in both freestyle and racing, Van der Linden in women’s freestyle and Piana in women’s racing. Van der Linden had gone to Leucate, she said, just to try it.