French athletes dominate podiums in Denmark

• Spanish teenager Nia Suardiaz wins both disciplines in Hvide Sande helping her two world titles

• Reigning Surf-Freestyle world champion Malo Guénolé gets first event win of year in Denmark

• Francesco Cappuzzo lands FreeFly-Slalom victory by fine margin to go equal-top in world rankings

GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark 2023
Hvide Sande, 03—09 September

French athletes dominated the podiums at the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark, as the winners were crowned at Hvide Sande’s white sand beach on the final day of the contest.

Eight of the 12 riders on the men’s and women’s Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom podiums flew the French flag at the prize-giving at the end of the seven-day competition on the North Sea.

But it was the Spanish 16-year-old Nia Suardiaz who won both disciplines with an utterly dominant display at the event where the GWA Wingfoil World Tour is making its debut.

Suardiaz’s form has been so strong this year that she failed to win only once in the five events featuring both Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom disciplines, and closed out world titles with a handful of competitions remaining on the calendar.

In the FreeFly-Slalom discipline in Hvide Sande, Suardiaz was again untouchable, taking 13 of the 14 rounds. It was a repeat of earlier events where none of her rivals could match the young Spaniard’s pace and consistency.

In his lane

French riders Kylie Belloeuvre, who took the second podium step, and Orane Ceris, in third, were evenly matched and ended up just a few points apart on the leaderboard.

Suardiaz’s win in the Surf-Freestyle discipline in Hvide Sande was almost as convincing. Former world champion Bowien van der Linden (NED) pushed Suardiaz in a close final.

France’s Ceris won the run-off for the third podium step against her compatriot, Belloeuvre, in a tight contest.

Yet another French athlete, reigning Surf-Freestyle World Champion Malo Guénolé, got his first event win of the year in the discipline, as the mixed format of surfing and tricks was right in his lane.

The Surf-Freestyle podium was a French lockout, with Bastien Escofet and Alan Fedit taking the second and third podium steps after a spectacular contest even in the slightly tricky conditions of day one in Hvide Sande.

Locked together on leaderboard

The men’s FreeFly-Slalom contest could not have been closer. After 10 intense rounds, Italy’s Francesco Cappuzzo and France’s Titouan Galea were locked together on points on the leaderboard.

Cappuzzo had evened up the scores after he had come from behind in the last heat of the last round to pass Galea and hold the lead as the pair battled all the way to the line.

It was a key win, as it ensured Cappuzzo took the overall win when tie-break rules were applied. Cappuzzo now joins Galea on equal points at the top the world rankings. The battle for the Surf-Freestyle world title will be decided at the final stop in Brazil, in November.

Our next stop on the GWA Wingfoil World Tour will be the concluding event in the Wave discipline in Dakhla, Morocco, in late September. Join us here for all the action.

words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Lukas K Stiller 

GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark 2023 Surf-Freestyle results

Women
1 Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
2 Bowien van der Linden (NED)
3 Orane Ceris (FRA)

Men
1 Malo Guénolé (FRA)
2 Bastien Escofet (FRA)
3 Alan Fedit (FRA)

GWA Wingfoil World Cup Denmark 2023 FreeFly-Slalom results

Women
1 Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
2 Kylie Belloeuvre (FRA)
3 Orane Ceris (FRA)

Men
1 Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA)
2 Titouan Galea (FRA)
3 Julien Rattotti (FRA)