Season Opener: Leucate, France at the 25th year of Mondial du Vent, 26th April – 1st May
The GWA World Tour crew and riders are looking at a potentially action-packed year with ten events vying for World Tour status. And we’re starting with a bang – the first event in Leucate is set to be the biggest GWA event to date with 66 riders already registered!
About Leucate, France
The location for the 2022 Mondial du Vent GWA Wingfoil World Cup is located on the Mediterranean sea, on the southern coast of France. The GWA chose this spot as the season opener for the 2022 GWA Wingfoil World Tour due to the consistency of wind–over 300 days per year–as well as the wide, sandy beaches. The Mondial du Vent is fueled by the Tramontana, a reliable and strong northwestern wind that blows side/side off-shore
Mondial du Vent was also the location for the first GWA event of the 2021 season. We had an epic event with tops competitors Titouan Galea, Balz Müller, Bowien van der Linden and Olivia Piana battling it out on the final day.
About the Mondial du Vent
It’s a rare competition that makes it past the two-decade mark, but the Mondial du Vent has done just that. 2022 will mark the 25th year of the event’s history hosting wind sports enthusiasts from around the globe. The Mondial du Vent is France’s largest windsports event!
For the 2022 season, the GWA will host competitions in both surf-slalom and surf-freestyle at the Mondial du Vent.
COMPETITORS TO WATCH
With over 75 competitors expected at the 25th Annual Mondial du Vent, the stage is set for fierce competition. Here are the ones to watch!
The Spencer brothers, Jeffrey and Finn, have pre-registered for Leucate – it will be their debut on the GWA Wingfoil World Tour and we’re super excited to see them compete! The Spencers cemented themselves in wingfoil history as the first to land backflips on a wing.
Other notable pre-registration is Swiss Olympic Ski racer, Tanguy Nef!
Finally, our defending champions, Titouan Galea and Bowien Van Der Linden will be there to defend their titles!
Titouan Galea has established himself as the first world champion in Wingfoil history and in 2021 won both the Surf-Freestyle and Surf-Slalom world titles. He is also the first rider to have done a double back flip on a wingfoil.
For the women, defending champion, Bowien Van Der Linden hit hard in the first FIFA World CupWingfoil GWA 2021! The Dutch rider won 3 stages in freestyle surfing and has never come off the podium in a surf race. We’re eager to see what new tricks the 23-year old has developed in the off-season!
The 2022 Disciplines
For all World Cup Events during the 2022 season, the GWA will hold two competitive disciplines:
SURF-FREESTYLE:
A competition format aimed at inspiring the ultimate levels of trick performance and expression. Riders battle it out against each other in heats of between 2 and 4 competitors to surf waves or perform explosive and technically skilled air tricks to the best of their ability in the given water conditions.
SURF-SLALOM
An exciting and evolving format, usually focused on high speed downwind courses, but will also develop to include challenging, longer-distance, downwind adventure events. Surf-Slalom heats will demand a dynamic skillset from the world’s best wingfoilers, whatever the distance, on lakes and in open ocean environments. Whether negotiating flat waters or rolling swell and wave situations, competitors will need to accelerate hard and hold their nerve to negotiate any terrain as quickly as possible.
PRE-REGISTRATION IS OPEN. JOIN THE 66 COMPETITORS ALREADY REGISTERED!
Are you an athlete looking to compete for the €12.000 prize purse? Pre-registration is open until March 28th. Make sure you’re signed up for the first event of the season!
