- 18 July 2016 | Kiteboarding
The French kiteboarder, 18, snatched victory in an intense final day of competition. The event enjoyed winds in the 8-to-16 knots and attracted up to 62 kite foilers from 26 nations.
After taking an early lead, Mazella let his opponents gain ground. Maxime Nocher and Olly Bridge nearly stole the lead, but the young Frenchman ended up securing the narrowest margin – only one point.
“I’m delighted to win. I train together with Maxime Nocher, so I know him well, and he goes very, very fast. I try to be more consistent, like him. But I made so many mistakes. In the day’s first race I had many crashes, then I tangled with Olly Bridge and had lots of poor starts,” said Mazella.
Women rode their kites in the Silver fleet alongside men. Elena Kalinina, the 2015 Formula Kitefoil European champion, finished in the 13th position overall and won her division.
“We had a lot of interesting races. I am a little bit tired, but I’m happy. I like the conditions here becaus they were different and you can show your skills in different ways,” expressed Kalinina.
The 2016 IKA KiteFoil World Championships are comprised of four events: Gizzeria (Italy), Istanbul (Turkey), Boryeong (South Korea), and The Pearl (Qatar)
KiteFoil GoldCup Italy 2016 | Results
Men
1. Axel Mazella (FRA)
2. Maxime Nocher (MON)
3. Oliver Bridge (GBR)
4. Riccardo Leccese (ITA)
5. Florian Gruber (GER)
Women
1. Elena Kalinina (RUS)
2. Alexia Fancelli (FRA)
3. Jade O’Connor (IRL)
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Source: WCAK
