The globe’s speediest kiteboard racers are set to do battle in the enthralling upcoming stop of the KiteFoil World Series, which will again be fought out this week on waters off the magnificent Italian resort island of Sardinia.
The fastest kitefoil athletes will compete for a share of the €25,000 prize purse over the intense five-day Sardinia Kiteboard Grand Slam regatta being staged on the Gulf of Angels off Cagliari’s pristine Poetto beach.
It is the fifth edition the Sardinia Grand Slam held in Cagliari, with the kiteboard racers returning after a year’s break when coronavirus restrictions curtailed the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) World Series’ calendar.
But with kiteboarding’s inaugural inclusion in the Paris 2024 Olympics, competition in the reinvigorated World Series has intensified dramatically as ever-more racers and nations vie to realise their medal ambitions.
The third act of the globe-trotting 2021 World Series’ tour will play out on the Gulf of Angels’ iconic waters. France’s Axel Mazella will be eager to cement his victory at last month’s second tour stop in Traunsee, Austria, that took him to top of the overall standings.
By comparison, Russia’s Denis Taradin, winner of the World Series’ opening act in Gizzeria, southern Italy, in July, will be seeking to reset and make amends for his relatively poor showing in Austria, that cost him the overall lead.
Both athletes are acutely aware, however, that the Sardinia Grand Slam, sponsored by Regione Sardegna tourism and the City of Cagliari, is a way-point in the slated five-stop tour that will crown the open class’s IKA KiteFoil world champions.
With the coveted crown comes the bonus of another cash prize. A proportion of the prize money from each of the World Series’ acts is put aside for the tour’s ultimate KiteFoil world champions.
The Sardinia Grand Slam regatta, organised by GLEsport with the technical support of Chia Wind, will see the men and women racing as one awe-inspiring fleet. The results for the women will be taken separately to establish the overall victor and the pecking order for the world title.
The title race for the women, who will take an equal share of the €25,000 Sardinia Grand Slam prize pot, is finely balanced. Four-times Formula Kite world champion, the US’s Daniela Moroz, won the first round in Gizzeria, while France’s Lauriane Nolot triumphed at stop two in Traunsee.
Whatever the outcome, the stage is set for spectacular and breathtakingly-tight racing in Cagliari, with the action featured on Facebook Livestream.
Photo Credits: SARDINIA GRAND SLAM IKA KiteFoil World Series
Full results: www.kitefoilworldseries.com
