Britain’s Connor Bainbridge finished the first day of the IKA KiteFoil GoldCup World Series in Italy lying third overall with a further three days of competition ahead
Bainbridge followed up a third in the first race with a solid fourth to place third overall, and is three points behind the leaders, Nico Parlier and Maxime Nocher of France.
Parlier took the leaderboard’s top spot with a second and a win in the second race, while Nocher opened with a win, but could only manage a third place in the second race on the course off Cagliari’s Poetto Beach.
Britain’s Guy Bridge was caught out by a big shift at the start of the first race and ended up in a tangle that ended his race with a broken bridle. He clawed back some of the deficit with a second in the following race to finish the day in 26th overall.
In the ten-strong women’s group, competing within the mixed fleet, the US’s Daniela Moroz, put in a strong performance to lead, and place ninth overall ahead of many strong and experienced men.
The women’s group boasts a handful of Polish teenagers who have come to gain racing experience ahead of KiteFoil becoming an Olympic event, hoping to learn from their idols like former multiple world champion, Britain’s Steph Bridge, who sits in second spot.
GoldCup Top men after two races
1st Nico Parlier (FRA), 3.0pts
2nd Maxime Nocher (FRA), 4.0pts
3rd Connor Bainbridge (GBR), 7.0pts
4th Theo De Ramecourt (FRA) 11.0 pts
5th Florian Gruber (GER) 12.0 pts
6th Mario Calbucci (ITA) 12.0 pts
GoldCup Top women after two races
1st Daniela Moroz (USA)
2nd Steph Bridge (GBR)
3rd Julia Damasiewicz (POL)
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