Some riders complained about plastic in the water ruining their races on day three of the WingFoil Racing World Cup Turkiye.
Others found a way of winning race after race despite the plastic obstacles lying in wait to catch them out.
- Six short-course races in bright sunshine and wind from 12 to 22 knots
- Nia Suardiaz is over early in first start, but five wins keep her on top of women’s standings
- Plastic debris in the water requires some mental gymnastics from the riders
- Mathis Ghio maintains overall lead with six wins from six heats
- Gold fleet racing takes place on Saturday for the top 14 men
In the men France’s Mathis Ghio, continues to set the pace. Like the rest of the riders, Ghio had to contend with the plastic minefield but managed to win all six races without a single crash.
The men were competing in three qualifying groups and Kamil Manowiecki was making good progress in blue group in the morning session, scoring 3,2,1.
After lunch the Polish rider scored three straight wins and pulled up to fourth overall behind two French competitors, Mathis Ghio in first and Julien Rattotti in second, and Italy’s Alessandro Tomasi in third.
In the women, tomorrow’s goal for Spain’s Nia Suardiaz target is to win all races in the women’s fleet.
The young Spanish rider might well have achieved a perfect sweep Friday but for starting a bit too soon in the first race.
“I was over early so I got disqualified for that, but then it was a good day afterwards,” she smiled. “It was really hard though, because the other girls were pushing really hard.”
“Good battles with Maddie [Spanu], Manon [Pianazza] and Karolina [Kluszczynska], so I’m really exhausted. Everything is aching and I’ll sleep well tonight. But first I’ll have two desserts at dinner,” she laughed.
Friday evening the men’s fleet was reseeded into gold, silver and bronze groups.
So in gold we’ll see if the other riders can take the fight to reigning world champion Mathis Ghio, while the women’s group continues, with a close battle in store for second place behind Suardiaz who is starting to look uncatchable.
RESULTS MEN (38 entries)
1. Mathis Ghio FRA – 6.6 pts
2. Julien Rattotti FRA – 7.4 pts
3. Alessandro Tomasi ITA – 10.0 pts
GBR:
12th Rafferty Read GBR – 31.0 pts
RESULTS WOMEN (13 entries)
1. Nia Suardiaz ESP – 7.0 pts
2. Maddalena Spanu ITA – 17.0 pts
3. Manon Pianazza FRA – 20.0 pts
