Before they were allowed on the water, at least the men among the 347 participants from 24 nations had to weigh in and were divided into four weight classes. Four men's fields started, each with around 70 participants, supplemented by a women's class. In addition to the Italians, who were the most strongly represented with almost two thirds, almost 40 Australians flew in and, together with 43 Frenchmen and over 30 Dutchmen, made up the strongest contingents. Two mini-teams, four men each, came from Germany and Austria to compete in the eight light wind course races.
"Gusts of six to eight knots were a highlight," said Frank Spöttel, who finished in twelfth place.
"I would have liked to have surfed into the top ten, but the standard in Class A (up to 69.8 kg) and B (up to 77.8 kg) was incredibly high." Most of the former champs were also represented there. Chris Sieber, 2000 Olympic champion from Austria, was in third place for a long time, but lost power and pumping technique due to an inflamed knee: "In the end, I was happy to hold on to sixth place."
Pumping was allowed, but only 30 seconds after the start on the cross, but permanently after the windward mark on the half, space and downwind. "Unfortunately, this revealed some weaknesses in the organisation, which resulted in more sporadic disqualifications. Caught pumpers had to do a 720 as a punishment. The wrong sail number was also noted down at the finish," complained Kay Bürger from Giessen, "but otherwise the regatta was perfectly organised by the Albaria Club. The supporting programme was also perfect, with delicious food and good music and dancing every evening." Kay in 22nd place and Seppi Salvenmoser from Kitzbühel (20th) completed the German-Austrian team on land and on the water.
At the end of the World Championship, the race committee even organised a slalom, or rather a pumping race, and to top it off, there was finally a long distance race with a little more wind, in which everyone started together at a rabbit start.
Marco Casagrande, who won seven out of eight races in the A group, and Allessandro Alberti in the C class showed just how superior the Italians dominated the home event. Riccardo Giordano repeated his 2019 World Championship success in the jumbos (86.6 kg and over), while Laura Linares also dominated the women's field at will.
Can this also be the case at the next World Cup in Australia at the end of December 2023? The experts doubt it. The hour of the Aussies could come in the strong wind area of Perth. By then, there should be plenty of the new LT windsurfers available for hire again - whether for a hire fee of 250 euros, as in Mondello, remains to be seen.
