There were moments when they seemed beatable - a small gap at the start line, a small lead at a turning point - but there was no real overtaking opportunity for anyone trying to overtake Tour leaders Nia Suardiaz and Francesco Cappuzzo in Sunday's FreeFly slalom final in Fuerteventura.
Suardiaz and Cappuzzo were unstoppable. After four runs, the two secured first place and went straight into their respective finals. Runners-up Kylie Belloeuvre in the women's race and Oscar Leclair in the men's race also made it through to the final, while the next best six men and four women had to duel it out in the final elimination rounds.
Nia Suardiaz was in a league of her own
Nia Suardiaz won the first run of the final to secure victory, her second FreeFly slalom win of the season, having already prevailed in the elimination rounds. After a turbulent first run, she took the lead and was visibly relieved and excited after her victory.
"I tried to synchronise as well as possible with the official time on the boat," said Suardiaz, who was in the lead at almost every buoy in the final series thanks to her precise start timing. The only one close on her heels in the rankings was Kylie Bellouevre, who finished second to Suardiaz in three of the four eliminations. "Kylie worked really hard and I think the level is very high, especially in these windy conditions. I'm really excited to see how it goes in Brazil."
Capuzzo sees setback
Francesco Cappuzzo did not have it so easy on his way to victory. Julien Rattotti and Bastien Escofet both lost ground on Cappuzzo in the final runs on Sunday due to several crashes. The two Frenchmen had to win several quarter-final and semi-final rounds to reach the four-rider final, and they were hungry for a win.
Cappuzzo showed nerves of steel in the first final race, in which a win would have secured the title. Instead, he missed a buoy in an attempt to overtake and finished level with Rattotti. "I felt uncomfortable right from the start. I didn't have the timing I wanted," said Cappuzzo about his first final run. "I was put under pressure and had to change my course, and as I was in third place, I was under pressure. Tacking earlier was the only way to get back to the front, but it didn't work out."
It was a completely different picture in the second race: with a clean start and full throttle on the straights, Capuzzo crossed the finish line as a sure winner. "I didn't finish the first race. I've never done that before in my life. So I had to do a restart," said Cappuzzo, who is clearly in the lead in the hunt for the world title in the freefly slalom. "I said to myself: 'Francesco, you're here for one reason only, you want to win, so forget everything else. Reset and go full throttle, and everything went perfectly on the last run. I led from the start to the finish."
Outlook
Suardiaz and Cappuzzo have won both previous FreeFly Slalom events in 2024, but there are still two more events in this discipline on the schedule before the world champions can be crowned.
With the conclusion of the FreeFly slalom at the World Cup on Fuerteventura, the surf freestyle discipline continues. Over the next few days, backflips, back-mobs, spins and combination tricks will be on show.
Results GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura 2024 FreeFly Slalom
Ladies
- Nia Suardiaz
- Kylie Belloeuvre
- Bowien van der Linden
- Orane Ceris
Gents
- Francesco Cappuzzo
- Julien Rattotti
- Bastien Escofet
- Oscar Leclair
