WELCOME TO SAINT TROPEZ!:

BATTLE OF THE EXTREME SPORTS

Most people probably don’t ordinarily associate Saint Tropez with windsurfing, kiting or winging, however, that all changed late last year when the Défi WIND entered town…

WORDS: Frank Roguet // PHOTOS: J M CORNU / DEFI WIND BY LAST

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Born and raised in Gruissan, South of France, exported to Miyako Island in Japan, Mauritius or Bonaire, the legendary Défi WIND most recently travelled to the glamorous town of Saint Tropez, for a unique concept of full fleet races mixing windsurfers, kitesurfers and wingers all together. The venue is well known for its extravaganza of luxury, mega yachts, posh cars and wild nightlife where jet setters love to be spotted. On the sporting side, it is the place for classic sailing regattas such as ‘Les voiles de Saint Tropez’ and a stop on the high-speed Sail GP Tour. Défi WIND was stepping into a completely new world under the name of LAST – Les Ailes de Saint-Tropez – hosted by the local Yacht Club, plage des Canoubiers, on the doorstep of Brigitte Bardot. In such a scene, Défi had to be different; it took the label of “Superstars” with impressive prize money. However, it remained open to amateurs and Défi addict Chris ‘Oyster man’ Le Masurier from Jersey Island simply couldn’t miss such an event.

The first edition of LAST gathered elite athletes from each of the 3 extreme sports. The complete French Kitesurfing Team took a break from their 2024 Paris Olympic preparations to see Poema Newland, Lorianne Nolot, Théo de Ramecourt and Axel Mazella battle it out against the best windsurfers and wingers in the world. The windsurf division boasted the largest fleet with numerous world champions such as Antoine Albeau (26x World Champion), Pierre Mortefon, Nicolas Goyard, Marion Mortefon, Hélène Noesmoen as well as many other top ranked sailors taking the lineup. Former Olympic medallists Julien Bontemps, Pierre Le Coq and Thomas Goyard also joined that particular race where all kinds of classes could potentially shine. The youngest sailing sport, winging, was well represented with the Spaniard Nia Suardiaz, who is the current world Nº1, Flora Artzner, Titouan Galea and Francesco Cappuzzo from Italy, amongst others.

Défi WIND brings a touch of craziness to traditional sailing formats with its unique rabbit start concept, where the complete fleet starts all together with a bang at full pelt. With this being the first time ever mixing all 3 categories, a touch of wisdom was need with regard to the starting line, so a partition between kitesurfers, and the rest of the fleet, was emplaced for obvious safety reasons, knowing that competitors being the races at crazy speeds in excess of 35 knots. Nevertheless, the riders were not expecting the challenge to be such a physical battle.

Nowadays, without any question of doubt, the foil is the weapon of choice for these kinds of long-distance courses. The bay of Saint Tropez offered an impressive and somewhat unexpected playground with 15 to 25 knots of wind, even gusting over 30 knots at times. All kinds of conditions were faced with two opposite winds, an easterly onshore breeze on the first day with rough seas, and flatter conditions with westerly Mistral winds for the last races. Courses were held over 30km, demanding long runs where cardinal marks were used as racing buoys in a stunning landscape. Dolphins, blue marlins and swordfish were seen on the course, which added a real touch of wildness to the event.

As instructed, the kitesurfers were first to open the starting lines, and it was interesting to see windsurfers and wingers naturally setting their positions on opposite sides of the line. Speed, equipment choice and marine skills were the key for those XL downwind slaloms. According to Laurianne Nolot, who finished first in the women’s fleet, reaching a 40-knot top speed was not far off on the course. Kitesurfers truly showed awe-inspiring performance, meaning the other fleets had no chance and they could even strike fear into the Sail GP Formula 1 machines – such was their level of performance! Axel Mazella was the superstar, largely dominating the event after securing a highly impressive 4 victories out of the 5 races completed. Despite difficulties to launch their kites, due to the gusty winds inside the bay where the Yacht Club of Saint Tropez is located, kitesurfers still loved the format and the mix of sporting cultures. Expert sailor Nicolas Parlier, who showed lots of enthusiasm for the concept is “ready to join the Défi wherever it goes next”.

Not far behind, were the Goyard brothers, who were the only windsurfers able to reduce the gap to the kitesurfers, scoring several top 10 finishes between them. Nicolas, the youngest, won 3 of the family affair races to claim back-to-back victories in Défi WIND together with Dutch sailor Sara Wennekes, who overtook Marion Mortefon in the women’s fleet.

In the wing category, there was a fierce fight between two generations, 16-year-old Nia Suardiaz and Flora Artzner. The young Spaniard finished ahead of the French competitor 3 times out of the 5 races, but lost too much ground in the opening race where she lacked experience over Artzner. Wingers are now stepping on the gas, with the sport rapidly evolving, and it is now moving from a beach toy into a fast nautical vehicle. Mathis Ghio, Francesco Cappuzzo and Nicolo Spanu ended Les Ailes de Saint Tropez – Défi WIND Superstars in a photo-finish, respectively 35th, 36th and 37th overall.

Exhausted, with salty eyes, racers from all categories wore large smiles on their happy faces after completing the final race, just as the sun disappeared behind the old town. Without an official closing party, an improvised gathering began, led by all the female competitors, who were well inspired by the spirit of Saint Tropez.

All participants, pros and amateurs alike, were unanimous at the end of the event, even though they were pushed well outside of their comfort zones to cover the distance: Let’s do it again! Many experienced a new kind of adventure. For Thomas Goyard, mixing all three disciplines on the same course was both interesting and extremely demanding. Nia Suardiaz, the 2023 wing world champ, admitted to being stressed and full of adrenaline before each start, while Rytis Jasunias, the PWA Vice-President and Défi competitor stated: “That bringing all three different water/wind sports together is a beautiful idea as we all share the same passion for wind, water and the feeling of freedom. This event brought us together as we were united by the challenge of the Défi!.” The concept of Les Ailes de Saint-Tropez will probably not be the LAST!

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