Tarifa Wing Pro News and Updates

Final day December 30th 2021

Final

The final was a major showdown between experienced waterman Balz Muller, and 15 year old up-and-coming rider Riccardo Zorzi. Balz wasn’t messing around for the final, and locked down an 8.03 point Backflip to get started. Riccardo Zorzi was fully focused for his first-ever final, and he threw down some massive tricks, with incredible height and execution. His Frontside 7 scored him 7.5 points, and together with his 3 other high-scoring tricks, he took the win by less than one point from Balz Muller. It was a truly incredible result for this 15 year old rider! 

The final results for the Tarifa Wing Pro Surf-Freestyle discipline are:

Men:

1. 1st Riccardo Zorzi (ITA/Slingshot)
2. Balz Muller  (CHE/Ensis)
3. Maxime Chabloz (CHE/F-One)
4. Julien Salmonn (GER)

Race

Men:

1st Mathis Ghio (FRA/Ocean Rodeo)

2nd Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA/RRD)

3rd Maxime Chabloz (CHE/F-One)

Women:

1st Olivia Piana (FRA)

2nd Orane Ceris (FRA/Airush)

3rd Bowien van der Linden (NLD/RRD)

The wind dropped at 3pm, not leaving any time to complete further race eliminations. The prize giving ceremony was held at Balneario Beach in front of the crowds, who were delighted to see not only the Tarifa Wing Pro event winners crowned, but to see the GWA Wingfoil World Champions crowned for the very first time. 

It has been an incredible event here in Tarifa, and the GWA would like to thank all of the local organization, the crew and the athletes for making this final event of the year so amazing. We look forward to returning once again next season.

Video recap of the Final Day

Women: 

1st Bowien van der Linden (NLD/RRD)

2nd Olivia Piana (FRA)

3rd Flora Artzner (FRA/F-One)

4th Orane Ceris (FRA/Airush)

Day 3 – 29th of December, 2021

Report Gemma Hamaini  Photos Samuel Cardenas

Day Three of the Tarifa Wing Pro was all about the tow-in action, as we ran an expression session in the waves whilst the athletes and crew waited for the wind to arrive.

A total of 18 athletes signed up to participate in the tow-in competition, and we saw some amazing surfing from riders such as young gun Malo Guenole, Titouan Galea from New Caledonia, Kane de Wilde from USA and Italian Riccardo Zorzi. The crowds were lined up on Balneario Beach enjoying all of the action. 

Malo Guenole stole the win with some amazing surfing, great wave selection, and impressive back-flip to finish off the session. 

“It was a really fun tow-in session,” said Malo. “The waves were closing a bit, but it was super fun with all the riders. There is no wind today, so this was the best alternative.”

During the downtime this week, we spoke with Olivia Piana, one of our top female riders on tour, about how wingfoiling is evolving, and why she loves it so much. 

“I believe wingfoiling will become the biggest water sport ever,” explained Olivia. “You can foil in any conditions, you don’t need big waves or strong wind. You can go out on a lake, on a river, and in the sea of course. There are so many disciplines and so many ways to enjoy the sport.I like this sport because you can never be lazy with it.”

Day 2 Updates

Day Two of the GWA Tarifa Wing Pro saw the near-completion of Men’s Round 3 for the Surf-Freestyle discipline

Several attempts were made to start to the Race discipline today, but due to several changes in the race-course, the final call was made to switch to the Surf-Freestyle discipline to try and advance further up the competition ladder. The judging criteria remained the same as yesterday, with the athletes given 12 trick attempts, and the top 3 tricks counting. Heats were 9 minutes in duration with 3 minute transitions.

Men’s Round 3

The day kicked off with the completion of Heat 33, which started yesterday but was called off due to a drop in wind. In the minutes that were left, we saw Mathis Ghio defeat Lilian Juppet by just a fraction of a point, allowing Ghio to advance to the next round. 

There have been a great number of young up-and-coming athletes competing at this event, and for Heat 34, Lucas Roguet, just 14 years old, performed very well against fellow young rider Noa Cuyala. Roguet landed a clean Frontside 3 scoring 5.77 points and advanced to the next round.

Francesco Cappuzzo gave yet another unstoppable performance for Heat 36. His 6.9 point Frontside 3 is the best we have seen in the competition so far. He cleared his way to the next round comfortably, continuing his blistering form in competition lately. 

Riccardo Zorzi is another talented young rider showing significant evolution, and for Heat 37 he performed a clean array of tricks which allowed him to advance to the next round, defeating S.Carentz. Malo Guenole followed suit for Heat 38, defeating M.James and advancing.

Gregorio Pugliese took a comfortable win for Heat 39, whilst S. Zorzi advanced automatically for Heat 40 due to the draw. C.Hamon defeated K.de Wilde from the U.S.A for Heat 41, with the wind conditions stabilizing nicely throughout the afternoon. 

Two French riders faced each other for Heat 42, where Hugo Marin put together a better variety of high-scoring tricks, allowing him to advance to the next round, and eliminating his young competitor Chucho Nonnot from the competition. 

Maxime Chabloz proved once again that he is a fierce competitor and he opened Heat 43 with an outstanding Backflip, scoring 8.27 points, the highest single trick score of the day. He advanced to the next round over Noa Legier. 

Just as we were nearing the end of Round 3, the wind conditions dropped suddenly, bringing the day of competition to an end. The wind forecast is improving for the coming days, so we remain optimistic to be able to complete both disciplines here in Tarifa for this final event of the year. 

At the end of the day, we took a moment to talk to the organizer of the Tarifa Wing Pro, Jaime Herraiz, to see how he feels about the progression of this event and the sport in general. 

“I’m very impressed with the amount of new riders we have seen this year at the Tarifa Wing Pro,” said Jaime. “The increase in the level of riding is incredible. There is a great vibe overall between everyone. This year we chose to organize the event in Playa Chica due to the conditions, and we are happy to be able to share this experience with the town of Tarifa and it’s people. The authorities have given us great support and we are truly grateful. The conditions have been tricky, but Tarifa always delivers so we have faith that we will be able to complete the event.”

Day 1

Report Gemma Hamaini Photos Samuel Cardenas

It was a rainy and early start for Day One of the Tarifa Wing Pro, with a 7am start time for crew and athletes. All participants were required to take a PCR test in order to be allowed into the event area, allowing us to complete the Tarifa Wing Pro in the safest manner possible.

There were a total of 6 women and 31 men registered to compete in the Surf-Freestyle discipline here in Tarifa, for this 2nd edition of the Tarifa Wing Pro. Balneario beach is once again the perfect chosen location for this final GWA World Tour event of the season.

World Title Scenarios
Coming into this event, Bowien van der Linden from the Netherlands has already claimed the 2021 Surf-Freestyle World Title for the Women, due to her significant lead in points, but the Men’s result remains an open fight for Titouan Galea, who will need to finish in 5th place or above in order to become Surf-Freestyle World Champion. If Titouan finishes in 9th position or lower, the door would open for Camille Bouyer to become World Champion.

Women’s Elimination
The Women were first on the water this morning with wind conditions ranging from 10 to 13 knots. Rounds 1 and 2 were completed, with no riders being eliminated, however in Round 3, things heated up. Orane Ceris, Olivia Piana, Flora Artzner and Bowien van der Linden all secured their spots in the semi-finals.

Olivia Piana advanced over fellow French athlete, Orane Ceris, in an incredibly tight heat for semi-final 1, allowing her to lock down her spot in the final. She was joined by Bowien van der Linden, who defeated Flora Artzner in semi-final 2.
Orane Ceris faced Flora Artzner for the small final in the fight for 3rd and 4th position. It was a close heat with both Women pulling out trick after trick and gaining close scores. Orane Ceris performed a nice Frontside 3 that scored her 4.43 points but it was Flora who managed to grab the lead by just a fraction of a point, with her 4.93 Frontside 3, allowing her to claim the 3rd podium position, a repeat on her result from our first event of the year in Leucate.

The final was a true battle between Olivia Piana from France and Bowien van der Linden from the Netherlands. Although Bowien has already claimed the 2021 World Title, her mission today was to also claim the win at this last event of the season. Olivia however, was not about to make it easy for her. Olivia rode solidly, landing a clean Frontside 3 scoring 4.77 points, but Bowien responded with one of her own, topping her score with 5.97 points. Both women landed almost every trick attempt, but it was Bowien who finally claimed the win with an overall score of 14.5 points, over Olivia’s 13.03 points.

“I’m crazy happy, it still feels so surreal,” said Bowien. “I just went to Leucate to try out competing, and now look at the result! I think wingfoiling is going to be really big. I’m amazed at how fast it is growing. People can enjoy it everywhere, you don’t need 20 knots, you can ride in almost anything. That’s what makes it so great.”

The final results for the Women’s Surf-Freestyle discipline are:
1. Bowien van der Linden (NED/RRD)
2. Olivia Piana (FRA)
3. Flora Artzner (FRA/F-One)
4. Orane Ceris (FRA/Airush)

Men’s Surf-Freestyle Discipline
Men’s Round 1 was completed by 5pm, and with 31 men registered for this event, competition was tough from the very start.
We saw some stand-out performances for Round 1, where a mix of local athletes, young up-and-coming riders, and experienced competitors all faced each other, each one searching for the opportunity to advance directly to Round 3. Lucas Rouget is a young local rider, who showed how comfortable he was performing here at his home spot. He beat French rider Chucho Nonnot in Heat 2. Julian Salmonn also put together an impressive heat, where his Frontside 3 scored him 6.3 points, one of the top scores of the day. Francesco Cappuzzo proved that he is an experienced competitor, and he gained two top scores during his heat, where he impressed the judges with his Frontside 3 and Toeside Frontside 3. One of the youngest riders on tour, Malo Guenole, rode a fabulous heat scoring 17.5 points, with his Frontside 3 giving him 6.33 points, but it was Maxime Chabloz from Switzerland who gained the highest trick store, and highest overall heat score of the day with 17.67 points, and his impressive opening trick was a Backflip which scored him 7.6 points.

“I’m super happy with the first day here in Tarifa,” said Maxime. “I’m bummed I wasn’t able to attend the last events, as I have seen that I can do really well. Let’s hope for some good wind to get this event completed.”

All riders advanced through Rounds 1 and 2, and were seeded into Round 3. This is where the eliminations from the competition will start. Just as Round 3 was started, the AP flag went up and competition was called off for the day. The action will continue tomorrow as the Surf-Freestyle discipline will be completed, and the Race Discipline will get underway. The wind capital of Europe will hopefully dish up some optimal conditions to allow this final event of the year to be completed in the best way possible.
The skipper’s meeting has been called for tomorrow morning at 10am, with the first possible start at 10.30 am.