Sunday 21 May (D4) you and’ Defi Wind concluded 2023.
Nico Goyard and Sara Wennekes were crowned champions of this edition.
After a relentless trend of 10 days of tramontana, on the last day the wind disappeared in Gruissan to give a well-deserved rest to the 1400 Riders who were still hungry for long distance racing. In addition to fun on the water and at night, adding a Défi WIND trophy to a professional career is equivalent to a Champion's League title in windsurfing. Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) achieved the second consecutive victory, while Sara Wennekes (Future Fly Boards / Severne Sails) is a new champion of the event.
Defi is a unique and accessible regatta format that combines full fleet regattas, Departures in Rabbit, long distance, strong wind, while at the same time bringing together professionals and amateurs. New rankings have been introduced this year: foil, fins and unlimited for those who wanted to choose according to the strength of the wind: 64 Racers signed up for the foil, 299 They entered the Open category and the thousand remaining competitors opted for the fin. Lohan Jules (Future Fly Boards / S2Maui) (20°) and Marine Hunter (Quatro / KA Sail) conquer the fin category, Johan Soe (FMX Racing / Point-7) and Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) claim the Open division, and Nicolas Goyard along with Sara Wennekes are the foil champions.
The overall result is still the main focus and the Danish giant Johan Soe, who finished second and still has only 19 years, clearly stated his strength on the long distance: "I am very satisfied with my result; I didn't expect to be second. I received brand new equipment, table, sails and front wing before the event. I didn't expect to go like this’ fast. It was very special to win a race ahead of Nico Goyard, which was unbeatable. I pushed like a devil to succeed. The Defi was a really nice experience full of adrenaline when you have to face so many people. I don't trust anyone when you have to go in the opposite direction. Sometimes I did very wide jibes and you have to concentrate for the whole race with so many people around you..
Nicolas Goyard, with 3 WINS over 4 races is undoubtedly the champion Défi 2023: "I come from a month of training and IQ Foil competitions. I received a new foil the day before the event started; I actually think I can go faster because I'm not fully trimmed with this new foil yet.. It's fast and stable. I can tune it for superior speed in the long run. Defi was clearly one of my goals for the season.. Johan (Soe) is approaching. He will be a serious opponent. I wish we had stronger winds, It would have been even more fun with 35-40 Solid knots to see how far we can push the limit in front of the fins".
Sara Wennekes, leading lady, He put in an impressive performance finishing 57th overall., in front of a large group of men's slalom experts: "My tactic was to try to avoid the crowds on the starting line and have a free start., and it's not easy. I was trying to follow the great champions and learn from them. I managed it quite well, Guess. Whissing at the buoy means trying to find your free lane and avoid crashing into other riders. I did my best, Justine (Lemeteyer) and I were pretty close in every race., we could see each other. We were chasing each other. I managed to make a race among the first 50 absolutely (including men). It's fantastic! I'm glad I beat some of the great champions”.
In the meantime RIWmag has posted video interviews that are not’ managed to broadcast live due to poor mobile phone connection available on Gruissan beach on Friday’ and Saturday.
The video interview with Luca Spindler, son of Monty, sailmaker by Loft Sails:
The video interview with Ben Van Der Steen (Loftsails, Brunotti Sportswear, Sonntag-fins, We One), also retired from PWA but still competes in Speed and Defi Wind and PWA judge:
The video interview with Jordy Vonk (Fanatic, Duotone, TWS, ION) who introduced us to the Duotone E_Pace SLS:
The video interview with Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde, Garmin, Quiksilver, Man NegoLoc, PNJ Cam.com, Chris Benz, Orange, Neilpryde Foils, Yamaha WaveRunners, Sellsy) who recently won his 26th world title:
Men's Overall Result 2023 Défi Wind
1St Nicholas Goyard (BETWEEN | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd Johan Soe (U20) (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)
3Rd Thomas Goyard (BETWEEN | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
4th Pierre Mortefon (BETWEEN | Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils)
5th William Huppert (BETWEEN | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
6th Henry Madsen (CRO | JP / NeilPryde) Bruno Martini
7th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
8th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly Boards / Severne Sails)
9th Antoine Albeau (BETWEEN | JP / NeilPryde)
10th Nicolas Warembourg (BETWEEN | JP / NeilPryde)
Women's Overall Result 2023 Défi Wind
1St Sara Wennekes (NED | Future Fly Boards / Severne Sails)
2nd Justine Lemeteyer (BETWEEN |FMX Racing / S2Maui / LokeFoils)
3Rd Delphine Cousin Questel (BETWEEN | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
4th Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Marion Couturier (BETWEEN | Starboard / Severne Sails)
6th Marion Mortefon (BETWEEN | Fanatic / Duotone / Phantom Foils)
7th Alice Read (GBR | Fanatic / Duotone)
8th Jenna Gibson (GBR | Fanatic / Duotone)
9th Ambre Papazian (BETWEEN | Starboard / Severne Sails)
10th Femke Van Der Veen (NED | Starboard / Severne Sails)
source PWA
video interview: www.RIWmag.com
