GWA Wingfoil World Cup: FreeFly-Slalom
(27th July - 1st August 2026)

GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura: FreeFly-Slalom / World Championship Titles (Men and Women)

Francesco Cappuzzo (ITA) and Kylie Belloeuvre (FRA) are the new FreeFly Slalom world champions. Defending champions Bastien Escofet (FRA) and Nia Suardiaz (ESP) were defeated.

In the FreeFly-Slalom wingfoil discipline, the men’s and women’s world championship titles were decided during the 38th Fuerteventura World Cup. In the “FreeFly-Slalom” race discipline, competitors battle it out on a course marked by buoys that includes jibes, tacks, and short pumping or surfing sections without wing assistance.

The final day of competition for the FreeFly-Slalom racers was nail-biting right up to the end. Bastien Escofet and Nia Suardiaz had set out to defend their 2025 world championship titles. And both initially accomplished this task with flying colors in the qualifying round.

In the men’s and women’s final heats, strong nerves were required, as victory on Fuerteventura was crucial for winning the world championship in both categories.

In the men’s competition, 2025 world champion Bastien Escofet couldn’t handle the pressure. Escofet wanted to gain a few meters by taking the shorter inside line. That backfired. He crashed, allowing Francesco Cappuzzo of Italy to secure his victory—and with it, the world championship title—without any trouble. As a result, a visibly dissatisfied Bastien Escofet had to settle for second place this year. Sebastiano Zorzi of Italy took third place.

The situation was similar in the women’s competition. Reigning world champion Nia Suardiaz showed nerves in both final heats. She crashed in each of the two final heats under pressure from the catching up Frenchwoman Kylie Belloeuvre. Belloeuvre coolly seized her opportunity and sailed flawlessly to her world championship title. Nia Suardiaz had to settle for second place. Mar de Arce, also from Spain, finished in third place.

This brings the 38th Fuerteventura World Cup to a close. A total of seven world championship titles were awarded in windsurfing and wingfoiling. The wind held steady throughout the event, allowing all competition classes to be completed before the official end of the event.