Congratulations to Nico Parlier for successfully taking his third Formula Kite World Champion title in Lake Garda, Italy. Nico started the season off racing strong on the new R1 v3 , showing off its supercharged performance and refined design enhancements.
“I’m really happy as I didn’t expect it much,” said Parlier. “It’s definitely getting harder. The guys are getting quicker and it’s pretty tight. I felt really fast, but many are close to me. The starts were insane with 30 in the ‘gold’ fleet. The racing was really interesting here under the cliffs.”
The event also held the first trial of the mixed team relay format, the same format set to be used when kiteboarding debuts at the Olympics in five years time. The round-robin format involves a male and female team racing one lap each of the track. The second team member can only begin their lap once the first has passed the finish line, this “flying” handover adds another level of complexity.“This format’s pretty cool,” he said. “The changeovers were very smooth, though we could do better. And perhaps the races could be a little longer so that they’re more tactical and enable you to make up for mistakes. But it was great fun.”
Well done to Evan and Daniela. Congratulations also go out to Oliver Hansen for being crowned U19 Vice-Champion, to Julia Damasiewicz for claiming the U16 Female World Champion title, Magdalena Wojciechowska U16 Vice-Champion and to Jakub Jurkowski U16 Male Vice-Champion.
Winning his third Formula Kite World title, Nico shares with us his experience and of the heated competition in Lake Garda, Italy.
“The conditions during the training days prior to the competition were fairly unstable and gusty, it really honed down the importance of getting to know a spot and it’s varied winds well before race day. I was happy to have had this experience as it helped me decide on the best kite size to use.
The first day of the event was for the qualifying rounds, I was placed in a fleet with Toni, Flo and Axel and got off to a good start winning all four races.
I came third in the first race which opened my eyes to the need to give the next races everything I had. In the second race, I decided to take advantage of a port tack start which paid off and I managed to lead all the way securing first. I again came third in the third race, making me realise I need to step up my game even more. The fourth and final race was amazing, the top riders were all so close again, I came in right on the heels of Ollie Bridge.
The decision to take the 19m R1 v3 over the 21m for the races was simple to make. During the training days, I felt a lot of gusts even during the light periods, I decided it would be best to use the 19m in the racing to handle better the varied wind strengths and to not be overpowered when it picked up, I was on 14m lines.
For me, the 21m works best in steady, cleaner winds in locations that have stable thermal wind.
The other top-five riders were on 20 or 21m kites, on some parts of the races maybe the 21 would have been preferred but on the whole, I was happy with my decision to take a smaller kite as at times the gusts came in out of nowhere.
The R1 V3
Once again our renowned race machine, the R1 covered the competition skies, this time to a stunning Italian backdrop. Now in its third version, the R1 remains a force to be reckoned with. We have made its high-speed podium performance even easier to tap into, refining the design to take it to the next level.
Better angles up and downwind
Higher top end and lower bottom end range
Responsive handling
Increased stability in light wind conditions
Quicker inflation
All sizes of R1 V3 are IKA registered.
Results – 2019 Pascucci Formula Kite World Championships
Men
Women
Mixed KiteFoil Team Relay
Men U19
Women U19
Men U16
Women U16
Men (Masters)
Women (Masters)
Men (Grand Masters)
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