If the setting in China had changed, little else had. In the opening skirmishes at the KiteFoil World Series in Pingtan, Monaco’s Maxime Nocher picked up where he left off a week ago at the tour’s first stop in Weifang Binhai.    The multiple world champion scooped a clean sweep of four bullets in the first racing day of the competition in building breezes that hit 18kts, continuing the winning ways that earned him the top podium spot in the first of the back-to-back World Series’ stops in China.    Britain’s Connor Bainbridge, who was all-but untouchable on the first days of…

The world’s leading kite hydrofoil athletes favour Formula Kite as the equipment of choice for the 2024 Paris Olympics if World Sailing backs the decision of its Council to include kiteboarding at the upcoming annual meeting.    Formula Kite, roughly a “box rule” that limits racers to series production registered foils and kites produced by any brand, is a compromise between the “one design” concept and “open” unregulated equipment in an effort to ensure the best athlete and not the best material wins.    Many of the top kitefoil racers are among 27 athletes from 16 countries competing in the second Act of…

The hotly-anticipated KiteFoil World Series’ second act is set to kick-off with four days of scorchingly-quick kiteboard racing action in back-to-back tour stops in China. Hot of the heels of the season-opener of the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) KiteFoil tour in Shandong province’s Weifang Binhai, the world’s fastest kitefoil athletes are to take to the East China Sea track off Fujian’s Pingtan Island. Monaco’s Maxime Nocher, staked his claim to the scheduled four-stop series’ world title crown when he captured the victory in Weifang Binhai with increasingly-fast and confident performances that signalled his return to form.The multiple world champion will…

Multiple world title holder, Monaco’s Maxime Nocher, signalled his comeback to form by clinching the opening round of the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) KiteFoil World Series in Weifang Binhai, eastern China. Nocher’s performance over the regatta’s five scintillating days of competition and a remarkable 22 races was characterised by steady progress that saw him only top the leaderboard on the penultimate day, matched by a cautious error-free final day in which he sealed victory. “To compare with the last year I’ve been very steady,” said Nocher. “I’ve been training hard and you can see it in my results. At the…

Monaco’s Maxime Nocher surged to the head of the order at the KiteFoil World Series’ opening act in China, taking four wins from seven on the competition’s penultimate day that was packed with drama that proved costly for his rivals. But the multiple world champion was a model of searingly-quick consistency even up against one of the fastest fleets that has ever gathered to battle for the unprecedented €60,000 prize money on the Yellow Sea track off Weifang Binhai, eastern China. By contrast, the leader for the opening three of the regatta’s five days, Britain’s Connor Bainbridge, slipped to second…