Day two of the Wingfoil Racing World Cup Series in Silvaplana delivered another spectacular day of competition, despite a short initial delay as racers waited for the wind to fill in. It was a chance to catch up with the new kids on the block making their World Cup Series debuts representing the America One talent programme, which aims to develop future champions in foiling sports.
The group competing in Silvaplana range in ages from 18 year old Callum McDonald from Hawaii to Maximo Nores who’s 26 and has a long history in windsurfing. Kai Mirel, a 20 year old from San Francisco has also joined the group here in Switzerland. Another rider from Hawaii, JP Lattanzi, has shown real consistency and currently sits in the top ten overall.
However the man to have really taken the event by storm is New Zealander Sean Herbert, the only non-American in the America One group. The 23 year old won the first two races on day one to finish as overnight leader.
Herbert told us he was approached by America One following a good performance in the New Zealand nationals, “I’ve been involved in the last two camps with the boys, and it has been really beneficial for all parties. The group has come a long way and we’re looking to just continue building on the back of that.”
The inclusion of non-American talent has specific aims according to Leandro Spina who runs the America One talent programme. Spina, who’s originally from Argentina, has worked for many years in talent development at the highest level, “There are two programs going on, one is focused on the Olympic classes. The other is focusing on the long-term development of talent and that’s where Wingfoiling comes in because foiling is not the future anymore foiling is here”, Spina explains.
For the moment Herbert is unsure what he wants to do next but says he loves being part of what’s being achieved at America One, “I’ll be going back to New Zealand briefly after the US nationals and kind of regroup and figure out what’s next. I’ll be looking to come back for the World Cup event in Turkey in August. I’ve got a great relationship now with America One. They’re taking wingfoiling fully on board and so we’ll see what the future holds.”
Racing Recap – Day 2 Highlights:
Sean Herbert maintained solid form with a third and fourth place but dropped to third overall, edged out by Frenchman Bastien Escofet. Escofet’s strategic choice to use his largest Gong foil paid off handsomely, earning him a race win and a second place which propelled him to second in the leaderboard.
In the women’ competition, Italy’s Maddalena Spanu continued to dominate winning three of today’s four races and extending her lead at the top of the leaderboard. Her commanding performance leaves her firmly in control heading into Day 3.
The YouTube above has some excellent coverage of kiwi challenger Sean Herbert
With stronger winds forecast for tomorrow, the intensity is set to rise as the qualification rounds reach a crucial stage.
