Tied between two of the top favorites after the 2nd day of the Sardinia Grand Slam. Stragiotti and Vodisek close behind. Women: Kampman shines, Whitehead strong in the mistral
Max “calls,” Riccardo answers. While reigning World Champion Maeder continues to dominate in the Yellow Fleet, Pianosi firmly takes the stage in the Blue Fleet: with four wins in as many races, the European Champion sends a clear message to his rivals on the 2nd day of the Sardinia Grand Slam – Formula Kite World Championships in Quartu Sant’Elena (CA), Wednesday, October 1st. Born in Pesaro but adopted by Quartu, Pianosi ends the day with 6.0 points, the result of as many consecutive wins. The same net score (6.0) for Maximilian Maeder, whose winning streak was broken in the 7th race of the Worlds (Q7) only by Brazilian Bruno Lobo. In 3rd place remains a strong Gian Stragiotti, followed by Toni Vodisek and Sam Dickinson.
In the women’s field, two partial wins bring Australian Breiana Whitehead to 3rd place, while Jessie Kampman continues to shine at the top (9.0), ahead of European and reigning World Champion Lauriane Nolot (19.0), who improved in the latter part of the day. Daniela Moroz is 4th, Olympic medalist Ellie Aldridge 5th.
PIANOSI: “GREAT VIBES, BUT THE LEVEL IS HIGH AND THERE’S NO ROOM FOR MISTAKES”
Pianosi confirmed the strength of his world title ambitions from the very first race, which started with a mistral wind between 14 and 20 knots, gusting up to 22. The Italian finished about 15 seconds ahead of Gian Stragiotti, who closed the gap to 5 seconds in race-2, while in the following ones the runner-up spots went to Polish Vojtech Koska and Croatian Martin Dolenc.
“Today was a really good day,” said Pianosi. “I managed to bring home lots of wins in my fleet, so I’m happy. Yesterday we tried the 21 and today the 15,” explained the Olympic kiter, detailing the use of different sail sizes depending on the wind.
“The sensations are good also for tomorrow, and then the gold fleet awaits us. The level is very, very high; today and yesterday there were some great battles with Gian Andrea Stragiotti. You have to do everything right and leave no room for mistakes.” Max Maeder saw him in great shape, and Riccardo confirms: “I’m fit, I’ve been training well lately – and Sardinia is always fantastic.”
OTHER ITALIANS: DETAILS AND CONSISTENCY AHEAD OF THE YOUTH WORLDS
A steady day for Flavio Marx, always in the Top 10 in the Yellow Fleet and 23rd overall. With an eye to future goals, especially the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, Marx is focusing on the details in these days in Quartu Sant’Elena, which are offering great racing conditions: “In the coming races I expect to keep the speed but improve my starts.”
9th in Q8, Giuseppe Paolillo is 26th after the 2nd day. Here he’s working on consistency ahead of the Youth Worlds in Praia da Vitoria, Terceira Island, Azores. “We’ve trained a lot here in Cagliari, combining water sessions with bike and gym training, we really put the work in. We know the mistral wind well, we’ve logged many hours in these exact conditions. I’ll try to be as consistent as possible and give my best in this World Championship. Looking ahead, I want to keep improving, and one of the next big goals is the Youth Worlds in the Azores in a few weeks. It will be fun!”
Like Paolillo, Lecce-born Julio Houze is also aiming to grow ahead of the Youth Worlds. He is currently 34th, while his brother Luis “sails” in 52nd place. “With the mistral it’s quite difficult, it’s a tricky wind. This World Championship is important for me to improve and prepare for the U21 and U19 Worlds in the coming weeks and months. It’s a great emotion racing with the best in the world, with those who have been to the Olympics,” commented the Salento rider.
ITALY’S GIRLS IN SEARCH OF THE BEST SENSATIONS
More than results, Sofia Tomasoni and Tiana Laporte are chasing (good) sensations. “I missed breathing the air of a kite foil World Championship,” said Tomasoni, back after a year and a half. “I’ve practiced this discipline for about ten years, but I needed to give myself some time: I’ve had the chance to travel the world, I studied and now I’m a mental coach, I trained others, I built a career outside of kiteboarding, and I gave myself the chance to explore new paths. My goal in this regatta is simply to have fun without thinking about the result. It’s important for me to detach a little from that mindset. I want to try to make good starts. And, looking ahead, I’d like to go to the Olympics,” smiled Sofia Tomasoni, under the warm Quartu Sant’Elena sun welcoming her return.
Laporte is 24th: “Yesterday I had several problems and during one race I caught a piece of plastic that took me down. Today I started strong, I started well but it was a UFD, then I tried to do my best in the following races but maybe the 11 wasn’t enough: tomorrow a bigger sail will be necessary and I’ll give it everything. I intend to always do my best, have good races and have fun.”
THE WELCOME AND ENTHUSIASM OF QUARTU SANT’ELENA
On Poetto Beach today was also the Sports Councillor of Quartu Sant’Elena, Cinzia Carta. “We are proud of the success of the Sardinia Grand Slam, our citizens are very interested, curious, and there is great involvement from the community. I invite everyone to come and see this great show of world sport. Moreover, this event also involves the students of the Porcu-Satta sports institute, who are experiencing it up close: the experience may end with the presentation of a paper at the end of the school year.”
THE ORGANIZATION
Organized by GLEsport with the technical and sporting collaboration of Chia Wind Club, the Sardinia Grand Slam is held under the aegis of World Sailing (the International Sailing Federation) and IKA (the International Kiteboarding Federation), as well as the FIV – Italian Sailing Federation. The event is promoted by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Department of Tourism, Handicrafts and Commerce, and also benefits from the contribution and sponsorship of the Municipality of Quartu Sant’Elena. Partners of the Sardinia Grand Slam are Playcar and USE.
TOMORROW’S PROGRAM
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 2nd, the mistral is expected to persist, lighter than today, Wednesday, October 1st. This evening, based on tomorrow’s weather forecast, the start time will be decided, in any case not before noon.