Downwind Racing – 2024
Author: Jon Mann
So, another year of racing has passed, we’ve seen plenty of growth in the sport with more races and events and we’ve seen the level well and truly elevated. An element of physicality has been added in addition to the already high skill requirements, that in my opinion adds more credibility to the professionalisation of the sport. Before I go any further in this blog though, I want to add that none of my opinions or statements target any individuals (so if you feel like this is directed at you, it’s not, it’s a generalised view) and also that they are just my opinions based on my perspective. I welcome criticism (in a constructive manner) and debate, but more on that later.
So let’s start with the biggest change this year. The physicality. Almost all the athletes increased their physical preparations but some of the younger riders and most notably Edo (I’ll name him since he won and it’s been talked about on many social media platforms) brought an athlete mindset to their preparation for the races and it showed. There were plenty of comments flying around online about how the races were just pumping all the way and it doesn’t look fun. I think that will always be the nature of racing, doing anything and everything to get from A to B as fast as possible, regardless of how good the bumps are. I think this is good for the sport as it separates ‘who wants it’ from those that maybe don’t put in as much work (from a racing perspective – i.e. who wants to win, if that is your driver). There’s nothing wrong with not putting the work in – just maybe don’t expect to win. Pushing the performance envelope of the sport adds credibility to the winning performances and with the way that gear development is beginning to converge, also means that rider capability becomes a much bigger component in performance. All in all I think it truly adds a competitive element to the sport, and this is all irrespective of if the race is a straight shoot out A to B, or a course race (another topic of discussion). If riders keep training to improve their physicality, that will push the performances regardless. A common complaint I’ve heard is that it isn’t fun to race like this. But I think if you ask any elite athlete in any comparable speed / endurance / racing sport if they enjoy their races. I’m sure you will get the same answer – not really / it’s type 2 fun / you enjoy it in a weird sick way as it’s the result of all the hard work you’ve put in and you are pushing your personal limit.
With more events this year, we’ve seen the full range of conditions. From great bumps for the Sunny Coast race, Perth race series and St Tropez, to suboptimal conditions (not the usual winds) in Barcelona and almost no bumps in the Crozon event. Even for our own small scale Dutch Downwind event, we decided to postpone the event due to not getting a favourable wind forecast. Event organisers are at the mercy of the weather. There are ways to try to mitigate against this, such as deciding to have a longer window or holding period, but at the end of the day this (huge) factor is well and truly out of your hands as an organiser and there is nothing more devastating than a bad forecast. The event in Crozon started a lot of discussion around this, given that the races were run in very marginal conditions, and I’d like to talk about this event in particular as I was there. I think the first question that gets asked is “why did they run the race?” when it comes to the first race. The answer is simple in my opinion, the forecast was terrible for the weekend and that day had the best wind on the forecast. I think people should remember that the organisers are always doing their best to deliver a great event for both their sponsors and the participants. Unfortunately a rain squall came through and killed what little wind there was, leaving most of us on smaller foils than we wanted to be on on pretty marginal bumps (compared to the video shared by the organisers of the conditions). Nonetheless however, almost everyone, and definitely the top guys managed to paddle up (multiple times) and foil their way to the finish. I honestly believe given that the top guys foiled most of the way, that the bumps were good enough for racing and sure it was a pump fest for a lot of people, but that also lies with gear selection.
That brings me to my next line of thinking. Gear selection. Along with physicality, gear selection is a huge component of foil racing. Lukas showed it in Barcelona by cruising past everyone on the Axis 1201 in light wind for 2nd place and I experienced it myself in the second race in France where the Code 1300S got me an 11th place ahead of guys I wouldn’t even consider being in the same league as. Everyone talks about which foil is the fastest etc. But they forget, we aren’t just racing in bombing conditions. So there is just as much importance as foils for the low end as for the high end. It may not be sexy to go 3:30 / km, but if that’s what gets you a good finish so be it. After all, that is the purpose of racing, and going back to my last paragraph about conditions, light wind days will happen.
So let’s talk about conditions. The biggest debate is whether you should run events in minimal conditions. This is a difficult one to answer. If the primary goal of the event is fastest rider A to B and the conditions are good enough then I think it should run. Even if it’s a big foil pump fest. Clement summed it up well saying that if it was nuking wind we would just have been on smaller foils, but still would have been working hard. I think at the end of the day, with the added dimension of physicality, it actually increases the range of conditions races can be run in – especially for the ‘elite’ races. Having said that, there is also a place for setting minimum conditions to run. The example I will use if the Dutch Downwind meet up we organised. The idea of this event was to bring together the community, with less focus on racing and more on downwinding. Also given the fleet had a lower average level, we wanted to have good conditions to maximise the chances of people getting foiling and having fun. One thing to pull out of the last two sentences regarding events and minimum conditions is ‘fun’ and I’ll link that back to the previous statement regarding whether or not high level racing should be fun. I don’t think there is a right answer as to whether it should or shouldn’t be fun, as that is just a personal thing and that leads me to my last point – personal choice.
What’s awesome is, more events are being organised (and I think there is a subtle but very important difference in an event vs a race). Some with fun as the base premise (would be good to see more of these), like the original King of the Cutback and one of the course race style runs done in WA this year. Some with elite racing as base premise (maybe enough ‘majors’ will lead to a world tour? This probably needs some of the bigger brands who are getting a lot of exposure through these events through their riders with minimal financial exposure to themselves to start coughing up cash though….). Sometimes events can cater for both desires (epic conditions and fast racing), but that won’t always be the case. At the end of the day you make a conscious choice to go to an event, line up at a start line and participate in a race. By choosing to go to an event, you choose to also support the organisers who strive to do their best and you should plan for all eventualities either by training adequately (if you have the desire to win) and / or have the right gear for the conditions (or just having realistic expectations of yourself). On the flip side, what I think would help is if organisers also clearly communicate their intent – whether there are minimum conditions to run, or run at all costs / minimal conditions or if an alternate program / plan is in place for if the conditions don’t play ball. This helps travelling riders ensure they bring the right gear to events.
The bottom line however is: everyone goes to events for different reasons. So it’s ok for people to disagree on whether or not competitions should be fun / pump fests / course races / straight line and I think we should all be open minded to other people’s perspectives and not try to force things from our own lens / perspective.
So having said that, here are some of the bigger events happening next year and who to get in contact with for them (if anyone already knows exact dates for some of the ones I didn’t write, ping me and I’ll update the post). A great place to keep an eye on events is Matt’s site DWfoil.com
January
- 18-19 Jan: Sydney Foil Club Northern Beaches race (2.5k prize money) Link
- Ze race (Guadeloupe): 25th January Link
July
- Triple Crown (Hawaii): dates / contact TBC (keep an eye out on the sites)
August
- Molokabra (Brazil) 22-31 August Link
October (dates not 100% I believe)
- LAST (St tropez, France) 7-12 October Contact person: Fred Bonnef
- Crozon Foil Festival (Crozon, France): 14-19 October Link