More than 50 sailors from more than 14 countries have organized this competition to train in the kitesurfing discipline that will debut in Paris 2024, for which the world kitesurfing legend and 10-time world champion Gisela Pulido is preparing. In the men’s category, the Valencian Alejandro Climent is positioned as the favorite.
Costa Calma. Tuesday, February 21, 2023
The Formula Kite Coach Regatta in Corralejo (Fuerteventura) begins, favored by the strong majorero winds and organized by the athletes themselves, in which more than 50 sailors from more than 10 countries will compete until this Thursday. This regatta will serve as training for the “Kite Formula“, a discipline that will revolutionize kitesurfing and that will fulfill the dream of many kitesurfers to be Olympic, as it will debut at the next Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
However, one of the most striking features of this regatta is precisely that it has been organized by athletes who have chosen the Canary Islands, and especially Fuerteventura, to train, among which the world kitesurfing legend, Gisela Pulido, 10 times world champion in the Freestyle modality, stands out. “I like Fuerteventura a lot, the conditions for sailing are incredible to be able to enjoy different water sports, but we also have different types of water and wind conditions, which is very good for us to train, it is a super complete place,” he said.
Currently, Gisela Pulido is campaigning for the Olympic Games in Formula Kite, so the Formula Kite Coach Regatta helps her prepare for Paris 2024, where it will probably be the Spanish trump card in this Olympic modality. According to the kitesurfer of Catalan origin but based in Tarifa (Cádiz), the temperature in the Canary Islands is good all year round, “there is a good atmosphere, good people, good food, I like everything about the island. We arrived at the beginning of December and we will leave in March. Next year we will return 100% to spend the winter training season in Fuerteventura”.
After visiting the island last year to participate in the Kitefoil World Series that took place in Costa Calma, many Pre-Olympic competitors decided that the island would become their winter training center, fleeing the cold temperatures of the rest of Europe and taking advantage of the island’s year-round windy conditions. During the last one hosted by the island in 2021, Gisela Pulido made her debut in the top 5 of the kitefoil world championship in Fuerteventura, although it was at that time the French, Poema Newland, who led the category and who will face Gisela again in Fuerteventura.
Despite the French dominance during the last world championship in the men’s category, in the end the young Singaporean Maximilian Maeder was the one who led the general classification and the youth category. However, this time we will see the Frenchman, Axel Mazella, who came in second place, followed by the Englishman Connor Bainbridge, who are already training on the Canary Island. Among the Spanish competitors, Alejandro Climent (Valencia) is positioned as the favorite.
