The Crozon Foil Festival featured two downwind races — one with a longer waiting period for elite riders, and one held over the weekend for all participants. The idea was to give elite riders more opportunities to race while still hosting a large, inclusive event when more people were available. Combined overall times crowned the champions.
The first race was a 16 km bay-style run with 15–20 knots of breeze — stronger than forecast. This caught a few riders out, as many were using foils larger than they needed, but it did allow a higher percentage of competitors to finish.
With Olivia Piana absent, there was always going to be a new winner in the women’s race. Naumi Eychene of Tahiti, the only woman to race both St Tropez and Crozon, was the favourite following her second-place finish in the Med.
In the men’s, five of the top ten from St Tropez made the trip north, with Grae Morris, Hobey Moss, Melvyn Mouret, Mattia Camboni, and Mario Brasso unable to attend. A few new faces joined the fray: Nathan Van Vuuren from South Africa, Chucho Nonnot from the Netherlands, and Guy Bridge from the UK added a new layer of depth.
The men’s results followed a similar pattern to St Tropez, with Kai Thompson, Jarrod Snow, and Tom Constant taking out the podium. Thomas Goyard posted his best result to date, with his brother Nicolas Goyard hot on his heels, only five seconds behind. In the women’s, Naumi Eychene blitzed the field, winning by more than five minutes, with Marnie Bertram and Anais Guiomarc’h rounding out the podium. While this was the elite race, the open race would ultimately prove more influential for the overall standings, as it was double the distance.
The open race took place five days later. Many competitors also took part in the dock-start and prone-foil-surfing competitions, truly testing their endurance.
Kai Thompson made it a hat-trick in France, winning every race he entered and walking away with two keeper results for the Downwind Foil World Tour. Results behind him mixed up, with Finn Spencer showing a return to form and emerging as the only one to truly challenge Kai in this final race, finishing just 90 seconds behind. Tom Constant remained consistently in the mix with another third-place finish. Chucho Nonnot claimed fourth, and Jeffrey Spencer rounded out the top five, banking his best result of the trip. Jarrod Snow recorded his worst result of the tour, while Axel Pham had an uncharacteristic 27th-place finish, ending his chances of a strong overall showing.
In the women’s open race, Naumi Eychene faltered and lost 48 minutes to her nearest rival Anais Guiomarc’h, gifting Anais the overall crown at Crozon. The remainder of the women’s field did not manage to finish the longer course.
After the French leg of the Downwind Foil World Tour Kai Thompson and Naumi Eychene are leading the charge but there are still four more stops to go. Check out the ranking here and tune back in to the Downwind Foil World Tour in mid November when things get back underway in Perth, Western Australia for the West Coast Downwinder and The Doctor.
Photography credit: L. Oliver
