Ghio takes 1st place in the Surf-Slalom
Ocean Rodeo team rider Mathis Ghio has once again blown away the competition, flying right to top of the podium in the Men’s Race at the Freestyle Cup held at Cavalaire in France. The French rider rode like a bullet, hitting almost 30 knots on his 4m ALUULA-powered A-Series Glide and left no doubt as to who was the fastest around the racetrack!
With incredible speed, and in any wind conditions, Mathis has been dominating the race podiums this year. The highlight occurred earlier this summer where, in light conditions, he won the coveted title of European Race Champion in Rhodes, riding his 6 and 7m Glides.
Mathis takes us through his race…
We were lucky to have a weekend filled of Mistral wind, with gusts above 45 knots for the Freestyle Cup and we completed 5 epic races in gusty offshore winds making the racing extremely intense due to the varying wind conditions. The key to success was looking ahead for the strong gusts coming in and ensuring you were in total control when they arrived. I was used to this strategy in my windsurfing past so was well prepared.
The top speed over 30 knots was largely due to the A-Series wings and the ALUULA leading edge and strut. This makes the wing extremely stiff and means they don’t twist at all compared to the usual Dacron leading edge wings. This allowed me to accelerate in the gusts, gaining ground with every gust until the finish line.
I was also really pleased with my performance in the Freestyle category where I finished second in the semi-finals in front of some very big names that regularly compete in the GWA Freestyle division. The conditions were particularly difficult being close to the beach and I had to completely create my jump without any chop to help take off. Despite this, I landed a super clean backflip, a rad 720 and a frontflip as my three main tricks!
Overall it was an excellent event, and I’m already looking forward to the next one! It was great training for my next GWA event in Taiba, Brazil this November…
40% lighter and 2x stiffer than the industry standard wing, the A-series Glide, delivers unparalleled speed and flying performance, stability and handling in any wind conditions. Lighter, stiffer, stronger and more responsive than the competition, the Glide sets new standards in wingfoiling.
The A-Series Glide is now available in sizes from 2.5 to 7m. Each wing comes fitted with the interchangeable Matrix handle system, allowing for quick and easy control customization according to your preference.