What the Crozon champions rode
The Crozon Foil Festival in Brittany finished on Sunday 18 October after a week of downwind, surf and dock start racing, and AXIS riders were on the podium in all three. Kai Thompson won both downwind races. Marnie Bertram, 16, won both women's downwinds and the dock start final, was second in the Surf Foil final, and took the festival's overall women's title. Philippe Axmann, who runs AXIS in Europe, won the over-40s in both downwinds, and with them the French over-40 title. Earlier in the week Luke Atkinson and Holly Pye won the Foil Drive downwinder.
Two downwinds, two wins for Kai
Both downwinds were rough, with swell running from several directions at once. The first, on Friday, started from the beach at Veryac'h and ran past the Pointe de Pen-Hir and the Tas de Pois in a two-metre Atlantic swell. Kai won it in 47:34.5, 12.3 seconds ahead of Alexander Tibbits. The second, on Saturday afternoon, crossed 18 km of the Baie de Douarnenez from Morgat to the Pointe de Brézellec in a building north-east wind, and Kai won again in 48:51.9, more than a minute clear of Axel Pham.
Marnie Bertram, first woman home twice
Marnie won the women's race both days. On Friday she finished in 1:06:41.9, ahead of Mélanie Lafenêtre and Naumi Eychenne, and took the under-18 girls' title with it. On Saturday she won again in 1:03:12.8, 32.7 seconds ahead of Naumi, a few hours after the Surf Foil final.
The rest of the team
Philippe won the over-40s in 57:51.2 and 59:55.1, and because the downwinds also counted as the French Championship, he is French over-40 champion. Raiarii Fadier finished sixth and seventh, even after stopping three times to clear seaweed off his foil, and the Haumani twins were in the top ten both days: Toaura eighth twice, Haunui tenth and ninth.
What they rode
In water this rough, several of the team rode bigger wings than usual to stay on foil.
- Kai Thompson: a sample prototype front wing with a Skinny Link 360/30 rear on Friday, and a Tempo 1020 with the same 360/30 rear on Saturday.
- Marnie Bertram: the Tempo 1020 both days, with the Skinny Link 360/25 and 360/30 rears.
- Philippe Axmann: the Tempo 1020 with a Skinny Link 360/25 rear both days, a size up from the wing he usually races.
- Raiarii Fadier: a Tempo 960 on Friday and a Tempo 1020 on Saturday.
- Toaura and Haunui Haumani: sample prototype front wings, well above the size they usually ride.
- Taputu Bordes: a Fireball 1160 on Friday and a Tempo 1090 on Saturday.
Surf Foil at La Palue
The Surf Foil finals ran on Saturday morning in waves of nearly two metres at La Palue. In the women's final Marnie was second to Naumi Eychenne, who won the event for the second year running. Luke Atkinson came to La Palue as the defending champion, fresh from winning the Pro Men's Prone at the Kernow Foil Classic in Cornwall and the Foil Drive downwinder here earlier in the week. Riding a sample prototype, he advanced to the quarter-finals, but back pain stopped him there.
Marnie wins the dock start, and the festival
On Sunday close to 100 riders raced a dock start pump foil sprint tournament in the harbour at Camaret-sur-Mer, in front of more than 2,000 spectators. Marnie won the women's final ahead of Milla Danguy and Manon Dupé, and with it the festival's overall women's title, for the best rider across downwind, surf and dock start. She took the podium with her AXIS Dock 880, the carbon pump board we released this September. In the men's final Haunui Haumani was second to Titouan Tournus, with Kai third.
More on the races in our reports from Friday and Saturday. Congratulations to the whole team, and thanks to Philippe for looking after everyone all week.
Photos Loïc Olivier and Jeanne des Vallières / Crozon Foil Festival. Results from the organisers' timing on Webscorer and the festival's press releases.