The next four-star Wave World Cup is almost set to begin with some of the world’s best wave sailors descending upon Wissant, in Northern France, for the Wissant Wave Classic, which runs between 12th-20th September.
Located in the heart of the Grand Site des Deux Caps, between Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez, and just 30 kilometres from the English coast, Wissant enjoys a truly exceptional geographical location. The prevailing side-shore winds, accelerated by the Venturi effect created between the two capes, quickly generate high-quality waves. These unique conditions have established Wissant as one of Europe's premier wave windsurfing destinations.
Wave
Women’s
Current World No.3 Marine Hunter (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing) and last year’s World No.3 Sol Degrieck (Severne Windsurfing) will start as the favourites in Wissant. Hunter hails from France and has already registered one victory this season at the Quatro Maui Pro, while she will be looking to discard her ninth place from Gran Canaria. Meanwhile, Degrieck has already established herself as a top name despite only been 16-years-old. So far this season the Belgian has recorded a seventh in Maui, fourth in Gran Canaria and fifth in Tenerife.
Elsewhere, Lisa Wermeister (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) is another home grown talent who could feature heavily, while Alice Arutkin should also be a major threat. The 34-year-old may not compete on the full World Tour anymore, but won the 3-star event here last year and has spent plenty of time sailing here, so possesses extensive local knowledge, which could prove pivotal.
Men’s
The Wissant Wave Classic has also attracted the attention of current World Tour leaders Philip Köster (Severne Windsurfing) and Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails / MFC), who are tied on 22,400 points. Both men will be hoping to discard their 13th places (3,900 points) from the Quatro Maui Pro in April with 6,000 points up for grabs for first place here. With nothing separating the two world title contenders the possibility of picking up any extra points is incredibly valuable and during the Canarian leg of the tour the two heavy weights were almost inseparable with Köster winning in Gran Canaria, while roles were reversed in Tenerife when Paré claimed the victory, while Köster had to settle for second place.
Philip Köster on currently leading the tour: “Yeah, I’m really happy to be in this position after the Canaries. Wissant looks like a fun place. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and having a good event and Sylt is always its own challenge, nothing really prepares you for it.”
However, there’s also plenty of other world class talent on offer with current World No.5 Antoine Martin (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) more than capable of challenging for the event win, while the same can easily be said of Morgan Noireaux (JP / NeilPryde / Black Project Fins), Jules Denel (Goya Windsurfing) and reigning event champion - Arthur Arutkin (Flikka / GUNSAILS / Black Project Fins) - who will be hoping to make home advantage count.
With windsurfing being such a prevalent sport in France, there are as you’d expect a plethora of French sailors who will be hoping to make their mark at their home event, so you can also expect to look out for the likes of Nicolas Akgazciyan (Goya Windsurfing), Bastien Ramery and Cesar Filippi (Duotone Windsurfing)
Event Organiser, Sylvain Bourlard ahead of the start of the Wissant Wave Classic: “This is the third time I’ve organised the Wissant Wave Classic (WWC). I took over the organisation with the goal of evolving the event and hoping that, one day, it would become a World Cup stop. That goal has now been achieved, and I’m thrilled. My team and I have been working hard on the organisation for nine months; it’s a massive undertaking. Between securing sponsors, managing the event logistics, and organising the competition itself, it’s a real challenge.
Today, I’m proud of what my team and I have accomplished. We’re ready to welcome the riders and host this World Cup event.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed for good wind and the kind of waves Wissant is known for. Some of the world’s best riders have already confirmed their attendance—including Philip Köster, Morgan Noireaux, and Antoine Martin, as well as our two local stars, Jules [Denel] and Arthur [Arutkin]. On the women’s side, Sol [Degrieck], Marine [Hunter], and Lisa [Wermeister] have also confirmed; it’s great to see. Registration is still open until noon on Friday. The competition runs for nine days, and it’s impossible to predict the conditions over that period. We mostly get southwest winds, which is the ideal direction for both jumping and wave riding. We’re in the home stretch before the event kicks off, and we’re going to give it our all—whether in the organisation, out on the water, or off the water.”
As well as the pro division fleets the Master’s and U18s will also be in action - stay up to date with all of the latest developments from France @ www.pwaworldtour.com