Francesco Cappuzzo claimed his first GWA FreeFly-Slalom Wingfoil World Championship, seizing the title in a dramatic season finale on the waters of Sotavento, Fuerteventura.
A crash that handed over the crown
Twenty men lined up under strong trade winds for the last FreeFly-Slalom event of 2026. The title fight had narrowed to a duel between Cappuzzo and France's Bastien Escofet, who entered the finale separated by only a handful of points. With no discard across the three-stop calendar, every metre counted.
Escofet dominated the early eliminations, winning three of four and forcing Cappuzzo into a corner. In the Super Final, the Italian struck back with a sharp tactical move to snatch the lead in the first run and set up a winner-takes-all decider.
A lead seized, a season finished
Right after the first mark of that deciding run, Escofet crashed. Cappuzzo surged into clear water and held his line to the finish, securing both the event win and the world crown. Alessandro Tomasi and Sebastiano Zorzi completed an all-Italian podium behind Escofet.
Earlier in the season, after winning the opener in Gran Canaria, Cappuzzo had told reporters, "I was having bad dreams for the last six or seven months… I'm so happy to be back on top now here." He knew he still had to finish the job in Fuerteventura.
Two-time champion, one new prize
Cappuzzo arrived at Sotavento as a former two-time wingfoil world champion, yet the FreeFly-Slalom format had never been his before. Against a powerful men's fleet, he turned a narrow points gap into the most important victory of his year.
On a strip of water known for breaking title hopes, the Italian waited, watched, and then rode clean away from the wreckage of his rival's challenge.
