The final two days of this 2023 World Championships passed off in similar conditions to the preceding ones: strong winds, alternating sun, and showers, good enough for the race committee to run several more rounds of racing. And on Friday they were also able to run a long distance, something we hadn’t seen at a World Championships for a long time. An occasion for some huge, long up and downwind runs to explore the magnificent bay of Quiberon and visit some of the big marker buoys where the wild sea birds like to perch.
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The raid was followed by two more rounds of racing, after a good and well-deserved break for everyone to get their breath back. But the last possible day for racing was cut short when the wind rose above the 30-knot mark. In the end, only the U15 Boys and both Techno Plus groups were able to get through 11 races, it was 10 for all the others.
The week passed quickly, but all the competitors will have made their journey home with lots of great memories and plenty of new friends and contacts from all over the world. And many of them will have learned a huge amount from spending the week racing against the best in the world in their age group. That’s another of Techno’s many roles!
Final podium rankings
U13. In this youngest age group, Italy’s Alessandro Vigneri maintained his consistency to the end to climb onto the top podium step. And his compatriot Francesco Casano was able to squeeze into second place just a hair’s breadth ahead of Turkey’s Sarp Sarli in third.
Belgium’s Hugo Can Godfroid was crowned champion of the 5.0 sail category.
U15 Girls. The long-time second-placed Gaia Bonezzi of Italy had a very strong finale to finish ahead of long-time leader, Turkey’s Nehir Çakmak. UK’s Sophie Clark held on comfortably for her third place ahead of France’s Thea Le Borgne.
U15 Boys. Greece’s Panagiotis Ioannou had a faultless week to assure himself of the top podium spot. He was followed by compatriot Evangelos Giannakopoulos, very strong over the closing two days, and the fast-rising Milo Shaw from the UK.
U17 Podium
U17 Girls. After a week of closely fought races and many changes to the rankings, it was the Turk Defne Simay Basdag who was the one in the top spot when the action stopped. Greece’s Danai Anagnostou finished second with Italian Teresa Medde in third.
U17 Boys. Spanish rider Bruno Barbara Tor continued his great form through the whole week to take the top spot and the gold medal. He finished well ahead of Greece’s Minas Koutelas, who did well to hold off the challenge of Lithuania’s Karl Sören Tamm who had been chasing him all week.
Techno Plus Women. With the rankings wide open all week, in the end, it was Italy’s Angelina Medde who eventually managed to hold on to the top spot. Just ahead of Estonia’s Liisbeth Orav, followed by Spain’s Marion Lextray, who was also the winner of the “Open” category.
Techno Plus Men. Greek rider Petros Kontarinis dominated this group to win the Championships ahead of another Greek, Alexandros Kokkinakis in seconds, and France’s Arthis Espagnon who had to climb a long way up the rankings to take third place. Japan’s Yoshito Katayama was crowned champion of the “Open” category.
The next Techno 293 and Techno Plus World Championship rendezvous will be in 2024, taking place on Lake Balaton, Hungary, from the 20th to the 28th of July 2024.
See you there!
The calm after the storm
Storm Patricia, which swept in from the Atlantic on Wednesday, brought with it some massive seas and swells that many of the competitors went to watch on the coast not far away from the event site. Once it had moved away to the east it left behind a band of heavy rain, which was what welcomed all the racers on Thursday morning. After a slight delay, the race committee decided to run three more rounds of back-to-back races in a variable 14 – 22 knot wind.
The rain gradually died away and some sunny blue sky emerged, putting a smile back on everyone’s face. The relatively flat water and variable (strength and direction) wind once again put a premium on race skills and how best to use those kind of stop-go, yes-no conditions. This tactical side actually seemed to please everyone in the fleets, enabling them to learn new skills from how the better riders handled it all.
Friday 4th, sun and wind are on the menu of the long-distance race, offering idyllic conditions in Quiberon Bay for the 327 competitors.
U13. No change in the top two places from the first day, and they’ve pulled slightly ahead of the rest. Which means that Italy’s very consistent Alessandro Vigneri and Turkey’s Sarp Sarli are first and second respectively. Behind them it’s incredibly tight between the next three, but for now Turkey’s Parla Kabasakal is a nose in front of Italy’s Francesco Casano in third.
U15 Girls. The top three from day 1 are still in those positions and have pulled ahead of the chasers. With very little to separate them after two days, all three are potential winners of the event. First place, Turkey’s Nehir Çakmak, second Italy’s Gaia Bonezzi, and third from the UK Sophie Clark.
U15 Boys. Greek rider Panagiotis Ioannou has taken charge at the top of the U15 ranking. But behind him it’s all change for the podium spots ! Turkish rider Toprak Kosele has climbed into second place, with Greece’s Anastasios Kyriazakos third. Just a point behind them, Spain’s Hugo Colomar and Czech Republic’s Frantisek Burda are fighting hard for a podium place. Top spot already looks out of reach, but there will be some exciting racing to come for the other podium positions!
U17 Girls. The rankings have been totally scrambled, with three brand new names now occupying the top three spots ! Turkish rider Defne Simay Basdag is the new leader, but on equal points with her compatriot Nurhayat Güven. They are narrowly ahead of the Italian Teresa Medde. The nearest chasers are close behind and this result is still wide open, anything could happen.
U17 Boys. Spain’s Bruno Barbara Tor has consolidated his hold on first place and pulled ahead of Greece’s Minas Koutelas, who himself is closely followed by a new podium contender, Lithuania’s Karl Sören Tamm. But the other podium pretenders are not far behind…
Techno Plus Women. Estonian Liisbeth Orav is still battling it out with Italy’s Angelina Medde and has moved into a narrow lead after two days. Just behind them, France’s Margaux Arnoux has moved quickly up the rankings to take third place ahead of Spain’s Marion Lextray. But everything is far from decided yet in this group.
Techno Plus Men. Greek ace Petros Kontarinis confirmed his domination of this category, racking up two more wins. Which leaves him with a comfortable lead over compatriot Alexandros Kokkinakis, winner of the other race. They are ahead of Italy’s Marco Guida Di Ronza who retains third place, but he’s now being hotly pursued by the fast-rising Frenchie Arthis Espagnon, hunting a podium place.
Remember that Techno Plus means an 8.5 m2 sail and 50cm fin, enabling the bigger riders to super-charge their boards when they move up to this category. It’s a group that is increasing in numbers year-on-year, attracting new riders and tempting back some of the foilboarders looking to get back to the fun of racing closer to the water surface!
On Friday 4th, the race committee is planning to take advantage of the good weather forecast to run a long-distance race round the bay, followed by two or three more rounds of proper racing.
Day 2
For Wednesday, it’s been a day for exploring this magnificent natural coastline on foot, and admiring the huge swell and tide rolling in.
You can keep up to date with all the action, as and when it happens by clicking on this link to the event website, where you will find all the latest daily results, photos and videos
Day 1
The Techno 293 World Championships 2023 got underway in the best possible style, with an opening ceremony that took place in the extensive grounds of the ENVSN (French National Sailing School) and finished with each national team in turn presenting themselves in front of the podium for a team photo. The ceremony finished on the beach with a mass group photo of all the competitors and free drinks and snacks in front of the big cafeteria overlooking the bay of Quiberon, all under sunny skies. The teams were able to relax and enjoy meeting new people, making new friends. A highly valued and enduring element of the “Techno Spirit”!
In the U13s (42 entrants), Italy’s Alessandro Vigneri was the most consistent with three 2nd places and one win. He’s in pole position after one day, followed by Turkey’s Sarp Sarli and a second Italian, Francesco Casano. The highest placed girl, Turkey’s Parla Kabasakal finished in a creditable 5th place. Don’t forget, this is the only Techno category where boys and girls compete together.
In U15 Girls (37 entrants), Turkey’s Nehir Çakmak won two of the four races to find herself in the lead ahead of the Italian Gaia Bonezzi and UK’s Sophie Clark. But the points are all really tight between the whole top 5.
Meanwhile, the U15 Boys (63 entrants) saw Greek rider Panagiotis Ioannou leave nothing for the opposition, winning all four races. Double joy for Greece with Evangelos Giannakopoulos in second place, followed by Belgium’s Julien Omey.
In the U17 Girls (47 entrants), after day 1 Spanish rider Azul Sánchez Vallejo, who won the first two races, is narrowly leading, just 2 points ahead of Italian Teresa Medde, followed by Turkey’s Yagmur Güzel. As with the U15 Girls, there is verry little between the whole top 5 and there will certainly be lots of movement during the rest of the week!
Meanwhile, the U15 Boys (63 entrants) saw Greek rider Panagiotis Ioannou leave nothing for the opposition, winning all four races. Double joy for Greece with Evangelos Giannakopoulos in second place, followed by Belgium’s Julien Omey.
For the over 17s, in Techno Plus Women (24 entrants) the reigning European Champion from Torbole, Italy’s Angelina Medde, continued her excellent early season form by establishing a lead ahead Estonia’s Liisbeth Orav and Spain’s Marion Lextray.
A similar story in U17 Boys (the “Queen” fleet, 65 entrants). Spain on top again with Bruno Barbara Tor standing in top spot. But hot on his heels are Greece’s Minas Koutelas and the Lithuanian Eduards Niedra
But all the rankings are still very close, boys and girls. We are looking forward to more closely fought racing as the early leaders try to maintain their form ahead of the chasers and challengers.
But that won’t be happening on Wednesday. The forecast of blasting winds from the Atlantic and in the Channel area has proved true. So the committee took the very sensible decision to cancel the day’s racing.
Which means it’s “see you on the beach” on Thursday morning for the next don’t-miss World Championships action, with a forecast for more reasonable conditions, strong winds but clear skies.
Day 0
The Techno 293 World Championships 2023 got underway in the best possible style, with an opening ceremony that took place in the extensive grounds of the ENVSN (French National Sailing School) and finished with each national team in turn presenting themselves in front of the podium for a team photo. The ceremony finished on the beach with a mass group photo of all the competitors and free drinks and snacks in front of the big cafeteria overlooking the bay of Quiberon, all under sunny skies. The teams were able to relax and enjoy meeting new people, making new friends. A highly valued and enduring element of the “Techno Spirit”!
Quiberon, water sports paradise
Extending 30km westwards into the Atlantic Ocean, the Quiberon peninsula has two very different coastlines to offer. At its western tip it’s raw nature, rocks, cliffs, spectacular and on the receiving end of all the big Atlantic swells that make it such a magnet for surfers.
Further inland it’s a bit more friendly, with sandy beaches and less wild waters providing an incredible playground for all kinds of sail, board and water sports.
Extending 30km westwards into the Atlantic Ocean, the Quiberon peninsula has two very different coastlines to offer. At its western tip it’s raw nature, rocks, cliffs, spectacular and on the receiving end of all the big Atlantic swells that make it such a magnet for surfers.
Further inland it’s a bit more friendly, with sandy beaches and less wild waters providing an incredible playground for all kinds of sail, board and water sports.
The Techno 293 and Techno + 2023 World Championships is taking place next week in France, at St Pierre Quiberon on Brittany’s south coast. The biggest annual rendezvous on the Techno class calendar is already a big success with no less than 327 riders from 16 different countries registered as of today.
This excellent result brings us back to the kind of numbers pre-Covid, and confirms the good health of Techno following on from an excellent European Championships in Torbole, Italy, earlier this spring. The event is organised by the CDV 56 (Morbihan Sailing Committee).
Needless to say, the French team is by far the biggest with 80 riders in Quiberon. The French clubs have clearly responded to the return of the World Championships to French water for the first time in ten years.
The other big teams at this WC, with 40 or more riders, are Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK, all of who have been sending bigger teams every year for the last few years.
And don’t forget the strength of the Greek team who always expect to take some of the podium places, and the increasing power of the Turkish team.
Both of them are bringing more than 20 riders. And you can see there’s an excellent spread of interest in the other teams present in Quiberon: the eastern European nations (Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Czech Republic) all still fully committed with teams of 15, and Belgium with their 10 riders.
From Asia, Japan will be bringing a team of 10 to compete in Techno Plus Open, a hugely popular class in Japanese universities, and there’s a small team from Singapore, still very faithful to the Techno class. And we’re very pleased to see the return of the great Israeli U15 team following the pandemic eclipse and the selection of foilboarding for their U17s.
As for the age categories, the number of entrants in the U17s (over 110) is very satisfying given the huge competition that foilboarding has presented in this age group.
The long-standing “Queen” category for Techno, it’s a big return to strength, making them bigger even than the U15s, which itself has close to 100 entrants!
We should also mention the U13 category, only created 2 years ago, and which has quickly proved a big hit with coaches and riders alike. This youngest group will be 45 strong in Quiberon.
And Techno Plus (over 17s) remains competitive with a solid entry of 70 riders. A great way for this group to celebrate the end of their school education.
Those are the facts and stats, now it’s all down to the racing which is scheduled to start on Monday, after the traditional opening ceremony.
To follow the World Championships live and direct, you just have to click on the event website link where you will find all the latest daily results, photos and videos.
Focus on Techno 293
Since 2006, the Techno 293 OD has been the official monotype international competition board for Under 17s. Today there are more than 10,000 Techno 293 OD boards racing in 60 countries worldwide, with a comprehensive programme of national and international competitions. This exceptional uptake and energy have made Techno 293 OD the single biggest fleet of monotype boards in the world. The Techno 293 OD is ideally dimensioned for riding in a wide range of conditions, from 5 to 25 knots of wind. Its performance in all those conditions and easy control have enabled it to become the ultra-dynamic monotype machine that we
know today.
