A Thrill-Seekers Guide
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Mondial du Vent 2018 – Leucate-La Franqui
April 17, 2018 - April 22, 2018
The Mondial du Vent kitesurfing, windsurfing and SUP event takes place in Leucate on France’s Mediterranean coast from the 17 to 22 April.
Leucate is all about the wind. The stats say it all – the wind blows consistently for 300 days per year. Couple that with huge sandy beaches and you have the perfect spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing. Since its creation 21 years ago, the Mondial du Vent has become one of the largest and most well known global kiteboarding events.
In April this year, Leucate-La Franqui once again hosts the world’s best kitesurfers and windsurfers. They’ll battle it out during a number of impressive events throughout the week. The schedule includes the first stage of the World Kiteboarding League 2018 Freestyle Championships!
Watch this: Mondial du Vent 2017 Highlights
Watch all the best moments from last year’s Mondial du Vent in this full 26 minute highlight video! This event was exceptional, visited by over 150,000 spectators throughout the week. Enjoy the action!
It’s not by chance that the event takes place April in Leucate. The Mondial du Vent is renowned for its challenging conditions making it one of the most impressive stops on the tour. That is fuelled by the Tramontana, a reliable and strong north-westerly wind that is at its most consistent in the spring.
Plus, the cross-off-shore wind makes the location ideal for spectators. In Leucate you can watch the world’s best kitesurfers perform an impressive array of tricks just metres from the beach.
And, it’s not just kitesurfing and windsurfing. The Mondial du Vent is a unique event that brings together a variety of boardsport disciplines to the same location. There’s professional kitesurfing, windsurfing and SUP competitions, but also amateur SUP, funboard and kite buggying.
Village de la Glisse
Off the water, the Village de la Glisse along the beachfront in La Franqui is where you want to be. With activities, brand display stands and special events it’s an opportunity for fans to mingle with some of the world’s best riders.
You can try your hand at slacklining, SUP and traction kiting. There’s kids workshops with kite making and environmental education. And, a BMX show and evening entertainment.
2018 Freestyle Qualifier League Event
In addition to the first WKL Freestyle Elite League event, Leucate will host the Qualifier event for the 2018 WKL Freestyle Elite League. This is an opportunity for riders who are not yet qualified to compete for a spot on the 2017 Freestyle Elite League Tour. For more information and registration details, check out the WKL Website.
World Kiteboarding League 2018 Freestyle Championships
The only French leg of the WKL Freestyle Kiteboarding Championships takes place at the Mondial du Vent from the 17 to the 22 April. Leucate-La Franqui will welcome the world’s best riders for what should be an spectacular show.
If the famous Tramontana wind delivers the goods as anticipated, we’ll be in for an impressive spectacle. The top riders will be encouraged to push their limits and, if past years are anything to go by, new talent will emerge onto the world stage.
The wind direction at La Franqui allows competitors to perform some amazing jumps right on the beach. That close interaction with the spectators makes the Mondial du Vent a unique event on the world tour.
The freestyle competition format
4 kitesurfers go up against each other in heats of 8 to 10 minutes. The technical difficulty, variety of the moves, the power and control of the kite and the smoothness of the landings all contribute to the final score.
The riders take it in turns to attempt a trick. Each competitor gets up to 7 attempts. The best 4 are included in the final scores which are displayed in real time on a big screen.
Big Air Comp
In the Big Air competition the rules are simple. Go as high as possible for as long as possible. It’s all about hang-time!
The best kitesurfers in the world will be there including Carlos Mario, Youri Zoon, Alex Pastor, Liam Whaley, Valentin Garat and Bruna Kajiya.
Mondial du Vent Instagram Gallery
Tag your Mondial du Vent Instagram pics and clips with #mondialduvent to be featured here!
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