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GUADELOUPE GOES OFF: FULL POWER RACING IN THE CARIBBEAN!!!

PWA GUADELOUPE WORLD CUP

The 2025 PWA Guadeloupe World Cup served up the full Caribbean dream with one crazy day of action to shake up the season. We hear from all the podium finishers as they break down an unforgettable start to the year.

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Yep…after five intense days of competition, the PWA Guadeloupe World Cup has officially come to a close. It all came down to a single day of explosive action on Friday, where Matteo Iachino dominated the men’s racing with a flawless performance, claiming three straight bullets. On the women’s side, Justine Lemeteyer kicked off her season in style, narrowly edging out Lina Eržen in a thrilling battle for the win.

Sailors that arrived early to train got to see the true colours of Guadeloupe with some classic windy sunny days that showcased the island’s full potential, but unfortunately during the event, we mostly saw cloudy skies and light winds aside from that one crazy day of action. That is the nature of the game in windsurfing unfortunately, unpredictable and thrilling! Friday will still be remembered as a memorable racing day that showed how epic Guadeloupe can be as an event location.

During the first round of racing the Caribbean breeze kicked off in the 8-12 knot range and the elimination was progressing nicely but all of a sudden it picked up to 15-20 knots leaving many sailors still racing on their biggest gear, totally overpowered! Riders stuck on the big kit were getting absolutely sent, with wild crashes on the reaches and carnage at the gybes as everyone fought to stay in control. Back on the beach there was a frenzy of sail and foil changes going down as many racers opted to switch to smaller gear. By late afternoon the wind dropped again for the third and final round of the men’s racing so it was back to the big gear to finish the day off.

Sure, conditions kept us on our toes, but let’s be honest…no one was really complaining. Racing in board shorts in the Caribbean, surrounded by palm trees and crystal-clear water? Yeah, we’ll take that every day of the week. Friday proved it: when Guadeloupe turns it on, it’s one of the best racing spots on the planet!

And now it is over the all the podium finishers to for their insights into the first event of the PWA season!

MATTEO IACHINO

“I don’t think I ever started a season like this! It has been a while since I have won a foil event. I think only once in my career I could have stayed on the beach during the last elimination as I already had three bullets. It is super cool feeling, especially after all the work I have done. All the pieces came together.

I knew every piece of my gear was working better this year than last year. The only thing that was the same was the foil. The board has been improved, the sails are a lot better and I was going faster on every single size compared to last year. I knew I was going to be faster and I was confident about that. But to win every single final was amazing. I did not expect this. Every race is different and every start is different. That is what makes our sport so cool.

There are so many variables. We only had three eliminations, but they were in three different conditions. We had 8m full power, 7m powered up and 9m light wind. So, we had a mix of everything all in one day. It was choppy on the 7m, and it was flat and weedy on the 9m. In the finals I was pushing as much as I could. In the earlier heats I was just making sure I qualified. In the first heat I was pushing then I saw I had an edge! Then I could control the races a bit. In the finals you have to push because in the end anything can happen. The level is high and if you don’t hit the start nicely it is tough to come back. In the blink of an eye, you can drop from first to fifth. In the final you have to send it!

Pierre is an amazing rider. He won the title last year and since I started, he is my biggest opponent, I think. Pierre and Antoine Albeau have been my biggest rivals since I started racing. Antoine stopped but Pierre is still there. He is my age. Now we have a nice relationship. I knew he was fast because I tested with him a bit before the event and every time I was lining up with him he was the fastest I was testing with.”

REMI VILLA (Starboard shaper)

“We worked a lot on a numeric computer which has helped our designs using AI! This AI has helped me for our development. I having been working on some programmes to study the numbers of the aerodynamics of our shapes. This helped me to design the and improve the boards. We can see compared to last year, Matteo is far more stable when he is foiling. He is really stable all the time. The board is not moving and this is because of the aerodynamics that we developed on the boards.

In 2026, which is coming soon, the boards will be even better as we have made some new big steps of improvement already. It is very important to work on the aerodynamics in foiling as it stabilizes everything. When a gust hits you do not lose the balance, you just accelerate that is it! It is the same with cycling, the aerodynamics make a massive difference. The problem of stability in foiling is all down to the aerodynamics. We have also worked with Matteo on some details of his training! This is important also to give him confidence to be stable for the whole week. He has been very calm all week during the races and he is just going very fast! I am extremely happy about these results. We have been working together for almost ten years and now we really understand each other and everything has come together!”

PIERRE MORTEFON

“I would love to win but I will take a second place. It is always good t start a season this way. You never know what can happen at an event and a second is solid. With the first event you don’t know how fast you are until you hit the racecourse and how the other guys have been training. It could have been worse.

I think Matteo was better this week. He did the perfect job, but we were both ahead of the other guys. A step ahead, I think. The experience and the consistency is paying off. I think it is going to be a good fight this year again. I am really happy about my speed and my sailing. Anything can happen at the beginning of a season and this was also a new location for the tour. I will take the second and am happy with that.

The first race was super windy. It was tough as the wind picked up during the races. We were all a bit overpowered. After the second gybe I took it a little bit easy and didn’t push. But after that race I was going full on for the rest of the event. You never know what can happen. A point is a point and that can matter at the end of the season. Every heat and every race can be important at the end of the season. It could make the difference for the title. I had it in the past where I finished level with Antoine Albeau. So, a point is a point and it is important to push every single second.”

ALEXANDRE COUSIN

“That was the best way to start the season for me and I am really happy about that. I have all Patrik equipment, foil, board, sail, boom, harness lines and everything so I am happy to make this podium. The Patrik team has worked a lot on the development of the gear over the last few years.

Now it has started to really improve and we are showing how good it is. Half the fleet are using Patrik foils! I think it means that our foil is the best and really appreciated by all the riders on the world cup. It was a long path to make this foil as good as it is. I think the team has done an amazing job on the foil. It is nice t see nearly all the riders using this foil. I had a few lucky breaks this week, but racing is like this. I think for this event I had the luck with me. I take it and it is important to start the season with a podium.”

MEN’S RESULTS

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Boards)
3rd Alexandre Cousin (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
5th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Point-7 / Z-Foils)
6th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Alexis Mathis (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)
8th William Huppert (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)
9th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils)
10th Sem Stroosma (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)

JUSTINE LEMETEYER

“I felt a bit under pressure to come back racing as the world champion. We only had one day of racing but when I mattered, I managed to perform. The new gear with Patrik works perfectly and I am happy to kick of the season with a victory and also happy to kick off the new partnership with Patrik with a win.

The gear as amazing, physically I was there and mentally I was there, so it was a good week. There is more to come in the season, but I will take a victory to start things off. I knew I would have a tough fight with Lina Erzen. I knew she was going to be my main opponent. We have already sailed together in the iQFOiL racing and I know she is fast. I also know the sails she has are fast as I was working on the S2 Sails last year. I know they are good also. She will be a good opponent for the whole season, so it is going to be a nice fight, which is cool!”

LINA ERŽEN

“I am happy for sure. It is a podium and only my third event in the PWA on foil. I was always looking for better, but I am just happy for the opportunity to be able to compete here. I think myself and Justine are both good racers and can foil fast and gybe well. I felt I had just as good speed as her, but you can’t afford any mistakes with Justine as she is an amazing competitor. I will enjoy my last day in Guadeloupe and then I will go home to my family and celebrate with them.”

BLANCA ALABAU

“I would not say I am happy with the result. I finished in third which was a really good position as all the girls were fighting really hard. I would have liked to have a few more races with Lina and Justine. I think I had the speed and I know I have the level to be there at the top. Hopefully next time I will be closer. I am really happy with my new boards; they are very fast and easy to control. I just never really felt comfortable on the racecourse during that one day of competition. I had a few problems and I felt I lost my focus. Next time I know I can do better.”

WOMEN’S RESULTS

1st Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)
2nd Lina Eržen (SLO | Starboard / S2Maui / Starboard Foils)
3rd Blanca Alabau (ESP | WeOne / Severne Sails)
4th Femke van der Veen (NED | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (NB | Starboard / NeilPryde)

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