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Disappointing weather conditions in Arcachon for the 3rd stage of ENGIE’s Kite Tour

By ENGIE - 02 November 2021 - 16:40

The 3rd stage of the 2021 ENGIE Kite Tour took place in Arcachon from October 22nd to 24th. More than 60 competitors attended the penultimate stage organised by the Cercle de la Voile d’Arcachon. Amongst them were the French Kitefoil team, just back from the World Championships, along with kitesurfing speed record holder Alex Caizergues and two Group employees. 
 

The competition opened on Friday in the presence of local representatives, including Mrs Panonacle, Member of Parliament for the Gironde, of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional division, and their guests. The competitors were greeted by ideal conditions. In total, six Kitefoil runs were launched, along with four Twin-Tip and Directional Board runs. 

In the Men’s event, local Benoit Gomez demonstrated his familiarity with the water course, winning four out of six sets on Friday, ahead of Team ENGIE’s Axel Mazella, recent world vice-champion, and of Nicolas Parlier, also a stage local. 

In the Women’s event, ENGIE teamster Poema Newland was in fabulous form, coming ahead of Alexia Fancelli and Anaïs-Mai Desjardins.

In parallel to the sporting event, as part of an Employer Branding awareness and long-term recruitment scheme for technicians, 25 students from the Saint-Genès vocational high school participated in a full programme, exploring ENGIE professions in the morning, before collecting waste on the beach and participating in focus groups on environmental impacts. In the afternoon, the students were invited to watch the races and have a go at kitesurfing. 

Unfortunately, there was no wind on Saturday, ruling out all races. This did not prevent several local employees from coming to the beach for a kitesurfing introduction and enjoying the sunshine. 

On Sunday again, weather conditions were not conducive to racing. Instead, the organisation scheduled a sharing session for competitors and referees. The ENGIE Kite Tour spirit is also about giving everyone a chance to make progress. Finally, it was time for the Trophies ceremony. 

See you in Leucate from 12 to 14 November for the Grand Finale of the 2021 tour!