Axel Mazella, Alexia Fancelli, Faodren Le Coq and Alex Caizergues crowned winners of ENGIE Kite Tour 2021

Nearly 90 competitors, aged between 15 and 65 years old, took part in this final stage, once again proving how important the competition is for kiteboard fans all over France. All ENGIE Kite Tour ambassadors took part in the final in Leucate - La Franqui. They were all keen to finish the season in style after an exciting year marked by World and European Championships. ENGIE ambassador and European KiteFoil champion, Poema Newland is actually a member of Kite Surf Leucate, the local club organising the final stage.

Reigning World KiteFoil Champion Théo de Ramecourt attended the event but was unfortunately out of action with a foot injury. He watched from the beach while supporting his teammates and chatting to the other competitors.

The northwesterly Tramontane wind blew at a speed of 15 to 30 knots throughout the entire weekend in Leucate, enabling the 88 competitors battling it out to show off some impressive racing at Coussoules beach.

The grand finale was also the opportunity for ENGIE to take action alongside the Fondation de la Mer in a beach clean-up operation. After collecting all kinds of waste from the shoreline, participants learned about the damage waste can cause to the natural environment. 

This stage of the tour in Leucate, which lies at the heart of an important region for ENGIE due to its involvement in the "Eoliennes Flottantes du Golfe du Lion" floating wind consortium, was also an ideal opportunity for the Group to demonstrate its commitment to the region and invite some twenty stakeholders and local councillors involved in the offshore wind project.

And finally, as for every other stage in the tour, local employees were able to take part in the competition. Congratulations to all those who took part! Some employees came along on the Saturday afternoon to discover kiteboarding and watch some of the races.

Four magnificent champions in Leucate

After eleven races (eight of them qualifying) and a great performance all weekend, Axel Mazella took the KiteFoil title ahead of Nicolas Parlier and Arthur Mathieu. In the women's competition, Alexia Fancelli beat Anaïs Mai-Desjardins and Nina Bivaud to first place. After eight races (six of them qualifying) in the twin-tip and directional board categories, Benoît Gomez, Anthony Picard and Rémi Lier were crowned stage winners in the twin-tip, while Alex Caizergues, Chris Ballois and Frédéric Klein won on their directional boards.

It was only after the final stage of the tour that the overall champions of ENGIE Kite Tour 2021 could be proclaimed. Congratulations to Axel Mazella, Alexia Fancelli, Faodren Le Coq and Alex Caizergues who won the 2021 edition. 

Photo credit : Eric Bellande / FFVoile	Axel Mazella; member of Team ENGIE, runner-up in the World Championships and reigning European KiteFoil Champion: "We had four fantastic stages. I am delighted to have taken part in this year's tour and am definitely intending to come back and defend my title next year. It's great that ENGIE continues to support the tour. It enables me to train and helps to raise the level of French kiteboarding. It's partly due to this support that France now competes on the international stage".
Alexia Fancelli; winner in the women's competition: "I am delighted to have won this year. I took part in all the stages. We had different wind and wave conditions each time. We had to be quite versatile. I am particularly pleased to have won in at Leucate – La Franqui because strong winds are not what I'm best at."	Photo credit : Eric Bellande / FFVoile
Photo credit : Eric Bellande / FFVoile	Alex Caizergues; ENGIE ambassador, winner of the Lorient-Gâvres, Arcachon and La Grande-Motte stages, and four-time kiteboarding speed world record holder: "It was brilliant. When I joined the tour, my aim was to have fun but also to win all the competitions I took part in. I won the first three but it was also important that I compete in the final stage because I would probably not have finished in the top three if I hadn't come to Leucate."

A great tour from all perspectives

The 2021 edition of ENGIE Kite Tour was once again a success in every respect, with its four very different stages, and all that in spite of continuing uncertainty regarding the pandemic.

The grand finale was a magnificent stage with which to end the 2021 edition of ENGIE Kite Tour, thanks to ideal weather conditions and perfect organisation! Many thanks to KSL and the French Sailing Federation (FFVoile), along with all their employees, for putting on such a fantastic final.

After a well-deserved winter break, ENGIE Kite Tour will be back next spring. See you in 2022!