Chronology of the new tricks in the Wingfoil World Cup
TEXT AND PHOTS Axel Reese And it made zoom! From the first normal jumps to handlepass tricks and combos, things have progressed at breakneck speed. We spoke to Benjamin May, who, as an insider, gives us an overview of the development of wingfoil freestyle tricks. The professional rider and Big Air specialist also takes a look at the tricks he has performed over the last four years and also dares to look ahead to what is yet to come.
Benjamin, as a reminder, when did the first major World Cup ever take place?
The first Wingfoil World Cup took place in Tarifa in autumn 2020, where Titouan Galea and Balz Müller performed the first 360s in a competition.
What were the standard moves at this inaugural World Cup?
360’s, Railey’s, Toeside 360’s, but not much else. I remember that Balz Müller was still at the top, but without the backflip, which most riders didn’t do until the following year in Leucate.
These are tricks that some of the participants from the actual Duotone Young Blood Camp here in Germany -where we talk now-, are already showing here.
Yes, half of our participants, the 8 to 17-year-old children and teenagers, are doing backflips and frontflips and would have won the first World Cup!
And 2021 really got going.
The first competition I took part in as part of the World Cup Tour was at Lake Silvaplana in Switzerland. It was the European Slalom Championships and there was also a fun freestyle competition. Most of the riders did 360’s and tabletop 360’s and Maxime Chabloz was the only one to do the backflip. That was quite remarkable, as the competition didn’t have much wind.
And you?
I also did my first backflip in 2021, which was in midsummer on Lake Chiemsee at 50 knots. It was a single black cloud that made Lake Chiemsee boil. There was this monster wind for a very short period of time, which then produced waves up to two metres high.
The backflip was also performed by other riders during the course of 2021.
Yes, in the World Cup at the end of 2021 in Fortaleza, Brazil. There were about a handful of people, including Titouan Galea, Balz Müller anyway, and Wesley Brito, who were able to show backflips in a competition.
I was even able to land the first frontflip in 2021, that was on Rømø, Denmark. But it was a flatter jump, just like the windsurfers do.
What happened in 2022?
That was the first year where quite high front loops were jumped. I remember Titouan Galea in particular, who was the leader in this trick. All in all, you made it to the finals of the 2022 World Cup Tour with solid backflips, frontflips and 720s, or even won them if you jumped them well.
2023 and the rising star Chris McDonald.
Chris McDonald became world champion for the first time and at the same time really revolutionised freestyle. Combo’s, backflip into combo’s and frontflip into combo’s became more and more standard in the World Cups. These tricks were also occasionally shown in 2022, but not yet in the heats of the World Cup.
Chris showed for the first time, the?
Yes, yes, Chris McDonald showed the 1080 and then others took so long to do it, and up to this point there are only four people who can stand the thing on the spot.
What other new tricks were seen for the first time in 2023?
The backflip 360, i.e. a backflip with 360-degree rotation, and Titouan Galea’s first double backflip 360, which he performed in Hookipa, Maui.
And for you?
I made my breakthrough at the 2023 World Cup in Pozo, Gran Canaria. I came fourth in freestyle and was even runner-up in the big air. That was a big highlight for me.
Then came the World Cup in Tarifa in autumn 2023.
Yes, we saw the first handle passes! It was from Jerome Cloetens, who actually wanted to keep the trick a secret, but Bastien Escofert posted this new trick right before the World Cup and riders like Xavi Corr, Axel Gerard and Bastien Escofert showed off the new handlepasses at the World Cup in Tarifa.
For me personally, things didn’t go any further at first because I injured my foot in the autumn, which put me out of action for almost three months. It wasn’t until January 2024 that I was able to really step on the gas again in Cape Town, as I had only been able to do some strapless wingfoiling at the end of 2023 – still due to injury.
What happened in 2024?
It was Jerome Cloetens’ backmobe in Tarifa that first attracted attention in the scene. Handlepasses continued to increase, such as the Toeside Backmobe. In January 2024, Malo Guenole performed his first backflip to backflips, which at the time could only be seen on social media. He also came up with tricks that I can’t even name, including Toeside Tack Rad 7s’, Toeside Trailing Edge First 720, so these are tricks that are super complicated and also finding the names for them is super difficult.
That wasn’t the end of it in 2024.
There was a lot more to come. The blindo was pushed a lot by Xavi Corr. Among other things, because he did them on Gran Canaria at a height of up to 6 metres. In March this year, the World Cup took place in Leucate, but there was a super chop wind of 70 knots, so there wasn’t much new to see.
The Backmobe 360 was first seen at the Tarifa World Cup and then the World Cups in Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura were already on the agenda. Fuerteventura was the place to be: Backflip into Backflip into Backflip, 1080’s without end, Backmobe 360’s to the limit and the Toeside Frontside 900 was added. Now there was the Toeside Frontside 1280 in Hood River, Columbia River Gorge. That sounds totally crazy and it’s hard to keep up! After my injury, I had to learn the tricks that were invented while I was injured.
What new tricks do you expect to be shown in the coming months?
I hope that things don’t go in the “wrong” direction, like in kitesurf freestyle. Only small, compact riders have a chance of finishing in the top places there. That could be tricks such as triple handle passes, maybe not even with an inverted turn. If that’s how wingskiing works, then it’s probably not for me. The sport should definitely be pushed, but it shouldn’t be too blatant. After all, who cares if four turns are shown with a handle pass, nobody can see through that anymore. I’m worried that not many people will watch it anymore. I think that more can be achieved in big air, that more hobby wingfoilers will be interested and that we can organize more big air events. No matter how it turns out, I’m sticking with it and I’m already looking forward to the 2025 World Cup kick-off!
