SINGAPORE: There would be no three-peat of world titles for Singapore kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder, but the 19-year-old clinched a hard-fought silver at the Formula Kite World Championships in Sardinia, Italy, on Sunday (Oct 5).
The world's top-ranked kitefoiler and defending champion finished behind Italy's Riccardo Pianosi, while France's Benoit Gomez took bronze.
Earlier in the week, it was a topsy-turvy opening series for the 19-year-old, who had initially led the fleet ahead of his Italian rival. However, after a difficult penultimate day of racing, he dropped to fourth in the overall rankings.
But on Saturday, Maeder fought his way back into second spot. This gave him a bye to the final and meant he did not need to compete in the semi-finals, which were also held on Sunday.
Pianosi, who had topped the fleet in the opening series, carried one race win into the first-to-two-wins final.
This meant that the Singaporean needed to win two races before the Italian, but he was unable to do so despite a nail-biting final encounter where he pushed Pianosi all the way.
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The world's top-ranked kitefoiler and defending champion finished behind Italy's Riccardo Pianosi, while France's Benoit Gomez took bronze.
Earlier in the week, it was a topsy-turvy opening series for the 19-year-old, who had initially led the fleet ahead of his Italian rival. However, after a difficult penultimate day of racing, he dropped to fourth in the overall rankings.
But on Saturday, Maeder fought his way back into second spot. This gave him a bye to the final and meant he did not need to compete in the semi-finals, which were also held on Sunday.
Pianosi, who had topped the fleet in the opening series, carried one race win into the first-to-two-wins final.
This meant that the Singaporean needed to win two races before the Italian, but he was unable to do so despite a nail-biting final encounter where he pushed Pianosi all the way.
Continue reading...