Tomas Acherer wins Leucate opener as GWA standings shake up
Tomas Acherer topped Leucate with a 26.63 heat, while Nia Suardiaz kept her grip on the women’s title race as the 2026 GWA season reset.
Tomas Acherer turned the calm-before-the-breakthrough conditions at Leucate into the statement result of the 2026 GWA Surf-Freestyle opener, winning the men’s event with the highest heat score of the contest, 26.63 points. In a week defined by light winds, late calls and a race to capitalize once the best window arrived, Acherer adapted fastest and pushed the first title picture into motion at Mondial du Vent.
The men’s podium gave the first clear shake-up of the new season. Rocco Makana Sotomayor finished second after a tight semifinal and final run, Luca Vuillermet took third, and Nathan Berger was fourth. The official field featured 23 men, and the results showed how quickly the margins compressed once Leucate-La Franqui’s tricky early-morning breeze finally lined up. Charlie Loch’s seventh-place finish added another layer to the bracket, where younger riders mixed with established names in a compact, international fleet.
The women’s final delivered a different kind of authority. Nia Suardiaz won the stop, Ava Segersten placed second, Sofia Ginzinger claimed third in her first World Tour final, and Manon Dupé took fourth. Duotone also highlighted Dupé’s win in the SFT Parawing Women & Youth section, underlining a week in which one rider could move between disciplines and leave with momentum in more than one category. The women’s entry list included 20 riders from 12 nationalities, and the podium reflected both experience and immediate breakout potential.
That matters because Leucate was not just another stop on the calendar. It was the first Surf-Freestyle event of the 2026 GWA Wingfoil World Tour and the only French stop on the GWA wingfoil circuit, staged during the 29th Mondial du Vent from April 22 to 26, 2026. The event drew about 200,000 spectators, giving the season opener a scale that stretched well beyond the heats themselves. Mondial du Vent also widened its reach in 2026 with the first SFT Parawing World Cup and an IFCA Slalom Fin & Foil World Championship, reinforcing Leucate’s role as a launch point for the sport’s expanding identity.
For the title race, the message from Leucate was clear: the riders who handled delay, patience and fickle wind walked out with the early advantage. Acherer’s victory sets the pace on the men’s side, while Suardiaz’s win, later framed by Duotone as her third consecutive triumph at Leucate, keeps her at the center of the women’s season story before the tour moves on.
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