Tomasi takes lead as WingFoil World Cup lights up Silvaplana

The real Silvaplana finally showed up on Day 3, and the leaderboard moved with it. After two days of waiting, the Maloja wind swept across Lake Silvaplana, averaging 14 knots and gusting to 20, turning the glacier-fed course into a full-speed test that produced seven intense races and exposed who was ready to race at altitude.

Alessandro Tomasi owned the day. The Italian strung together four race victories and took the overall lead on seven points, a margin that looked firm only until you checked the names behind him. Reigning world champion Mathis Ghio and Francesco Cappuzzo were both just one point back, which means the title fight at the 2025 Ensis ENGADINWING WingFoil Racing World Cup Switzerland was still knife-edge tight even after Tomasi’s breakout session.

Tomasi’s edge made sense once the wind became the story. Silvaplana sits about 1,800 metres above sea level, where snowy peaks throw wind shadows and shifting breezes across icy water, and Tomasi said lake racing feels natural to him because his home spot is Lake Garda. That familiarity mattered when the venue turned messy, because the lake rewarded riders who could read the shifts instead of just point and blast. It was not enough to be fast in a straight line; the course demanded constant adjustment, and Tomasi handled it better than anyone.

Cappuzzo was the day’s other major mover. After a recent training block, he grabbed two race wins and confirmed he is not hanging around the edge of the title race by accident. Ghio, meanwhile, stayed close enough to keep the pressure on, which matters with the event serving as the second stop of a four-event World Cup season and every point carrying season-long weight.

The day still had its hazards. Kamil Manowiecki went down in a mid-race crash in a blind spot, a reminder that Silvaplana punishes even a split-second lapse. The final scheduled race of the afternoon was then abandoned when rain clouds rolled over the valley and the wind faded, leaving the fleet to bank the scores it had already earned.

There was plenty for the next wave of riders to take from it too. Australian newcomers Banjo Nicholson and Connor Radford both scored race wins, while New Zealand’s Kosta Gladiadis never finished worse than seventh and added two second-place results while preparing for the Youth World Championships. In the women’s fleet, Vaina Picot kept her overall lead with the kind of consistency that wins regattas on a lake that turns small mistakes into big losses. With 54 riders from 13 countries and 4 continents on the water, Silvaplana did exactly what it always promises: separate the prepared from the merely hopeful.