Walton-Keim starts strongly as Viana do Castelo tests kitefoilers

The Atlantic did the sorting early in Viana do Castelo. Strong thermal winds, rolling swell and a course built for quick transitions and sharp board speed immediately exposed who had the pace to stay near the front of the 54-rider men’s fleet and who was already chasing.

The 2026 Formula Kite World Championships ran May 9-16 on Portugal’s northwestern coast, with the Formula Kite Worlds themselves set for May 11-16. World Sailing listed the regatta as a Grade 200 world championship, and the event was run by the International Kiteboarding Association with the Portuguese Sailing Federation under World Sailing authority. Close to 90 of the world’s best Formula Kite riders were in the mix, with 54 men and 31 women chasing world titles and ranking points that carry weight in the road to Los Angeles 2028.

New Zealand’s Lukas Walton-Keim was one of the cleanest early performers. He posted two top-10 finishes in the first four races and sat 19th overall after the opening races, a strong first read in a men’s field packed with Olympic medallists and reigning world champions. Lochy Naismith was 37th, leaving New Zealand with two riders inside the top half of the field after the first session. In the women’s fleet, Lucy Bilger was 28th after three races, keeping herself in touch as the regatta moved deeper into its opening rounds.

The standard at the top was relentless. Riccardo Pianosi and Jessie Kampman arrived as the defending world champions after winning in Sardinia, while Max Maeder, Olympic champion Valentin Bontus and 2022 world champion Toni Vodisek made the men’s bracket even tighter. The women’s side brought its own pressure points: Lauriane Nolot came in ranked No. 2 in World Sailing’s current standings, with Eleanor Aldridge No. 4, Jessie Kampman No. 6 and Daniela Moroz No. 10.

For Viana do Castelo, the opening day underlined why the venue matters. It rewarded riders who could accelerate cleanly off the line, manage the swell and commit quickly through transitions. For Walton-Keim, the start was good enough to suggest a real climb is possible if the top-10 pace holds in a fleet where one error can drop a rider several places in a single race.