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Formula Kite Worlds – Nolot and Maeder are 2026 Champions

Lauriane Nolot of France and Maximilian Maeder Singapore are the Formula Kite 2026 World Champions

After the quarter and semi-final rounds the four competitors in the Women’s grand-final came down to USA’s Daniela Moroz and Swiss rider Elena Lengwiler joining Lauriane Nolot and Jessie Kampman.

After a strong start to the grand-final, disaster struck for the ever steady Kampman. Having been pinned out to the corner by Lengwiler and Moroz, the Dutch rider had to sail beyond the layline.

In an explosion of sheer speed and power, Kampman crashed on port while reaching back across the course, thus losing her chance to defend her 2025 World title.

With Lauriane Nolot’s main duelling partner now at the back of the pack, the French rider stretched her legs, found her pace, and managed to keep Lengwiler and Moroz at bay to claim the one race win she needed to secure her third ever World title.

Britain’s Lily Young she went through in 9th place, but was eliminated in the quarter final.

The men’s was equally gripping right from the gun of quarter-finals. Austria’s Valentin Bontus won the semi-final fight, advancing with Brazil’s Lucas Fonseca into the grand-final to join Gian Stragiotti and Maximilian Maeder.

All riders opted for a port start, with Maeder and Stragiotti cutting their laylines incredibly fine at the windward mark. Maeder made the rounding, but Stragiotti was unable to pump his foil up to the mark and had to opt for the double tack instead, dropping him to fourth.

While, Fonseca and Bontus turned up the heat on front runner Maeder, Stragiotti made significant gains, a strong VMG saw him charge back into second place.

Maeder and Stragiotti rounded the next mark one after the other. Maintaining their positions right until the nail-biting end, Maeder clinched the win, gaining his third World Championship title.