Lauriane Nolot and Gian Andrea Stragiotti win the European Championships in Akyaka

The women's Medal Series turned into a tight battle for the European Championship, and by the end, nobody could look away. Jessie Kampman (NED) had owned the leaderboard all week, arriving at the first Grand Final alongside Lauriane as the athletes to beat. Joining them were Elena Lengwiler (SUI) and Wan Li (CHN), who had fought their way out of the Semi-Finals. Race one belonged to Elena. She snapped into the lead right off the first turn and never looked back. Jessie threw everything she had at closing the gap, but the chase came at a cost: a crash that handed Elena the win outright. Wan Li was still alive in the hunt too, with a shot at forcing the whole thing into another race. Tension on the water. Pure racing drama. Suddenly, the title was anyone's game: three athletes, three separate race wins, and everything still open. Then came the second Grand Final, and Lauriane flipped the script. Instead of playing it like the others, she tacked out early, backing a different line. It paid off instantly, as she pushed herself through a perfectly calculated turn at the first windward mark. What followed was a close race between Jessie, Elena and Lauriane.

Jessie, who seemed to be in the lead, suddenly tangled with Wan Li. She recovered just enough to stay in the fight, while her competitor couldn't quite pull herself back into contention. Meanwhile, Lauriane paced up and closed in on Jessie. It came down to the last tack to decide who would take the lead. To make it short: Lauriane took the lead, followed by Jessie and then Elena. She held it all the way to the line, securing another Grand Final win and with it, the 2026 European Championship title. It's the kind of finish that has become her signature: when the pressure is highest, Lauriane delivers. Jessie, after finishing third in the race, stepped on the podium in second overall, capping off yet another strong result for the FLYSURFER team at the top of the European ranking. This shows again the strength of the FLYSURFER women’s kitefoil racing team and makes us proud beyond words. For Lauriane, the title adds another major achievement to an exceptional 2026 season after already becoming World Champion earlier this year. She summed up the intensity afterwards: „You could see it was full send on the water - we were all pushing to the maximum.

My last gybe was horrible because my legs were really shaking, but Elena was pushing just behind me, so it was full send all the way to the finish. I’m super happy to have the title now!“ The men's final delivered another story to celebrate. Maximilian and Gian Andrea went into the Grand Final as the top two athletes, joined by fellow FLYSURFER team athlete Valentin Bontus (AUT) and Riccardo Pianosi (ITA) after the Semi-Finals. Maximilian took control of the deciding race, followed by Gian Andrea. Another battle unfolded between Valentin and Riccardo, after Valentin raised his arm at the first windward mark to call a protest against his competitor. He took the lead, but unfortunately splashed down. This opportunity was used by Riccardo to sort out the conflict with a 360° penalty turn on the water. Meanwhile, this created a massive gap to Gian Andrea and Maximilian. In the end, pace-setter Maximilian finished first to secure the Men's Open title, while Gian Andrea crossed the line right behind him to become 2026 European Champion. Valentin reached the finish line third, followed by Riccardo in fourth.