The 2026 Surf Foil World Tour opened in Nador, Morocco last weekend. Manel Arpa won the Men's Pro division. It's the second consecutive SFT stop won on a LIFTX.
The race was set in the Marchica lagoon on the Moroccan coast. Wider water than past SFT venues. Faster lines. The kind of course where holding speed through turns matters more than out-of-the-gate acceleration.
The New Format
This year's SFT introduced a different race structure. Riders ran ten time trials to seed into categories based on lap time. The first round of the Single Elimination bracket put three riders on the water at once, with a beach start, a sprint into the water, and a launch in the same direction. New for the sport. The winner of each heat skipped a round and advanced directly into Round 3. Riders who didn't win still had a second path through the bracket.
After Round 2, the format tightened. Single track. Tighter turns. Head-to-head, one against one. Round 2, 3, 4, and the final.
Manel's lap times across the bracket: 1:12, 1:10, 1:12. Consistency under pressure is what won the day.
The Setup
LIFTX 4'3 with no straps. Race-spec front wing. 21 Flow stabilizer. 32 inch mast with the 66mm propulsion. Elite Hand Controller. LIFTX Race Battery.
The 4'3 is the smallest board in the LIFTX lineup. Strapless on a course like Nador means full commitment to the foil at speed. Every transition, every bank, every recovery happens through the rider's feet alone. The 21 Flow has the longest fuselage vs surface area of the stabilizers in the current range, making it stable yet loose enough to release through turns rather than hold a fixed line. Combined with the longer 32 inch mast, the setup is built for carrying speed cleanly through changes of direction. Which is what the new wider Nador course rewarded.
The Team Result
Across the pro, amateur, and masters divisions, Lift riders placed in the top three at every level. Morgan Foucher took first in the Challenger division.
What's Next, From Manel
Manel on the next stop of the 2026 SFT season.
Next Stop
The 2026 SFT World Tour continues in China. Full schedule and standings at surffoilworldtour.com.
