The last stop of the SFT World Championship came to Menton, France, and the Lift race team showed up with a full season behind them. Some big wins, some big losses, and a lot of rides in between. By the end of the weekend, Manel Arpa was the men's SFT World Tour champion riding a LIFTX.
Key Takeaways
- Manel Arpa won the Men Pro division in Menton and the men's SFT World Tour Championship.
- Nico Pernodet won Men Challenger in his first competition.
- Lola Arpa won the Women's division, and Emilian Planas won Youth.
- Piet Varkevisser and Sebastian Lange took second and third in Masters.
- The Lift race team rides the LIFTX with a 68mm propulsion unit.
The Setup in Menton
The team's own description of the event covers it pretty well: a perfect track, technical, fast, and classy conditions. Every stop on the Surf Foil World Tour has been getting bigger and better this season, and the Lift team families were on site in Menton too. You can hear one rider on camera checking his time after a run and saying he wants to beat it on the next one. That was the energy all day.
The mantra going into the finals was simple. Have fun and go fast.
The race team does it all on the LIFTX with a 68mm propulsion unit. The LIFTX ships with a 55mm unit built for surf and downwind, and the Lift Connect System (LCS) lets you swap in the 68mm for more thrust when the job is a race course instead of a wave.
Nico Pernodet Makes the Final
Menton was Nico Pernodet's first competition. He made the final, and the reaction on camera when he found out is worth the watch by itself (the whole team was shouting his name). Then he went and won Men Challenger, ahead of Xavier Buisson and Zephir de France.
That is not a normal first event. Plenty of riders spend a season just working out how the heat format feels.
Manel Arpa and the Pro Men Final
Manel Arpa won the Men Pro division at Menton, with Clemens Kresser second and Teiki Marani third. The same weekend decided the overall Tour, and Manel finished first there too. Justin Chait took second in the SFT World Tour Championship, and Kresser took third.
Kresser had a strong weekend of his own. He won Masters, finished second in Men Pro, and took a podium spot in the Tour standings.
The Rest of the Lift Results
Lola Arpa won the Women's division in Menton, ahead of Laura Kurmann and Selin Piskiner. Kurmann also finished second in the women's Tour Championship, behind Agnes Wicander, with Julia Castro third.
In Masters, Piet Varkevisser finished second and Sebastian Lange third, both riding for Lift. Emilian Planas won Youth.
That's four division wins and a Tour title for the team in one weekend, which is a good way to end a season that had its share of hard days.
Full Results
SFT Menton
Men Pro: Manel Arpa (Lift), Clemens Kresser, Teiki Marani
Men Challenger: Nico Pernodet (Lift), Xavier Buisson, Zephir de France
Women: Lola Arpa (Lift), Laura Kurmann, Selin Piskiner
Masters: Clemens Kresser, Piet Varkevisser (Lift), Sebastian Lange (Lift)
Youth: Emilian Planas (Lift)
SFT World Tour Championship
Men: Manel Arpa (Lift), Justin Chait, Clemens Kresser
Women: Agnes Wicander, Laura Kurmann, Julia Castro
Watch the Video
The full Menton recap is on our YouTube channel as part of Inside The eFoil World Tour. It has the racing, the finals, and Nico's first final.
If racing makes you curious about the gear, Lift Foils has demo events around the world, and you can compare the LIFTX setups with someone from the team there.