Luuc van Opzeeland returned to his brilliant best as he maneuvered the windier conditions well to take the lead in the men's windsurfing.
The Dutch athlete struggled for speed in the opening race of the day but soon got into his groove, picking up two wins to move to the top of the rankings.
"The first race was a bit tricky for everybody, and I managed to get out of there pretty well," explained Van Opzeeland.
"The wind actually got pretty strong, so in the last race, I managed to lock in and bring it home. So overall, I'm really happy with that."
"I'm feeling good. I'm ready for tomorrow, and hopefully, I can put in another good show for you guys at home."
Poland's Pawel Tarnowski trailed behind in second with an extremely consistent performance on the water that saw him finish in the top five on three occasions.
Israel's Tom Reuveny completed the top three with efficient racing, which puts him just a point off Tarnowski.
"It was really tricky in the beginning. The wind was really gusty, and there were very big patches of no wind, but then it got quite breezy, so the main aim was to stay on the board," Reuveny said.
"I feel confident in my abilities in all conditions. I want to focus on good starts and tactics and try to do well."
"There's still a long way to go. The forecast for tomorrow looks good, so we should have a lot of racing. Anything can happen."
Wilson Dominates
Emma Wilson followed up her impressive opening day on the water with another dominant display in the South of France.
While yesterday she had to deal with light winds, today she proved more than capable of adapting to the windier conditions as she picked up three valuable wins.
Reigning iQFoil world champion Sharon Kantor also managed the unpredictable conditions well, moving Israel up to second overall with two race wins.
"I felt good. It was better than yesterday. I was just trying to find my level and continue," added Kantor.
"The wind was really not stable; it was gusty, and in the beginning, we did two Slalom races, and it was pretty difficult to be good in the downwind."
"But then we went back to the shore; we did three course races. The first one was stable, but the other two were gusty. Today, it was hard to find the focus, but if you found it, you were in the front, and I managed to do that."
Italy's Marta Maggetti held onto her place in the top three with a late surge in the Course races.
"It was hard today. I managed to finish three races in the top five, so I'm happy," concluded Maggetti.
"It was a tricky day. I had just one bad race. I'm a bit tired mentally."
"I had to think a lot about the gusty wind, which was really difficult. Tomorrow, I think there will be a bit more wind."
IQFoil at Paris 2024 | Results After 7 Races
Men
- Luuc Van Opzeeland
- Pawel Tarnowski
- Tom Reuveny
- Noah Lyons
- Grae Morris
- Sam Sills
- Nicolas Goyard
- Nicolo Renna
- Josh Armit
- Johan Soe
- Ching Yin Cheng
- Elia Colombo
- Ethan Westera
- Mateus Isaac
- Nacho Baltasar Summers
- Makoto Tomizawa
- Jingye Huang
- Rytis Jasiunas
- Francisco Cruz Saubidet Birkner
- Vyron Kokkalanis
- Sebastian Koerdel
- Jakob Eklund
- Robert Kubin
- Rami Boudrouma
Women
- Emma Wilson
- Sharon Kantor
- Marta Maggetti
- Maria Belen Bazo German
- Helene Noesmoen
- Katerina Svikova
- Zheng Yan
- Maja Dziarnowska
- Theresa Marie Steinlein
- Palma Cargo
- Kwan Ching Ma
- Mina Mobekk
- Ingrid Puusta
- Lina Erzen
- Sara Wennekes
- Veerle Ten Have
- Mariana Aguilar Chavez Peon
- Pilar Lamadrid Trueba
- Merve Vatan
- Dominique Stater
- Natasa Lappa
- Johanna Hjertberg
- Chiara Ferretti
- Lorena Abicht