Tenerife, Tarifa, Lanzarote. It looks like more and more Slalom training camps are growing around the different top winter spots in Europe.
What is it all about? These Slalom training camps are open to anyone who wants to join. There is a fee to pay, but then you can race in a proper slalom course with the best riders in the world. Its not a holiday as you generally start racing at 11am and finish at 5pm. On the lay days or evenings there is time to do other sports activities to stay totally up to date fitness wise.
Do remember that you are going to be racing with no rules, with top riders, riding at full speed next to you with no fear! Yes, you need to have some national racing slalom experience to enjoy, otherwise the level on the water could be too high for you to enjoy.
We have asked Andrea Cucchi, who has been founder of the first training camp in 2013 from the one in Tenerife.
Andrea Cucchi: ‘Yes it was back in 2013 when we decided to organize the first slalom training in Tenerife with the support of Mark Hosegood and Luca Orsi. We had the idea, that if we wanted our Point-7 Young Black Team to outstand competition and align themselves with the legendary names, we had to get them together, teach them shortcuts and have them push each other. Ultimately, it was like teaching mathematics with a blackboard. We´ve now decided to move to Lanzarote as the logistics, the comfort of the surroundings and the bigger spaces are helping the team to be more free and focused. I’m sure there will be lots more pro riders, as it happened already this year, ready to join on Lanzarote in the following years’.
As Andrea points out, the objective was clear, and later many other riders and brands had than realized the advantage Point-7 had in their training, and all decided to join in. This is also the reason why more training camps around the top spots have established themselves.
For the second year, the Point-7 Black Team has once again chosen Lanzarote between the different locations where the slalom trainings camps exist. Lanzarote is an amazing island as it’s built to support at best the activity of our team. There is all the infrastructure needed for physical training, between gyms, running path, safe roads for both race or mountain biking. The temperature is between a warm spring and cooler summer which makes it optimal for comfortable training.
When you land on the spot, or even wake up at sunrise, you feel sports in the veins. There are many national teams from many different sports all getting up and getting fit. To be sleeping in is reserved only for the few in this environment.
One of the main points about Lanzarote is that it’s the home spot of our Point-7 Black Team rider Kurosh Kiani, and thanks to him, the Slalom Pro Training was introduced in the right way to the local community and logistics. Meaning that the infrastructure, the hotels, restaurants, windsurfing schools and local government are all giving their support to make this training period a total pleasure. The racing course is placed away from the recreational windsurfing areas, so no one is in the way of nobody. The kites use a totally different spot on the other side of the island, so it makes it all more relaxed for everyone to enjoy. Victor Robleda has become the coach for the water training and we have discovered a real ‘Lupo di Mare’, who fears no swell or wind strength. He has made his team of pros race in conditions that we are not sure that even the PWA crew would have enjoyed themselves to be out there!
Kurosh Kiani: “After moving to Lanzarote I immediately saw the potential the place had to become a prime training location. I found myself sailing in a big variety of conditions over the winter and enjoying the summer trade winds. It was the perfect location to be in. I was eager to share this spot with my friends fro around the world, so, when the opportunity came up, I seized it along with Andrea and we set up camp right at my local spot.
Now, having had a big group of top sailors come by and join our training camp, I am super happy to see a big group enjoy this spot, the variation it offers and ultimately push themselves in a motivating environment. This year we have even added a Pro-Am championship right at the end of our training camp to celebrate our sport and the stoke of windsurfing between pro´s and amateur windsurfers alike. This type of event is only possible because the local community also supports us in our quest for having the best possible training surroundings. Be it from the local marinas to the local restaurants and government.”
