BRITTANY TO SOTAVENTO: BENOÎT MERCEUR’S SLALOM X WEEK
Benoît Merceur went into one of the roughest Slalom X weeks in recent memory the same way he goes into most weeks: around a full-time job. The French slalom racer is in his transition year between study and work, holding down a company job in Brittany and training whenever the wind and the schedule line up. Severne backs him, and he rides Severne. But there’s no tour bus here. There’s a day job, a gym, and a stretch of water.
Photos: John Carter / PWA
Benoît took that routine to Sotavento for the 2026 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam. The week was brutal by any measure: gusts past 50 knots, heavy swell, and a downwind course that carved the fleet across fifteen eliminations. Matteo Iachino took the men’s title. Benoît raced the full men’s Slalom X fleet against full-time pros and put in a strong showing with multiple final entries, finishing 9th overall after eleven races and two discards.
TRAINING WITH THE FRENCH FLEET
Ask him how you prepare for water like that, and the answer sits on France’s south coast; specifically, training with the French national team at Leucate La Franqui.
“In France we have a similar spot on the south coast. The spot is a famous one: Leucate La Franqui,” says Benoît. “Each year we have a step of the French Tour AFF at this place. It’s really good training for the PWA because the level of the French fleet is pretty high and the young generation is pushing. Also we sometimes have training camps with the French team at Leucate, which is really good training as well.”
WORK, TRAIN, EAT, SLEEP
The rest of the year looks less like a training camp and more like everyone else’s calendar.
“This year is a bit tricky for me because it is my transition year between study and work,” he says. “These days, I am working in a company in Brittany, so my days are work, train on the water or at the gym, eat, sleep, repeat.”
ONE SAIL, ALL WEEK
Through the whole contest he rode one sail: the Mach 9 5.5, for every race bar one heat. Ask him why, and he talks range, not marketing.
“For me the best strength of the sail is its range of use,” says Benoît. “Already in lower winds, the M9 5.5 is really competitive with the higher external outhaul. In the most difficult races, I put the lower internal outhaul and the sail became immediately easy and controllable.”
FIN, 100% SURE
Fin or foil? After a week like Fuerteventura, it’s not a hard question.
“I would say fin, 100% sure,” he says. “But when you don’t have more than 15 knots during a whole month, you are really happy to be able to do some training on the foil.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Next on the calendar: the third step of the AFF French tour in mid-September, then straight to Sylt for the PWA foil event. The routine picks back up where it left off.
Benoît raced the Mach 9 5.5 for every race bar one heat throughout the 2026 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam Slalom X.
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