ATTACK, RIGHT AT THE FRONT

Fabian Wolf goes into the Sylt World Cup with a German title and a Vice European title already on his 2026 record, almost three weeks of Sardinian training behind him, and 2nd place at the Austria Slalom Cup 2 on Lake Garda as the last check before it counts. Sylt opens the last stretch of the season, with the Japan World Cup still to come in November, and for a Kiel-based racer it is the home World Cup. We asked him three questions before he heads north.

The plan was set months ago. Sylt, 25 September to 4 October, is open-ocean foil slalom on the North Sea, so the training block went to Sardinia: almost three weeks of it. From there Fabi drove to Circolo Surf Torbole for the Austria Slalom Cup 2 on 19 and 20 September, a ProAm WSA event on the Austrian Slalom Championship tour, for two days of racing before the event that matters.

He finished 2nd overall, and the head-to-head with reigning Foil Slalom World Champion Matteo Iachino came out level across the two days.

Garda: the final tune-up

“Garda was the final part of my preparation for the Foil Slalom World Cup season,” says Fabi. “Before coming here I spent almost three weeks in Sardinia getting ready for the open-ocean racing in Sylt, then came to Garda to get some racing in as a final tune-up. Honestly, after the training I already knew I was fast, and I felt really confident on my gear.”

“In the end I was right on par with last year’s world champion, Matteo Iachino: we did 10 races, he beat me five times and I beat him five times. And closing the last day with a 1/2/1/1 shows I’m ready for the final part of the season.”

Sylt: the plan

Sylt is the one he built the year around. The Europeans in Sankt Peter-Ording in July delivered the Vice European title, and he is German Champion again this year. Sylt is the next big one, and his last two visits there give him something to correct: 14th in 2024, and in 2025 a mixed event, solid race results next to a few big mistakes.

Fabi is not hedging.

“My preparation has been really good, so I’m going into Sylt full of confidence,” he says. “That said, with Sylt you never know what’s coming, so fingers crossed the North Sea plays nice and lets me show what I’m capable of. I know I’m fast and I know I can beat anyone, so the plan is simple: attack, right at the front. I didn’t come here to lose.”

Whether the North Sea shows up is the part nobody controls. What he does control is on the record: he came into the year as the 2025 Formula Foil World Champion and German Champion, with a 5th at PWA Japan behind him, and he has just gone race for race with Iachino over a full weekend on Lake Garda. The front of a PWA fleet is not new ground.

The gear

Fabi races SEVERNE’s foil racing sail, the Hyper 9. Ask him for his favourite piece of gear this season and there is no pause.

“It’s already been a strong season,” says Fabi, “and I feel really fast on my equipment. My favourite piece has to be the Hyper 9: especially in racing conditions between 15 and 25 knots, the 8m and 7m have been spot on, and I’ve really fine-tuned my setup around them.”

Sylt World Cup, 25 September to 4 October. The drone footage that goes with this post is from a training session at Torbole on 16 September, three days before the racing started.

Fabi races the Hyper 9; the 8.0 and 7.0 are his race sizes in 15-25 knots. Sail number GER-404.

Photos: @windsurfing_austria (racing) / @garda_trentino_wind (drone)

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