Young Azzurra News

Tomorrow marks the final day of racing ahead of the Medal Series on Sunday, 12 April

Naples, Italy. 10 April 2026. At the end of the third day of the Formula Wing European Championship, currently underway in Naples, YCCS Young Azzurra athlete Maddalena Spanu sits in second place in the provisional overall standings. French rider Vaina Picot currently holds the lead, with fellow countrywoman Kylie Belloeuvre in third place in the provisional classification.

The opening days of the event have put competitors to the test, with a light thermal breeze of around 8 to 10 knots prevailing, with gusts reaching a maximum of 12 knots. The light air means every manoeuvre becomes fundamental to the success of each athlete’s strategy. The first day saw participants take on four long-distance races, with a rabbit start providing spectacular scenes as around a hundred colourful riders tackled the waters in front of Naples’ Castel dell’Ovo. Yesterday’s first session saw three short-distance races completed, while in the race held in the late afternoon, with the breeze at its lower limit, only four of the 21 athletes present managed to cross the finish line. Adding today’s three races to those of the previous days brings the fleet to 11 races completed in total. Maddalena is currently in second place overall in the provisional standings and is concentrating on staying focused in the challenging conditions.

Taking into account the discard applied to the two poorest results in the series, she sits seven points behind the leader, Vaina Picot, and holds a six-point lead over Kylie Belloeuvre in third place.

The event format dictates that the top two finishers will qualify directly for the final, so it will be crucial for Maddalena to maintain total concentration in the final six short-distance races scheduled for tomorrow, before pulling out all the stops on Sunday, 12 April.

Full results are available here; for further information, please contact the YCCS press office.