First stop of GKA Big Air season set to kick off at Barcarès with epic Tramontana winds forecast
Lords of Tram GKA Big Air Kite World Cup France
28 March—26 April, 2026 | Le Barcarès
The Green Light has been called for the opening stop of the GKA Big Air season which is set to go down over the weekend at Lords of Tram, in Barcarès, southern France, in intense Tramontana winds.
The signal puts the world’s best 24 men and 12 women Big Air athletes under “starters orders”, with the action set to begin as early as 7.30am local time in the stadium-like setting of the lagoon at Parc des Dosses.
The traffic light system warns any of the athletes, who were Pre-selected by ranking, Video Selected and Wild Cards, that they should travel to Barcarès, if they are not already at the site training.
The chilly Tramontana winds that blow off the snow-capped Pyrenees to the north have been howling and are forecast to reach more than 40 knots, which in reality can mean even stronger breezes fuelling the battles.
The competition, the fourth consecutive year GKA and Lords of Tram have teamed up, is the first call of a two stop race for the World Championship title. It will be decided when the GKA debuts in Mykonos, Greece, in June.
Reigning World Champion, Spain’s Lorenzo Casati, won the title last year at Lords of Tram. His second place at Barcarès was enough to give him the title and he went on to win the Red Bull King of the Air (Kota) crown in Cape Town at the end of the year.
Italy’s Andrea Principi won the Lords of Tram last season, and is seeded number two for the 2026 edition. The younger of the Casati brothers, Leonardo, who competes under the Italian flag, is seeded three and was runner-up at Kota last season aged 16.
This year’s line-up also features the multi-talented German teenager, Finn Flügel, who clinched the GKA Freestyle Kite World Championship title last season. Another young rider who made the cut is the Dane, Maxwell Dahl, the GKA U16 Youth Big Air World Champion.
GKA Big Air Hydrofoil World Champion, New Zealand’s Hugo Wigglesworth, also makes it into the line-up on a Wild Card, along with the Netherlands’ Giel Vlugt and Clement Hout.
The Netherlands Jamie Overbeek is one of the Selected riders for Lords of Tram and definitely one to watch even though he is seeded 15. Overbeek and Flügel were inexplicably missing from last years Kota line-up.
Mikaili Sol was in a class of her own last year when she was crown world champion at Lords of Tram. But former King of the Air winner, Britain’s Francesca Maini, is seeded number two this year, with the Italian powerhouse, Alice Ruggiu, third seed.
The Netherlands’ Pippa van Iersel, a former winner at Lords of Tram, will undoubtedly be in the mix. But one of the biggest threats must come the Swede Nathalie Lambrecht, who missed LoT last year through injury but went on to win the Red Bull Kota crown.
Another Dutch athlete, Zara Hoogenraad, is a former GKA Big Air World Champion, who will no doubt push the others to the limit and beyond. Join us here for all the action.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Lords of Tram
Pre-selected Men
Lorenzo Casati (ESP)
Andrea Principi (ITA)
Leonardo Casati (ITA)
Finn Flügel (GER)
Kimo Verkerk (NED)
Shahar Tsabary (ISR)
Zac Adams (USA)
Stijn “Stino” Mul (NED)
Josué San Ferreira (BRA)
Timo Boersema (NED)
Wild Card Men
Clement Hout (FRA)
Maxwell Dahl (DEN)
Hugo Wigglesworth (NZL)
Giel Vlugt (NED)
Video Selected Men
Jeremy Burlando (ESP)
Josh Gillitt (RSA)
Nathan Texier (FRA)
Luca Ceruti (RSA)
Jamie Overbeek (NED)
Jason van der Spuy (RSA)
Baptiste Jacquemain (FRA)
Elliott Bouton (FRA)
Marten Koblishke (GER)
Cohan van Dijk (NED)
Pre-selected Women
Mikaili Sol (USA)
Francesca Maini (GBR)
Alice Ruggiu (ITA)
Sarah Sadek (EGY)
Pippa van Iersel (NED)
Video Selected Women
Zara Hoogenraad (NED)
Nathalie Lambrecht (SWE)
Lana Herman (SLO)
Svenja Zoé Peters (DEN)
Alessa Mensch (GER)
Wild Card Women
Aya Kasabova (BUL)
Lilou Ziglini (FRA)
Spot Info: Barcarès
Wind: The Tramontana blowing northerly, or north-westerly offshore, is best. The spot is non-tidal, with flat waters and temperatures of 10-20C.
The best wind for Big Air is 25-40 knots. (On Windguru the perfect forecast is 25 knots, with gusts of 30-35 knots—with the gusts as a reference point for the true wind.)
The wind is usually 5-10 knots in excess of the forecast, especially if the air temperatures are cold.
The spot: The wind funnels in the corner of the jump zone, with result that riders can often jump three metres to five metres higher than usual.
The jump area has deep water, which makes it safer in the event of a crash.
The best seasons for the Tramontana run from March to June, and September to December. During summer, southern France’s hot weather can disrupt the pattern.
Within 500 metres the spot boasts two cable parks: a full-size Téléski Nautique and the “out and return” Sailor Wakepark. Just a kilometre away there is a full-size indoor and outdoor skatepark—Shakapark.
At the competition spot there is a bar-restaurant, The Spott, and a Duotone branded kiteschool, Surf&Kite.
Event Info:
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