There is a new big name on the freestyle kiteboarding scene… meet Maxime, an athlete who is not limited only to the water!
Meet Maxime Chabloz – the new swiss talent who has exploded onto the kiteboarding scene in the last two years. At just 17 years of age, Maxime has achieved more than most athletes in a lifetime! He managed to finish the Kite World Tour last year in 4th position, a huge achievement for such a young rider…. and it doesn’t stop there! He was recently named Junior Sailor of the Year 2017 and 2018 from Swiss Sailing. As if that wasn’t enough, the cherry on top is that he just won The Freeride Junior World Championship Tour 2019, because if you didn’t already know, Maxime is also an incredibly talented skier also! Not a bad start to 2019, so we are excited to see how he gets on this year on the GKA Kite World Tour!
Maxime, you really exploded onto the scene last year, by getting some amazing results and podium finishes, not to mention that Backmobe 7 you pulled out in Akyaka! For those people who don’t know much about you, how long have you been competing for? and where are you from originally?
So i have been competing since I was 15 years old professionaly. I live in Beckenried in the centre of Switzerland
Finishing the 2018 in 4th place was a huge result for you, and you were very close to getting third. How do you feel about your results?
I am really happy about it. I wasn’t expecting that at all of course finishing 4th so close to the podium is always disappointing but 4th place was still over my expectations, so I am happy. I hope this year will be even better.
You have been spending time coached by Fabio Ingrosso, how do you think this has helped your riding evolve? Are you continuing with the coaching for this season?
Yes i am still working with Fabio. He is a great coach. He pushes and motivates me and gives me a lot of feedback for my riding which is so important.
For this year, the GKA have incorporated a few events that have a combination of freestyle with big air, for when the wind conditions are too strong for standard freestyle… how do you feel about this new format?
I’m not scared to do big air in fact in 30 knots it’s easier to do a big loop than a double handle pass. It will be interesting to see how it gets incorporated to the events this year.
It looks like it will be a big competition season this year, with more events that we have had in the previous years… Do you have any plans for the year aside from competing?
I want t to spend a lot of time on the water, train new tricks and improve day by day!
Any big tricks you’ve been working on?
I am really close to the BJ9 ….I still need some time on the water to stick it. Definitely a goal for 2019.
The best part of 2018 season was?….and the worst part?
The best part was my 3rd place in turkey and when I managed to stick that back mobe 7 in comp and probably the worst moment was when I knew that Set Teixeira would take the 3rd place away from me in Brazil.
Keep you eyes on Maxime Chabloz… as this year he is definitely one of the big names to watch! With our first freestyle event commencing in Leucate, France on the 20th of April, there is definitely a lot to look forward to! Don’t forget that the whole event will be live-streamed, so you can follow Maxime and all the other competitors heat by heat and not miss a moment!