Get to know Benoit Gomez
Features / Thu 30th Jun, 2022 @ 12:00 pm
A recent addition to the team at Gin Kiteboarding, French athlete Benoit Gomez has been making a splash! As a talented racer and Olympic hopeful, we’re excited to see where his career goes! Get to know Benoit Gomez in this press release…
POWER OF VICTORY
Right after having freshly joined the Gin Tribe, Benoît Gomez took the win in the 2022 Hempel World Cup in the Netherlands, demonstrating his large dominance in all conditions during the whole week with his Boom V2.
Benoît dominated the races by sailing a much smaller kite size, by doing port starts, and by winning in front of the fleet with a 700-meter lead. His strategy paid off, by proving that he was simply stronger than the other riders on that event. What’s more, he proved that the Boom V2 was most definitely the fastest kite on the market; the formula 1 of kites.
The racecourse was being blown by 10 knots, with gusts up to 12 knots, which made him doubt his kite size. Every one of his rivals went for the full-size 23-meter kite, but he decided otherwise and went with his Boom V2 15-meter, which was quite a bold choice. He says he is more comfortable with the 15 due to its speed and good angle, allowing him to perform easily, especially on its favorable wind ranges. The risks he took proved his abilities, as he sprinted to the victory in the final heat. Those precise kinds of spectacular examples might put in perspective the way kite sizes are chosen. Maybe the way we ride the kite has more impact on speed than the actual kite size?
“The Boom V2 feels completely different than the other sails I had tried before. It is more sensitive and technical, requiring more precise handling. After only a few days of training with this kite, I already became accustomed to it. At the time of the competition, I was actually still learning about how the kite worked and which wind ranges were optimal!”
GROWING FROM A PASSION TO AN AMBITION
Born in French Guyanne, Benoît moved to France with his parents at the age of ten. That is when his father taught him how to fly kites. It first began as a weekend activity, that quickly became a passion, and the feeling of competition. He competed in many different types of disciplines, such as freestyle, twintip racing, strapless, and now kitefoil racing.
The twintip racing kite discipline even took him to the Youth Olympic Games! He happened to be the first Frenchman to take part in the Olympic circuit in kite, which was also his country’s first step into the Olympic journey. The experience he got to live was completely unique, unlike any usual kite competition he was used to.
Kitefoil racing became an Olympic discipline right after these Youth Olympic Games, right around the time he decided to switch to Kitefoil racing. In the end, he realized that kitefoil was the best option for him.
BECOMING A JUNIOR DESIGNER AND TEST PILOT
Benoît Gomez is not only joining the Gin Tribe as an Athlete, but also as a Test Pilot and Junior Designer. He aspires to become a professional in that field in order to push the limits of his sport and to make the best possible kites.
Being able to tweak a kite’s settings according to a feeling and making it match his level of performance is definitely what he is after. He aims to push the limits of kites in terms of performance, accessibility and wind range, making kitesurfing accessible to a wider audience.
To set all of this up, he needed a Team. And he found an excellent Team here at Gin Kiteboarding, composed of the Designer Hans Bollinger and his son, Tim Bollinger, who is also a Test Pilot, and all the other staff members.
We are proud and delighted to have Benoît onboard!
Press release by Gin Kiteboarding.
By Crystal Veness
Editor at IKSURFMAG, Crystal Veness hails from Canada but is based in South Africa. When she isn't busy kitesurfing or reporting on the latest industry news for the mag, she is kicking back somewhere at a windy kite beach or working on creative media projects.
