Menton, France – September 12-13, 2026
The 2026 season ended the way you’d want it to end: in the south of France, in warm water, with a world title still undecided on the final day. Menton hosted the last stop of the 2026 World Tour and the final e-foil event of the year. By Sunday evening, LA FRECH SFT E-Foil World Cup France 2026 had its winners, and the 2026 SFT E-Foil World Champions had been crowned.
Menton
If you’ve never been, Menton sits right at the very end of France, so close to Italy you can walk there. The mountains come down almost to the sea, and the town climbs up the hillside in warm yellows and oranges above the water.
It turned out to be a perfect place to race. The bay is sheltered, the water is glassy and the course was set so near the beach that you could stand on the sand and watch the riders come past at full speed. By the time the finals ran, the beach was full of spectators.
Manel Arpa and Justin Chait
The men’s title had been going back and forth all season between two riders who could hardly be more different.
Manel Arpa, the Spaniard, races the way he seems to do everything – fast, fearless, and all in. Justin Chait, the American, is the opposite: quiet, calm, methodical, the 2025 world champion, and somehow the rider the crowd ended up cheering for at every stop of the tour.
Neither of them could shake the other, and that’s why it was still open when everyone arrived in Menton. In the end it was Arpa’s weekend. He won Men Pro on the Riviera and sealed the 2026 world title with it. Chait finished the season second. Clemens Kresser of Austria took third overall, and had a weekend worth talking about – runner-up in Men Pro and the Masters winner.
E-Foil: A sport that changed foiling world in 2026
E-foil is, by far, the fastest growing foiling discipline. The racing gets quicker each event, the equipment keeps improving, and more brands turn up with gear built specifically for competition rather than adapted from something else.
The women’s fleet said as much. Fourteen women raced at LA FRECH, which is one of the biggest turnouts the tour has had, and a good sign for a discipline where men and women compete on genuinely equal terms. Lola Arpa took the win in Menton, ahead of Laura Kurmann and Selin Piskiner, while the 2026 world title went to Agnes Wicander, with Kurmann second and Julia Castro third overall.
All of it was put together by Plume Foil, with Loïc del Tour leading the way. LA FRECH has a character of its own, and this edition gave the town and the riders a weekend they’ll remember.
Watch the daily highlights:
Day 0: Highlight IG Link
Day 1: Highlight IG Link
Day 2: Highlight IG Link
2026 Final Results:
SFT E-Foil World Champions
MEN
Manel Arpa (ESP) – SFT E-Foil World Champion 2026
Justin Chait (USA) – Second place
Clemens Kresser (AUT) – Third place
WOMEN
Agnes Wicander (SWE) – SFT Pump Foil World Champion 2026
Laura Jil Kurmann (NED) – Second place
Julia Castro (ESP) – Third place
LA FRECH – SFT E-Foil World Cup Menton
MEN PRO
Manel Arpa (ESP) – First place
Clemens Kresser (AUT) – second place
Teiki Marani (FRA) – third place
WOMEN PRO
Lola Arpa (ESP) – First place
Laura Jil Kurmann (NED) – second place
Seline Piskiner (TUR) – third place
MEN Challenger
1st Place: Nico Pernodet (FRA)
2nd Place: Xavier Buisson (FRA)
3rd Place: Zephir de France (FRA)
Masters
1st Place: Clemens Kresser (AUT)
2nd Place: Piet Varkevisser (NED)
3rd Place: Sebastian Lange (GER)
Youth
1st Place: Emilian Planas (FRA)
Congratulations to all 2026 tour participants.
We’ll see you on the water in 2027!
