In The Spotlight today: Slalom rocket Pierre Mortefon!Pierro finished the year on the podium with 3rd in Slalom but definitely has potential for more. Read hereafter what he he is up to!

Let’s rewind to the start of 2017 – how are you looking back on the season? One more intense year all around the world! It was not the easiest one, we had some difficult events in Asia starting the year in May. Then we had a really nice competition in Costa Brava with good winds. Fuerteventura was like always one of the best event with solid conditions. I had the biggest crash of my life there in one of the finals when I was ridden over Taty. The image was strong and was not easy to back from it. We were lucky in Denmark as we raced almost everyday. I had some technical issues on Sylt, breaking my fins during the race. New Caledonia was perfect to end the year with great event in this little paradise. I am super happy and proud to keep going and stayed focus on my goals. The podium is a really a good compensarion for all the effort I made suring the season and for keeping the head high all around the year!

Highs and Lows?Winning races in nuclear winds of Fuerteventura & fighting to be back on the podium in Nouméa. Lows: Hardest crash ever on Fuerteventura & difficult conditions in Asia.

Did you do anything different in terms of training and did it make a difference? No I didn’t really change too much in my training routine. I spent a lot of time on the water in combination with a solid physic preparation. It’s working well but I identified some aspects I should work on during the upcoming winter. Year after year, my experience is increasing and I am now able to find the solutions much quicker than before!

What is your favourite board in your portfolio you would never toss? The Falcon 99 is definitely one of my best boards. It’s my weapon for strong wind and those hard conditions I really like!

Who do you look up to and why for inspiration in windsurfing and outside of the sport? There is lot of sailors from which you can get inspirations. For example Victor is super professional and he is just doing everything possible from his site to reach his goal. In France I am lucky to train also with some athletes from different sport sand I am trying to make the most out of what I learn from them for my carreer.

What advice would you give to young groms looking to follow in your footsteps? Most important is to have fun windsurfing. Always! Then prepare your future before investing 200% in the sport. It’s not easy and it will not always be fun. You have to be ready to work a lot, and live through some difficult situations. But if you believe in yourself you can achieve it!

Who do you credit as part of your success? Not really sure to be honest. Lots of people helped me during my career – from physical trainer to my sister or my father. He is always there for me when I am asking him some advice and never pushed me for any special decision. I think that´s why I always went for the right decision.

Where do you see your future in the sport/immediate and long term plans? From now my plan is clearly to focus on minimum 5 years at the highest level, I really want this world title! But if it’s possible I want to continue until I am 40. We are lucky to have this opportunity in our sport because experience is very important. Then I would like to continue working in the windsurfing world or maybe work for a different sport, but sport is for sure most important in my life.

Funniest moment on tour from 2017? After the Fuerte event we were shooting some action while racing against a jetski. We were faster and the driver could not believe it! Watching his face was so funny!

Turns or airs? Turns! Nothing is better than a nice curve in wave… But I am also in love with flying high on my Slalom kit.

Home or Hawaii? Not easy… Hawai is certainly one of the best places for windsurfing, but I am lucky to live in South of France where it´s always super windy. Since I am not so often at home during the summer months, I really like to enjoy every moment there!

Thrusters or Quads? Thrusters , I like to be the fastest even when I am wavesailing!

High boom or low boom? Mid Boom! It’s funny but it’s almost the place where I fix it most of the time!

Big winds or big waves? Definitely both! I love big wave because it make you so small in front of the nature and I like feeling the power of the sea. But I grow up on strong wind, blowing in my window and curving the tree, it’s a part of me!

What do you expect from your winter training and what skills do you want to improve? I cannot give all my secrets here:-) My plan is to arrive in 2018 more confident and also to have more respect from the other riders. I will continue to train hard on my speed and classic skill but I will also try to develop some technics to be able to face some attacks!

Finally, what are you looking forward to in 2018? World Title!

More about Pierro:https://www.fanatic.com/team/pierre-mortefon/