NextGen: Pilloni knows windsurfing pressure is privilege

Nicolo Renna may be the Italian iQFOiL name on everyone’s lips ahead of Paris 2024 but Federico Pilloni is the country’s windsurfing hotshot taking the Youth Sailing World Championships by storm.
The 17-year-old qualified for the home Championships on Lake Garda ahead of newly-crowned youth European champion Leonardo Tomasini.

The Sardinian is not shying away from his status as the men’s iQFOiL favourite and knows the pressure is a privilege when it comes to the future of his career.

Pilloni won the Techno 293 Plus class at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Oman three years ago and is on the brink of clinching a second title in his home country.

“It’s very special to be here but at the same time it has its negative parts because you’ve got lots of pressure,” he said.

“It’s nice because you’ve got lots of people that support you around but everyone is looking at you.

“I like to speak with everybody and be friendly with everybody.

“Not talking to anybody ahead of races, I feel bad about that but it’s trying to find the right compromise between the two things.”

Pilloni has been windsurfing since the age of nine, starting out at his local beach with Windsurfing Club Cagliari.

He currently sails at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and made the seamless transition from the Techno class to the iQFOiL after claiming his youth world champion status in 2021.

“It was quite a tough transition, the first year was about trying to find people who knew how to foil better but then the overall level became really high,” he said.

“The class required more weight and new techniques, it was quite hard to do that switch but it’s going quite well for now.

“It’s quite new and I can see everybody is really enjoying it and it’s becoming more popular, it’s so encouraging and it just makes the level higher and higher.”

With just one day of racing left, Pilloni has solidified his position at the top of the standings, boasting seven stunning bullets across the week so far.

Nearest competitor Makani Andrews of the USA was more than 40 points behind the Italian following the penultimate day as low Wednesday wind did not deter Pilloni in an early morning session of rescheduled races.

“Into this race I was the favourite, even in the first few days I wasn’t into the rhythm and it’s becoming easier and easier as the competition goes on,” he said.

Italy’s success in the class seems habitual with Carola Colsanto leading the way in the women’s windsurfing event.

And Pilloni will be following the Olympics from Tonbridge in Kent, sharing the moment with his mother’s British side of the family to watch Renna and co.

The teenager has already had his first taste of senior sailing in the past 12 months, which has been enough to whet the appetite for consistent racing in those ranks.

“I’ve been in the senior world and the level is just amazing, it would be really hard to try and solidify the top of the world in a senior fleet,” he added.

“It would probably take a few years but the aim is to rise from now, train with the senior fleet and maybe one day I can get to something bigger.”