His face whitened by an essential layer of sunscreen, Yves Escouflaire has just returned to the end of his eventful race, the fine sand of the Chalets beach, made famous by the film "37°2 in the morning".

"It's an adventure every time," breathes the 60-year-old Breton, who came "among friends" to the Mediterranean spot, one of the windiest in the country.

"We never sail in such a brothel".

No other event in the world brings together so many windsurfers on the same starting line, in a unique format, long distance, mixing professionals and international amateurs from 13 to 77 years old.

The Défi Wind, which celebrates its 20th edition this year, until Sunday, with around thirty of the fifty best specialists in the world, wants to be the "Woodstock" of windsurfing.

Its founder, Philippe Bru, wanted to "celebrate the culture of windsurfing in all its splendor and pass it on to people who thought sliders were sand players or guys smoking firecrackers".

The tramontana pushes the participants in the Défi Wind hard during the first of the four days of competition, on May 26, 2022 in Gruissan (Aude) RAYMOND ROIG AFP

Not has-been

"It's no longer that at all. There are real athletes, real technologies, a real market, a real passion", he underlines in the middle of the village where all the big brands of board sports have their stand.

Born at the end of the 1960s from the imagination of a Californian, the discipline does not give Gruissan a glimpse of the old age that kitesurfing and, more recently, wingfoil, an inflatable wing detached from the board and held by hand.

"Everyone says that windsurfing is has-been. Not at all, it still has phenomenal power," says the Défi Wind organizer.

"There are always people who practice, of all ages. Windsurfing is not over at all", supports Marion Mortefon, one of the best windsurfers in the world.

"There is still a lot of development on the equipment. It revolutionizes the sport a bit".

The arrival of the foil, an appendage allowing the board to be raised above the water, brought new sensations and somewhat renewed the public.

Nicolas Goyard, one of the best specialists in the world, on a windsurfing board equipped with a foil, on May 28, 2022 in Gruissan (Aude) RAYMOND ROIG AFP

"It allows you to discover new aspects", testifies Abel Lambeaux, 16, who fell in love with windsurfing as soon as he entered the sailing section of his college in Marseille.

"The Original Sport"

"It's the original sport", explains the young man, happy to have rubbed shoulders in the Aude waters with some of the legends of his sport, including Antoine Albeau (49 years old) or the Dutchman Björn Dunkerbeck (52 years old). ), multiple world champions still competitive at their age.

"The amateurs are mixed with the pros, there is no difference in treatment. Everyone is on the same course, on an equal footing", appreciates the Marseille novice.

The new generation, hands-on, helps to break down the barriers that once separated the different disciplines of board sports.

Change of tack for the many competitors in the Défi Wind, on May 28, 2022 in Gruissan (Aude) RAYMOND ROIG AFP

"When I was a pure and hard windsurfer, I didn't want to hear about anything else", recognizes Philippe Bru behind his tanned complexion.

"My children do surfing, standup paddleboarding, skateboarding..."

His Defi Wind has also made children.

It has been accompanied for eight years, on the same principle of mass race, by a Kite Challenge (kitesurfing) and for the first time this year by a Wing Challenge (wingfoil).

With the same tramuntana for all.

© 2022 AFP