Maximilian Maeder’s art of bringing it home: Staying ahead of the pack

Maximilian Maeder

vividly remembers one of the first times he led in a race at a major international event. He was 14 and it was during a qualifier at the Formula Kite 2021 European Championships in Montpellier, France.

But his time at the front of the pack was short-lived as his excitement resulted in him falling off the board during a transition and he lost his lead.

He recalled: “I was quite disappointed in myself. I trained to get into that position and then I was so overcome with excitement when I get there and I make a blunder. I really didn’t want to let this happen again.”

Despite that mistake, he eventually won the regatta for his first European Championship title, paving the way for many more to come, including two consecutive world titles in 2023 and 2024.

These days, the 17-year-old finds himself in a leading position a lot more, and he is now equipped with the skills to close out races.

He said: “That’s very different from the more recent racing I’ve had. It’s way more in control than before when I crashed off the board after realising I was in the lead… that comes with refining over time and improving over time.”

Getting ahead is the first step, then comes the challenge of bringing it home.

It is not about going full throttle once he is in front. More often than not, he takes a more conservative stance after going into a comfortable lead – about two to three seconds ahead of his closest competitor – to minimise on errors.

He said: “You slow down a little bit to make less mistakes, but fast enough to maintain the lead…

“It is difficult during the adrenaline-packed racing to decide how much you can push because you always want to go a little bit faster.”

Instincts take over then, sharpened by years of practice and racing. There is barely any time to ruminate about things, especially with kitefoilers racing at top speeds of up to 80kmh.

To stay in front, he also has to be aware of what his competitors are doing and react to their decisions.

Factors like wind, current and waves come into play as well, and these conditions vary at different parts of the race course, Maximilian explained.

“Whenever the person behind me makes a decision, I let that influence my decision. Should I cover him or is he going somewhere I think is not favourable and everyone else will overtake me if I follow him?”

The art of bringing it home is not just applicable to when he is in the lead, stressed the teenager. It is also about maintaining a certain position – even if it is not first – if challenging for the top spot is too risky.

He said: “If I’m not in the lead throughout the whole race, it’s all about noticing when it’s time to say look, I can’t improve my position much more without going through unnecessary risk.”

This, again, comes with experience. He recounted how on the final day of gold fleet racing at the 2023 Sailing World Championships at The Hague, he misjudged the risk of overtaking Chinese competitor Huang Qibin and pushed too hard in an attempt to claim the lead.

Instead, he crashed into the bottom mark of the course, dropping to seventh place.

He said: “It’s about overcoming the fact that you have the desire to do well and saying look, you have to try again next time and accept that it didn’t go great this time.”

These skills will be on full display at the Marseille Marina from Aug 4, when kitefoiling makes its debut at the Olympics.

Maximilian, one of the favourites for gold, is looking forward to his first Olympics, but noted that this was just one step in his sporting ambitions.

He said: “I’ve had a great support system, it’s a privilege to be an athlete for such a wonderful community and nation.

“There’s pride, connection and just joy that I feel of course. It’s great but again it’s a milestone and not the end goal.”