Lorenzo Casati won the 2025 GKA Big Air Kite Twin-tip World Championship title at the tour’s closing stop at Lords of Tram, in BarcarΓ¨s, France. For Casati, 19, getting the crown was something he had dreamed-of since he first started kiting. In the four-man final he found himself up against his younger brother, Leonardo Casati, still 15, which was a special moment. From his home in Tenerife, in the Canaries, Casati, told Ian MacKinnon of his ambition to win world titles in other kiting disciplines.
Ian MacKinnon: You’ve had a little time to digest winning the title. How do you feel about it now?
Lorenzo Casati: For me, for sure, I still can’t really believe what happened. It was a big dream of mine. From the first day I started kiting it was always in my mind to one day get the world championship in Big Air. It’s been a long way, a lot of work, together with my coach and my dadβthe same personβRenato. It’s been really a great journey and I’m super-stoked.
IM: After the first stop in Brazil where you got second, you needed only to finish ahead of Edgar Ulrich, essentially. How did you approach Lords of Tram?
LC: My main focus was trying to win. If I won, if Edgar got second place, I would get enough points and be world champion. But I knew if I beat Edgar by at least two positions I would get the title. But my approach was to win the event so that I would get enough points for the world title.
IM: You won the semi-final and Edgar Ulrich didn’t make it through to the final, giving you the title. Was your feeling one of relief?
LC: For sure it was a bit of relief, because my main goal was to win the world title. But at the same time I didn’t let my guard down because I still wanted to win the competition. In the final I tried to push super-hard. But knowing I’d achieved the world title meant there was a little bit less pressure.
βGreat feelingβ
IM: In the semi-final you came out on top ahead of Andrea Principi, but in the final he turned the tables. Was that difficult for you?
LC: In the semi-final I was able to do some double loops and I managed to beat him. And then in the final the wind was a little bit lighter and I went for single loops and I was struggling a bit more. I got a really big one, but I didn’t land that one. And Andrea got two 9’s and it was a bit hard to get back to him. But I’m stoked to win the semi-final because I got the world championship.
IM: How was it to be up against your younger brother, Leo, in the final?
LC: It was a great feeling. It was our second final together. The one in Gran Canaria and this second one in BarcarΓ¨s as well. It was amazing to share the podium with him, in that I got second and he got third. We’re working super-hard, training together and kiting together every day with out our dad and coach. It’s great to see all the hard work paying off. I’m sure we’ll see many more podiums together.
IM: In Brazil and France we saw quite different styles of Big Air. Where do you see Big Air going and what direction would you like to see it heading?
LC: For me personally, what I like, I would like to see it going in the direction of double loops and triple loops, because I think it’s the way that the sport keeps on innovating and evolving. That’s the direction I’m trying to push. It’s double loops with rotations and board-offs. Also triple loops with board-offs and snake loops too. I think that’s what the sport should be about now because it’s innovative, it’s more power and it goes towards the extreme part of it, and that’s what I like.
βComplete watermanβ
IM: What are your plans for the rest of the year?
LC: I plan to do Full Power Tarifa, and then there’s the Red Bull Qualifier, also in Tarifa. Then Cold Hawaii [Denmark] in September/October. The main goal is King of the Air. So I will keep training for King of the Air. But I will also do strapless competitions. In Sylt, Germany, last year I was second in Hydrofoil Big Air and third in Strapless [Kite-Surf]. I was recently at the first GKA [pure-surfing] Kite-Surf event in Cape Verde. I was in Cape Verde for two months and I improved a lot. It’s not easy for me because I’m ‘goofy’. I never train on ‘rights’. But it’s nice surfing a lot for two months and it’s something I look forward to more in the future. Being in the waves is something I really love.
IM: With multiple focuses, do you worry that you spread yourself to thinly?
LC: For me doing all these disciplines does not stop the progress. Doing one or the other is really similar, with complementary training. Change is good and something that really helps me to become a waterman. For me it’s not going to stop because I want to win world titles in all the disciplines.
IM: Do you think that emphasis on variety helped you win the GKA Rider of the Year Award?
LC: It’s really, really amazing. It’s such a great award. It was hugely satisfying for me to win it. It was a lot of training, trying to be a true waterman. For me it showed that the work really paid off in the different disciplines. I’m trying to be as complete a rider as possible.
images: Svetlana Romantsova / Andy Troy
