The regatta scene has been buzzing since last season:

Michele Becker, who switched from Duotone to Patrik material, rode straight to 5th place in the world rankings in his first season. Many other internationally unknown riders also made it to the top places out of nowhere. It's clear that the whole thing doesn't work without training at world-class level. But that's not all. 

Nobody really knows how, but Patrik Diethelm has managed to outperform all other foil brands by far. There is a rumor going around in the scene that the Production of the AEON prototypes are said to have cost huge sums of money and Patrik has been racking its brains over hydrodynamics for several years. That is of course enormous. In addition, there are production processes that no other brand can keep up with and a choice of materials that initially caused skepticism.

The new top fuselages, for example, are made of titanium - whereas other brands, which are also considered innovative, have relied on Carbon for years. While the titanium was initially ridiculed, by the PWA season the fun was over. The superior performance became undeniable as everyone who tried the new AEON Foil rode measurably faster and more controlled. 

However, when the rumors slowly became public last season, most riders were not yet able to change. This is because in the World Cup you have to register your equipment at the start of the season and then can no longer change it. The changes were therefore delayed until spring 2024, when the world elite were preparing for the new season. 

Almost every top PWA rider was spotted on Tenerife testing the Patrik AEON Foil. Some even tried to disguise their tests as they are actually sponsored by other foil brands. In some places, the AEON logos were sanded off the foils during the tests and the logos of other brands were stuck over them - so that the competition wouldn't find out about the experiments. After all, whoever registers the fastest foil has the best chance of winning the PWA in the end.

The exciting thing about the AEON Foil is that, although it is already enjoying resounding success in the regatta scene, it has barely reached the wider market. This is probably also due to a lack of marketing - because the foil, with all its innovations, is actually also available in a "cheaper" version. This differs only slightly in terms of performance, but costs only half the price of the PWA version. 

Rarely have we looked forward to the PWA season more than this year. It will be incredibly exciting to see how the new innovations affect the regatta field. Whether Michele Becker will finish in the top 5 again is no longer a sure thing!