The unpredictable winds of Quiberon, located in Brittany, France, will test the fleet’s patience as Paula Barceló and María Cantero set out to defend their 49erFX world champion title starting this Tuesday. This marks their second regatta of the 2026 season. In their previous outing, the 55th Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca, they secured a bronze medal. Since then, the duo, hailing from the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, have been preparing at the CEAR in Santander, their training base, where currents and waves closely resemble those they will face in French waters. They have already been training in Quiberon for a week.
“Quiberon is a very enclosed bay, with wind coming from the land, making it shifty and unstable, which opens up the racecourse significantly,” warns Barceló. “It won’t be easy, the fleet will be very tight,” adds Cantero. Laughing, they admit these conditions will provoke what they and their coach, sailing legend Xabi Fernández, call “Guardiola’s tiki-taka because you have to tack a lot.” The wind comes from land, is shifty and unstable, broadening the racecourse, and the fleet will be quite compressed.
They confess they enjoy this “tiki-taka.” “It’s one of our favorite conditions, but it really stretches the course. You have to accept that anything can happen, for better or worse, but there will always be opportunities,” they say. That’s why patience is more crucial than ever, along with accepting they cannot control everything. “Consistency will be key. It’s better not to be too ambitious because that can backfire. These are conditions where frustration comes easily. We shouldn’t punish ourselves for mistakes. We need to manage the risk,” says the helmswoman as she outlines the strategy to reclaim the world crown they secured when they had only been training together for nine months.
“It’s better not to overreach because it can cost you, you have to control the risk,” adds Barceló, a two-time 49erFX world champion (2020 and 2025). “The feeling on the boat is that we keep getting stronger. If things look bad at some point, we don’t get down – quite the opposite,” Cantero continues. Because Xabi Fernández’s pupils are known as the “fighters” of the fleet. They never give up. The double Olympic medalist and sailing legend instills calm and confidence in them. “He’s always super positive, and that helps Paula and María enjoy the tough road toward Los Angeles 2028.”
“Our goal for the World Championship is gold, and that’s our mindset too. We feel the fleet is pushing harder every time, but we see ourselves as competent, and we’ve come to fight and defend the title,” they say.
“Our goal for the World Championship is gold, we’ve come to fight and defend the title,” adds Cantero, 49erFX world champion (2025).
New Format
World Sailing continues to experiment ahead of Los Angeles 2028 and will test another new format for the Medal Races—different from last year’s World Championship format, but also different from the Princess Sofia Trophy. This time, each crew’s score will be divided by 2.25 before the two Medal races on the final day, which will be contested by the top 10 teams.