Conditions proved to be far from ideal today, meaning the organisers could only squeeze in one race on the penultimate day of competition.

Monaco's Maxime Nocher managed to narrowly claim the win to remain in the frame to retain his IKA KiteFoil GoldCup title.

His win over training partner Axel Mazella of France pushed him up to second place in the standings after a forgettable day two of the competition.

However, after securing a third place finish, Bridge holds his spot as overall leader going into the final day of racing.

With good wind forecast and just four points separating the top three riders, the competition is poised for a sublime climax at the Pearl.

Slovenia's Toni Vodisek also remains very much in the hunt after his sublime performance yesterday where he won four out of day two's six races, but his fifth place today caused him to slip down to third overall.

For more than an hour race organisers waited and helped riders to get onto the course but conditions were unsuitable for competition.

When action finally got underway Nocher rarely looked back and led all the way.

"I'm so happy," said the Frenchman.

"It's a big fight with Olly Bridge and Axel Mazella for the world title, so every race you push hard and try to win. 

"Yesterday, I made so many mistakes and broke my foil but today I was clear and fast, and I'm pleased."

Elsewhere, Russia's Elena Kalinina looks set to be crowned as the winner in the women's competition after she maintained her 56 point lead over her nearest rival Gina Hewson of Australia.

The competition, which is being hosted by the Qatar Sailing and Marine Sports Association, is scheduled to conclude tomorrow.