A penultimate day of competition took place in stiller conditions in Sardinia ©IKA

Nico Parlier maintained his lead at the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) KiteFoil GoldCup taking place on Poetto Beach in Cagliari after another superb set of performances on the penultimate day of competition.

The Frenchman followed his three wins yesterday with another two today before slipping to second in his final outing.

He now lies on 11 points, once his sixth place finish on day one - the only time he has finished outside the top two in nine races so far - is discarded.

Fellow countryman Axel Mazells lies second overall on 23 points after winning today's final race.

Defending champion Maxime Nocher, now representing Monaco, lies a further three points back in third.

British teenager Guy Bridge stayed fourth, on 31 points.

Racing took place in calmer conditions today than the stormy waters encountered yesterday ©IKA
Racing took place in calmer conditions today than the stormy waters encountered yesterday ©IKA

His mother Steph remains the leader in the women's standings heading into tomorrow's finale.

She lies 22nd overall.

France's Anais Mai Desjardins is second in the women's category and 33rd overall while Sabrina Schlossnikel of Germany sits third and 38th.

Kiteboarding is an extreme sport which combines wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding and gymnastics.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed last year between the International Kiteboarding Association, World Sailing and the Global Kitesports Association to achieve a new governance structure for the discipline.