Daecheon Beach, Boryeong — Reigning International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) kitefoil champion Maxime Nocher began the defence of his title in Korea in perfect style — notching up two bullets from two races. In light breezes that struggled to reach 8kts, the Monegasque rider put in a solid shift on the first day of the KiteFoil GoldCup’s opening stop of 2017 taking place on the Yellow Sea’s flat waters just off Boryeong’s pristine Daecheon Beach. At one point when a sea mist rolled in shrouding the otherwise clear blue skies, it appeared the 20 foilers who had journeyed from 13 countries around the globe might be denied any action with the breeze initially refusing to play ball. But when skies cleared the wind filled in sufficiently for the foilers to take to the water. Race officials were able to get several races away in the four-stop GoldCup’s first east Asian foray, which is hosted and sponsored by the Korea Windsurfing Kitesurfing Federation, and supported by Boryeong City. Nocher demonstrated his dominance and coolness under fire, leading both races of the two-lap windward-leeward course from start to finish signal barely 13 minutes later, putting his newly-launched Enata 19m kite and Enata foil …