Take a closer look at the PARADOXA with Light Board Corp new Team Rider Olivier Comazzi

The Light Board Corp “Army of Amateurs” is growing and the pioneers in hollow construction, have just welcomed Olivier Comazzi, National SUP Champion and waterman from Switzerland, who has just kicked off his racing season strong winning the Long Distance race at the 2nd stop of the Alpine Lakes Tour – Canal De Savieres et Lac Du Bourget – on his new 14×21 PARADOXA.

“I’m pretty happy to see the growth of the 2024 LIGHT SUP Race Team,” said Gerd Weisner, Co-Founder of Light Board Corp. “Olivier dropped by to get a hand on his new PARADOXA 21. Olivier tested the board already during the ICF World Championships last year and we are happy to see him again on our boards. He is a paddler with lots of success in the SUP Swiss Tour and a National Champion but also on the French race circuit. He has buckets of experience and knows what he is looking for. I can assure after his first session on his new board he was stoked again about the paradox of speed and stability, strength-stiffness and light weight.”

Photo by Philippe Millet

Hi Olivier, welcome to TotalSUP! Congratulations on joining the LIGHT Riders! Could you tell us more about yourself and how did your pro SUP adventure start?

Thank you very much for taking an interest in me. Thanks also for my Light Board Corp adventure, it’s a joy to be part of the Team. Gerd Weisner and all the Light paddlers I’ve met at  different races are really super nice, so it’s a pleasure.

I’m a French, 47 year old amateur stand-up paddler living in Switzerland. I come from other sports mostly skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking and more. But about eight years ago I found my happiness in SUP racing because it was less aggressive than other sports and it retained a lot of fun, the glide, the competitions, and above all the water and the waves which I love.

So when I started, there were already quite a few races in the Alps region, Switzerland and France.
We moved around quite a bit with the SUP Spirit Club from Sion and “The Paddle” Club from Villeneuve for the different stages of the “Alpine Lake Tour”. Then gradually I began to participate in other national and international races.

Photo by Philippe Millet

Let’s get right into it and chat about the White Beauty! You’ve just picked up the 14×21 LIGHTBOARDCORP® PARADOXA, what was your first impression?

I had the chance to test the first prototypes of PARADOXA at the ICF World Championships in Thailand last year and I fell in love immediately. This board has everything I had been looking for for a long time! It’s rigid, strong, light, fast and stable, what more could you ask for?

I immediately felt at ease on this board. The most impressive thing for me is its stability when the water starts to move, you can stay focused on your paddle and you don’t have to worry about balance. Its secondary stability is incredible!

Could you tell us about your collaboration with Light Board Corp?

I met Gerd (The Boss) when I ordered my first Light Board Corp board, the “Signature V2” (a very versatile board for all types of races and incredible in light downwinds.)

Gerd is really a super nice guy, attentive, accommodating, and it was always a pleasure to catch up with him during different races with his Teammates that I was able to meet such as Hermann Husslein or Peter Weidert. I had a good feeling with them! I understand that they all contributed to the testing and improvement of the prototypes of this new PARADOXA board.

In addition, Peter made several podiums with this board at the ICF World Championships in Thailand, so it was with complete confidence that I came back to Gerd after having tried the PARADOXA myself.

Gerd Weisner’s Tech Talk about the LIGHTBOARDCORP® PARADOXA board design

There’s so much hype around the PARADOXA and we want the details! What are the key features that you look for in a racing board and does your PARADOXA meet them?

Personally, I was looking for a fast, stable and versatile flat water board, on which I could stay comfortable paddling hard even if the wind and choppy waves picked up. A “one for all” board almost. I had tried the 22 which is almost as fast and much more stable, but for my 72 kg and my practice oriented around flat water, the 21 suits me better.

I live near the great Alpine lakes and sometimes the winds pick up quickly here, the weather can change quickly too. With the 14×21 PARADOXA, I no longer have to worry about this problem, it goes well everywhere, from flat to slightly choppy conditions and I can do almost anything with it.

No more wondering if I made the right board choice before a race, I have more peace of mind. Obviously I’ve kept another wider board in my quiver which I use in bigger conditions, for example on the ocean, or in big conditions races.

Photo by Alexis Fernet

Could you share your thoughts on the following aspects of your PARADOXA:

Stability:

When it comes to stability, my impression is a very slight roll on the flat, which gives the possibility of steering the board with the feet (left/right) it is nervous, and you can make turns simply by pressing on one side or the other.

Then comes secondary stability and that’s huge! For example, you can rock the board and raise one leg in the air and it still holds without tipping over.

Photo by Philippe Millet

Acceleration and speed:

The board is light, so the acceleration is super fast, you can have fun catching the slightest mini bumps that pass by.

It maintains its speed very well once launched and you have the impression of staying at your maximum speed with less fatigue.

Glide:

As I mentioned previously, it excels on the flat and remains reassuring when it starts to get a little rough. How it performs on flat vs choppy waters: I tested it on Geneva lake with chop and I didn’t have any problems, even in the side wind, I was still able to play with the bumps.

This is though a very subjective question because stability also depends on the skill of each person.
For my part, as I’m a lake paddler, for example, in close side chop of 30/40cm high, I was still able to go easily and have fun taking bumps, and from 50cm side and more it becomes complicated and I reach my balance limits. Of course in headwinds and downwinds there are no problems. So for a 21″ wide board, it’s way more stable than anything I’ve experienced before.

Photo by Alexis Fernet

Could this be a board for aspiring SUP racers just entering the competitive circuit?

Of course, this board is so reassuring, versatile, light and efficient that it could perfectly suit as many people as possible thanks to the different width variations.

What are your SUP plans?

My first plans were the Swiss and French Championships this year. As for the rest of the season, I would also have to deal with my work as a nurse. I often have to work weekends and it’s sometimes complicated to take time off, lol.) So nothing is sure yet.

Photo by Philippe Millet

To find out more about LIGHTBOARDCORP® designs, visit lightboardcorp.com  and check out our full interview with Gerd Weisner

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