The last competition of 2025 was held in Thailand under the auspices of the IJSBA, an organisation that is not part of the UIM, the only officially recognised federation. This is an important point, as the IJSBA remains inferior to the UIM World Championship, the true benchmark for women’s aquabiking.
Monaco’s Lisa Caussin-Battaglia chose to compete in the IJSBA events, banking on a lower level of competition. This decision can largely be explained by economic realities: in the IJSBA, many competitors (20 competitors) do not compete in all the events of the season, as international travel represents a considerable financial cost that is entirely borne by the riders. Conversely, only the UIM championship manages to bring together all the best athletes for each round, with transport costs covered by the organisation, thus guaranteeing a consistently high level of competition.
It was therefore in a theoretically more favourable context that Lisa Caussin-Battaglia hoped to be among the frontrunners in this Thai event, which combined both the World Series final and the IJSBA World Cup. However, the result was clear: despite a field of nine competitors, the Monegasque pilot was never able to compete.
Having already failed at the previous stage in Belgium, no tangible progress was observed. Neither the equipment nor the physical preparation seemed to have improved significantly. The four races resulted in rankings of P6, P6, P7 and P8, revealing a glaring lack of performance, finishing P7 in the overall final standings in both the World Series and the World Cup.
Systematically poor starts immediately compromised each race, putting the Monegasque athlete off the pace from the very first metres. At this level, even in a partially competitive championship, this type of failure cannot be attributed to chance but rather to insufficient preparation and questionable technical choices.
At the end of this last event of the season, the assessment is harsh. By opting for a women’s championship considered to be less competitive, in the hope of shining there, Lisa Caussin-Battaglia failed to achieve her goal. This end to the season highlights the limitations of a sporting strategy that raises serious questions. A comprehensive review – sporting, technical and structural – now appears essential if the Monegasque driver wishes to return to a level that meets international standards.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
