La Grande Motte will stage next year's European Championships of the 49er and Nacra 17 classes in what will be an important warm-up for the Olympic regatta ©49er and Nacra Sailing

French waters will play host to one of the last major sailing events before next year’s Olympic Games when La Grande Motte will stage the European Championship of the 49er and Nacra 17 classes.

The popular seaside resort and port in the south of France will offer competitors typical Mediterranean conditions that they can expect during the Olympic sailing regatta in Marseille.

The Championships, due to take place between May 7 and 12, is also expected to act as a final selection trials for a number of countries.

The Nacra 17 class held its World Championship in La Grande Motte in 2017, when the gold medal was won by Britain’s Ben Saxton and Katie Dabson.

Competitors competing in the European Championship of the 49er and Nacra 17 classes will experience similar Mediterranean conditions to those expected in Marseille, hosts of the Olympic event ©Paris 2024
Competitors competing in the European Championship of the 49er and Nacra 17 classes will experience similar Mediterranean conditions to those expected in Marseille, hosts of the Olympic event ©Paris 2024

The venue, about 100 miles from Marseille, is one of the French fleets home training venues in the foiling category.

The town has a long history of hosting sailing championships and many local capabilities for running regattas.

The Yacht Club de la Grande Motte will be the official host club and final racing will occur off the town sea front of the town square for spectators to be part of the action.

The event, which is open to non-European competitors, was held in Aarhus last year when the winners included Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze of Brazil, the Olympic gold medallists at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Brazil's double Olympic champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze won the 49erFX at last year's European Championships in Aarhus ©Getty Images
Brazil's double Olympic champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze won the 49erFX at last year's European Championships in Aarhus ©Getty Images

This year’s 49er, FX, and Nacra 17 European Championships are due to held at Vilamoura in Portugal from October 10 to 15.

The event will also be a critical one in the lead up to Paris 2024 and will likely be the European continental qualifier for the Olympics.

Additionally, many nations will use this championship as part of their internal selection process to determine which athletes will be appointed to their Olympic teams.