The Final Wrap-Up from Mauritius The dust has settled, so it’s time to take a look back at what was a stellar final event in Mauritius to round out the 2017 GKA Kite-Surf World Tour. The event began with Airton Cozzolino and Matchu Lopes holding a clear shot at the men’s title. A burgeoning battle for third place was also brewing as Keahi de Aboitiz homed in on Paulino Pereira who had started this year’s tour in third and had held on to it throughout the season and into this last event in Mauritius. Paulino had consistently placed well in the predomonantly freestyle events, but with a wave-focused finale about to go down at One Eye, Keahi could clearly sense an opportunity to make a last ditch attempt at the podium, but he needed results to go his way. Paulino Pereira in the quarter-finals / Photo @Ydwer The tussle for the top spots promised an epic end to the tour but, before that could take place, there was a huge field of competitors who would have to vie for a place in the men’s division in the main event as 39 riders pitched into nearly two full days of qualifying …
2017 GKA Kite-Surf World Tour
Overall Champions and all Mauritius Content – GKA Kite-Surf World Tour
The Final Wrap-Up from Mauritius The dust has settled, so it’s time to take a look back at what was a stellar final event in Mauritius to round out the 2017 GKA Kite-Surf World Tour. The event began with Airton Cozzolino and Matchu Lopes holding a clear shot at the men’s title. A burgeoning battle for third place was also brewing as Keahi de Aboitiz homed in on Paulino Pereira who had started this year’s tour in third and had held on to it throughout the season and into this last event in Mauritius. Paulino had consistently placed well in the predomonantly freestyle events, but with a wave-focused finale about to go down at One Eye, Keahi could clearly sense an opportunity to make a last ditch attempt at the podium, but he needed results to go his way. Paulino Pereira in the quarter-finals / Photo @Ydwer The tussle for the top spots promised an epic end to the tour but, before that could take place, there was a huge field of competitors who would have to vie for a place in the men’s division in the main event as 39 riders pitched into nearly two full days of qualifying …
AIRton Clinches The Championship While KEAHI is King at One Eye
High drama as Airton takes the title after a six-year wait while Keahi rules the Eye. The GKA Mauritius finalists / Photo: @Ydwer So, where to begin after a dramatic end to the men’s division at the GKA Mauritius finals and the crowning of a new world champion today in Le Morne? Today began with the first heat of the quarter-finals and the stakes were high. The race for the championship title was down only to Matchu Lopes and Airton Cozzolino but Paulino Pereira would have to beat Brazilian charger Sebastian Ribeiro and then contend with Keahi de Aboitiz to still be holding his third place ranking by the end of the day. First up, Keahi took on Mauritian young gun Willow-River Tonkin-Shakes in heat 25. Willow has impressed everyone at this event having earned the Best Rookie award due to his string of strong performances and serial barrel-hunting but Keahi is about as tough an opponent as you can get and Willow couldn’t deal with his sheer mastery of One Eye. Willow-River Tonkin wins Best Rookie award / Photo: @Ydwer Ever the stoke-merchant, Willow wasn’t phased in the slightest and why should he be? For an 18 year-old guy …
AIRton Clinches The Championship While KEAHI is King at One Eye
High drama as Airton takes the title after a six-year wait while Keahi rules the Eye. The GKA Mauritius finalists / Photo: @Ydwer So, where to begin after a dramatic end to the men’s division at the GKA Mauritius finals and the crowning of a new world champion today in Le Morne? Today began with the first heat of the quarter-finals and the stakes were high. The race for the championship title was down only to Matchu Lopes and Airton Cozzolino but Paulino Pereira would have to beat Brazilian charger Sebastian Ribeiro and then contend with Keahi de Aboitiz to still be holding his third place ranking by the end of the day. First up, Keahi took on Mauritian young gun Willow-River Tonkin-Shakes in heat 25. Willow has impressed everyone at this event having earned the Best Rookie award due to his string of strong performances and serial barrel-hunting but Keahi is about as tough an opponent as you can get and Willow couldn’t deal with his sheer mastery of One Eye. Willow-River Tonkin wins Best Rookie award / Photo: @Ydwer Ever the stoke-merchant, Willow wasn’t phased in the slightest and why should he be? For an 18 year-old guy …
Approaching the Championship Deciding Heats – GKA Finals Mauritius
After a late start on Sunday, the decision was made to push ahead with round three in the men’s division with some tough draws and big heats from the off. Keahi won the first heat of the day against Marvin Louis in which he scored the only barrel of the day before Willow-Rivers Tonkin-Shakes got the biggest applause so far from a stoked home crowd after beating Moroccan rider Ismail Adarzane. Ismail stormed out to meet Willow in heat 19 but couldn’t make up the lost time in his heat quick enough / Photo: @Surfkitephoto Willow was ripping as ever but also enjoyed a pressure-free first half of the heat due to Ismail missing the start and losing himself valuable time to rack up a decent wave count. Experienced competitor Sandro Pisu then put together a consistent, steady performance against Oswald Smith in the third heat of the day, selecting his waves well and always positioning himself right on the incoming swell before Matchu Lopes secured his route to round four after beating Tarifan ripper Gustavo Arrojo in the fourth heat (heat 20). One of the best top turns in the game? Matchu in round three / Photo: …
71 Riders to Rise to the One Eye Challenge! Mauritius – GKA Kite-Surf World Tour Finals
One Eye Rears-up To Shows its Savage Side as a Packed Competitive Field Register for the Final Showdown of 2017 Matchu and Airton sign up for their biggest battle / Photo: @Ydwer It was a busy scene this morning at The Point in Le Morne where no less than 71 riders had amassed to register for the final event of the 2017 GKA Kite-Surf World Tour! 52 men and 19 women signed on the dotted line to take on the infamous One Eye over the next 12 days and today it bared its teeth as a three meter swell with 15 second period threw up some heaving waves that could be seen jacking up from afar before detonating on the reef. Sebastian Ribiero tempts fate after registration / Photo @Ydwer Airton Cozzolino, who currently leads the men’s division, came into this event hoping to retain his lead and take the official world championship title, but he’s not going to have an easy run of it as, in amongst the 50+ competitors he’ll be up against, there are some of the best waveriders on the planet – not least of which is Matchu Lopes who won the event here last year …
Airton Triumphs in a Big-Air Fest at Fehmarn: GKA Germany Day Four
Airton Triumphs in a Big-Air Fest at Fehmarn: GKA Germany Day Four Some of the riders might have been hoping for a bit of a rest today after an action-packed conclusion to the main event already done and dusted but, with a changeable looking forecast on the horizon across the coming days, race director Juan Antonio Aragon briefed the crew at 10.30 this morning for a 12 o’clock start to the special extra discipline: the Big-Air contest. Although the Big-Air events don’t count towards the overall championship, there’s a lot of pride at stake as all these riders love to purely go huge! There were four x four-man heats in round one with the top two riders from each heat progressing on to two x four-man semi-final heats. The top two riders from both semi-finals would then go on to a single four-man final. Keahi can / Photo: James Stanley The wind was blowing cross-offshore at the main beach so the decision was made to move the event across the peninsula to the lagoon next to the harbour where it was blowing cross-shore from the left and much more steadily. This presented the riders with a large, open expanse to …
Airton Aims to Secure a Commanding Tour Lead: GKA Germany Day One
Championship contender Mitu Monteiro crashes out early, while title chasers Matchu Lopes, Paulino Pereira and Airton Cozzolino remain in the final heats in this crucial penultimate contest of the season. Today’s action was fast paced in Fehmarn at the Kitesurf World Cup, the fourth stop on the 2017 GKA Kite-Surf World Tour, as riders progressed through the trials and the first four rounds of the main event in strong westerly winds. The HydroFoil Pro Tour and Kite Park League are also sharing the event site and running events in tandem with the GKA. In this busy beachside festival setting at surely the biggest kitesurfing event of the year, there’s a real buzz in the air at Sudstrand! Triumphant return for Julien / Photo: Joern Pollex The trials saw French rider Julien Kerneur make his return to the tour after breaking his leg at the Tarifa Strapless Pro last year and he surged into the main event alongside his Airush teammate, American Reider Decker. The flying Dutchman Steven Akkersdijk is also here and, although primarily known for being a Red Bull King of the Air big-air specialist, he showed his range and versatility on the surfboard as well. Beachside buzz / …
