Competition commenced at 12 midday with optimal conditions and a high tide. Round 2 for the Men was completed together with Round 1 for the Women. Heat 1 – French rider Louka Pitot opened the day with a solid Front Blind Mobe and Double Heart Attack, a nice start for Heat 1. Austrian rider Stefan Spiessberger crashed his first attempt but made up for it landing solid tricks for his remaining attempts including a Front Blind Mobe and a Backside 315. His perseverance was rewarded with a spot in Round 3. Joining him was Louka Pitot who rode a good heat playing it safe and locking down his spot in the next round. Heat 2 – There were difficulties to complete Heat 2 after several stops and starts due to dropping wind conditions. After a short lunch break the heat was finally resumed at 3.30 pm starting with the 4th attempt. Young rider Maxime Chabloz from Switzerland landed a good array of tricks, riding his 13m kite. His Slim 7 scored him 7.77 points. Anthar Racca from Mexico remained close behind him throughout the heat. It all come down to the final trick attempts, where Raccalanded a powered Backside 317 …
2018 WKC
WKC Dakhla – Elite Championship – Day One
The top freestyle kiteboarders have all arrived in Dakhla for the start of what is set to be an incredible week of action. The wind took longer to kick in today, and the Round 1 for the Men commenced at 3pm. The full round was concluded by 6pm. Heat 1 – The first heat of the day was a close one for all three riders, Valentin Garat from France, Valentin Rodriguez from Colombia and Louka Pitot from France/Mauritius. Rodriguez was keen to once again make a name for himself at this event, and managed to pull out some impressive riding from the very start, including a massive Heart Attack 5 scoring 9.03. He just managed to place himself above Garat, meaning he passes directly to Round 3. Garat rode a good heat, despite two crashed trick attempts, and finished in second position followed by Louka Pitot who started the heat well with a Front Blind Mobe and well executed Backside 315, but failed on his last two attempts. Both Garat and Pitot will have another chance in Round 2. Heat 2 – Former World Champion Alex Pastor came up against the winnner from yesterday’s Qualifier Championship, Gianmaria Coccoluto, and Lituanian …
WKC Dakhla – Qualifier Championship – Finals Day
Dakhla once again delivered the goods for Day Three of the Qualifier event. The wind blowed a steady 20 knots, allowing the completion of all the Qualifier Championship finals in optimal conditions. Women’s Finals The ladies were on fire for the start of the female finals, fully powered up and ready to go. Francesca Bagnoli performed an outstanding Heart Attack scoring 9.17 points. She rode a fantastic heat landing trick after trick with power and style. Rita Arnaus from Spain kept up to her rhythm, landing a clean set of tricks including a Backside 313 and Back to Blind. Therese Taabbel, Danish Champion, had a difficult start crashing her first two trick attempts, but she recuperated landing a great S-bend to Blind, followed by a Back to Blind. Pippa Van Iersel,young rider from the Netherlands, went for several good, powerful tricks, but struggled to land and crashed various attempts. She made up for it with an impressive Heart Attack on her 6th trick attempt, but it wasn’t enough to climb further up the ladder. It was a thrilling final from all 4 participants, showing outstanding level and talent for the Qualifier Championship Final. Qualifier Championship Women’s Final Results – 1st …
WKC Dakhla – Qualifier Championship – Day Two
The day started off strong for Day Two of the Qualifier Championship in Dakhla, Morocco, with the wind blowing over 25 knots from the early morning. The Men’s Rounds 3 and 4 were completed, together with the Women’s Small Final. Heat 13 – Heat 13 was the first in sequence, and the athletes hit the water with the wind pumping and the tide high at 10.30 am. Belgian/Spanish rider Jerome Cloetens was on fine form for the start of the day, opening with several good tricks, including a nice Double Heart Attack. He clinched the spot in the Semi-Final, together with Frenchman Nico Delmas, who knocked out Sergei Borisov by just 0.01 points, a very tight ending to this first heat of the day. Heat 14 – Four french athletes came together for Heat 14, each one wanting to beat his fellow team mate for a chance to advance to the semis. Each athlete pushed to go bigger, but struggled to land their attempts due to the increasing wind conditions. Arthur Guillebert and Louka Pitot managed to keep a lead on their competitors, trying their best to perform solid tricks in the gusty wind conditions. Their effort paid off as …
WKC Akyaka – Day Four
WKC Akyaka – Report from the Finals Day The competition commenced at 2pm in Akyaka, Turkey today, with the Small Final, the Women’s Final and the Men’s Final all completed in perfect wind conditions. Men’s Small final was first in sequence, and Youri Zoon, former World Champion from the Netherlands was on fine form from the first moment. He pulled out some solid tricks including a good BS317 and KGB5, and finished with an amazing Slim 7 which scored him 9 points. The dutch rider was happy with his performance, which placed him in 5th place for this first event of the year. Set Teixeira from Brazil was close behind him landing some great tricks including a nice KGB5 scoring 7.83. He fought hard but finished just behind Zoon in 6th place. Stefan Spiessberger from Austria takes 7th place, landing several good, technical tricks, and Alex Pastor from Spain takes the 8th position, riding well but crashing three of his trick attempts. The level of the riding was high throughout this heat, and all athletes performed with power and skill. The Women’s final was next in sequence, and the young Mikaili Sol wasted no time at all, opening with a …
