The finals for both the Men and Women were held today at Dakhla Spirit, with perfect conditions for the last day of Competition in Morocco. Women’s Final The level of riding from all 4 female finalists was incredible throughout this heat, showing how female freestyle is evolving rapidly throughout each event. Paula Novotna had a storming start to the final, opening with a powered Backside 313. She followed it up with an impressive Heart Attack scoring 8.43 points. The Czech rider was clearly on good form today for this final, and had her eye on a podium spot from the start. She had a good lead for the start of the heat until Mikaili Sol Landed a massive 8.67 Back Mobe and shot up to the first position. Therese Taabbel landed an incredible Slim Chance scoring 7.87 points for her 5th attempt. Francesca Bagnoli from Italy worked her way through her attempts gradually, and ended her heat with an outstanding Hinterberger Mobe scoring her 9.33 and placing her in 2nd position, just 0.01 points behind Mikaili Sol! The Women’s Final results were: 1st Mikaili Sol – Brazil 2nd Francesca Bagnoli – Italy 3rd Paula Novotna – Czech Republic 4th Therese …
kiteboarding event
WKC Dakhla – Elite Championship – Day Four
The penultimate day of the Elite Championship in Dakhla was blessed once again with ideal freestyle wind conditions. The competition commenced at 1pm, completing the Women’s Semi-finals and the Men’s Small Final. Women’s Semi – Finals Heat 7 Heat 7 was first in sequence. 14 year old Mikaili Sol from Brazil put on a strong performance that once again served to enhance her reputation as a top freestyle kiteboarder. With a very solid array of tricks, she received many high scores including a 9.4 KGB and a 9.73 Double Heart Attack. Francesca Bagnoli kept up a steady rhythm behind her, landing a powered Heart Attack scoring 8.6 points. She advances to tomorrow’s finals together with Sol. Heat 8 Therese Taabbel performed solidly for Heat 8, as the landed a Slim Chance scoring 8.33. Although she crashed her last two attempts, she had accumulated a good lead and advanced into the final. Paula Novotna from the Czech republic joins her after also riding a consistent heat and gaining some high scores. Men’s Small Final Gianmaria Coccoluto from Italy was once again on fine form today, as he successfully landed trick after trick, including a powerful 317. Val Garat managed 4 solid …
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 …
Red Bull King of the Air 2019 Entries
The Red Bull King of the Air 2019 will return to Kite Beach in Cape Town and will have a window period of two weeks, between the 26th January and 10th February 2019. Video entries are now open for the most badass, big-air Kiteboarding contest in the world before 30th November. 2019 will see the top nine from last year, go up against nine riders chosen from the video entries contest and wildcards. Riders will have to master the elements in an attempt to rule the skies – leaving a wake in the atmosphere with the ultimate goal of being crowned King of the Air 2019. Enter your video here to be considered for a spot at Red Bull King of the Air 2019.
WKC Akyaka – Podium
WKC Akyaka came to an end. Here is the podium. WKC Turkey is a wrap! An exceptional event, with all athletes performing to an extremely high level. We are witnessing a new generation of rising freestyle talent, and these are exciting times. The final standings for the event are as follows: Men: 1st Carlos Mario 2nd Adeuri Corniel 3rd Maxime Chabloz 4th Valentin Rodriguez 5th Youri Zoon 6th Set Teixeria 7th Stefan Spiesberger 8th Alex Pastor Women: 1st Mikaili Sol 2nd Paula Novotna 3rd Francesca Bagnoli 4th Claudia Leon The full rankings can be viewed here. All of the week’s action from the LIVE stream can be re-watched on our YouTube Channel. Thanks to everyone for tuning in, and to the organizers and athletes for this incredible first stop of the WKC. View all results and ladders for the competition here. The next event for the WKC with be in Dakhla, Morocco, next November. WKC Media Source: worldkiteboardingchampionships.com
WKC Akyaka – Day Two
Day Two in Akyaka, Turkey was another complete day of freestyle action. Solid wind conditions throughout the day allowed for the completion of Round 2 for both the Men and Women, and the first two heats of Round 3 for the Men. For the Freestyle discipline, all riders get 7 trick attempts during their heat, with the top 4 scores counting. The riders are judged on a combination of height, power, technical difficulty, execution and innovation. All the performed tricks are divided into different categories. What is very clear at this event, is that there is no such thing as an easy heat. All riders have fought extremely hard right from the first round, the level has increased exponentially since last year, so each heat means the riders have to give it their all, or they will quickly be left behind. Men’s Round 2 Heat 9 was the first of the day, picking up from yesterday, the heat was resumed from the 4th trick attempt. Posito Martinez from the Dominican Republic continued to build upon his good performance from yesterday, landing each trick attempt and securing his spot in Round 3. Joining him was Stefan Spiessberger from Austria, who remained …
