We were welcomed once again with perfect conditions in Cumbuco, Brazil for Day One of the Elite Championship. The Men’s Qualifier Championship was first in sequence as the final heat still needed to be completed, followed by Rounds 1 and 2 of the Men’s Elite Championship. Men’s Qualifier Championship Final There were four contenders for this impressive Men’s Final, that commenced at 9.30 am at the beautiful spot of Duro Beach. Louka Pitot from France had another fantastic start, showing the same clean precision he had performed with on previous days. He landed a great KGB 5, Backside 315 and a 317. Juan Rodriguez from Colombia has truly made a name for himself during this Qualifier Championship event, and opened with a powerful Double Hinterberger Mobe 5. Local rider Erick Anderson rode with style and power, clearly familiar and comfortable with the conditions at his home spot. He performed a spectacular Slim 7 scoring 8.3 points. Alex Neto from Brazil struggled for the start of his heat but gradually built up his scores as the heat progressed. It was a spectacular final that all came down to the last two trick attempts. The final Qualifier results are: 1 – Erick …
Qualifier Championship
WKC Cumbuco – Qualifier Championship – Day Two
The day commenced with ideal conditions and a promising forecast at Duro Beach, Cumbuco, allowing for the completion of full Women’s Qualifier Championship, and up to the third trick attempt of the Men’s Qualifier final. Heat 6 The completion of Heat 6 was first in sequence. Here, Brazilian athlete Alex Neto stormed his way through, landing a powered Slim 7 scoring him 8.27 points. He continued to rack up the scores and passed directly through to Round 3. Stino Mul and Erisverton Ribeiro pass through to Round 2. Heat 7 Heat 7 saw local rider Manoel Soares battle agains Moroccan Jonas Ouahmid, both riders hoping to advance directly to Round 3. Manoel started strong, landing a powered Backside 317, and continued his good riding with a Front Blind Mobe and Backmobe 5. Ouahmid commenced with a Double Heart Attack followed by a Slim 5. The strong performance from Soares put him through to Round 3, and Ouhmid together with Mendes pass through to Round 2. Heat 8 Our Qualifier Championship winner from Dakhla, Gianmaria Coccoluto, started the event with a bang, landing a big Front Blind Mobe followed by a powered Backside 317. He continued racking up the scores and …
WKC Cumbuco – Qualifier Championship – Day One
The WKC once again returns to the spectacular Duro Beach, Cumbuco, Brazil for our final event of the year. The registration for the Qualifier Championship commenced at 9am, and saw a fantastic turn out of 27 men and 8 women from 14 different countries sign up. The Qualifier Championship is an opportunity for the riders to enter into the Elite for 2019, but also an opportunity to win the wildcard into the Elite Championship event here this week. The Qualifier Championship is a ideal opportunity to spot new up-and-coming talent from local and international riders. The competition commenced at 1.30 pm local time. The winners from the heats in Round 1 advance directly to Round 3. Those placing 2nd and 3rd pass to Round 2, and those finishing 4th are eliminated from the Qualifier Championship. Men’s Round 1 Heat 1 The level was high from the very start, and Louka Pitot from France set the tone from the get go. He stormed through his first heat of the competition landing a varied array of tricks including a clean Backside 315 and Crowmobe 5. He cleared his way directly through to Round 3. Juan Rodriguez from Colombia also performed well and …
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 Dakhla – Qualifier Championship – Day One
The Qualifier Championship kicked off today in Dakhla, Morocco, with optimal kite conditions at this world famous stop. The registration took place at 9am at Dakhla Spirit, with 27 men and 7 women from over 12 different nationalities competing. Rounds 1 and 2 were completed for the Men, and Round 1 for the Women. Men’s Qualifier Round 1 Heat 1 saw two Moroccan riders, Abdrahim Moutatoukil and Jonas Ouahmid, competing against Aron Roslee from South Africa, and Elite competitor Gianmaria Coccoluto from Italy. Coccoluto’s experience put him in a comfortable first place, landing each of his 7 trick attempts. Jonas Ouahmidfollowed through to the next round together with Abdrahim Moutatoukil. Heat 2 went to young French athlete Edgar Ulrich, who landed several good tricks including a nice 317 scoring 7.73. He passes through followed by Kalu de Sousa from Brazil. Elite rider Nico Delmas also passes through, and YassineBouceta landed in 4th. Heat 3 was a great one for French rider Louka Pitot, who rode very consistently and gained a solid lead. Ivanildo Fernades from Brasil cruised though to the next round behind him, despite crashing three trick attempts. Elite rider Paul Serinstruggled slightly during the heat, but still placed …
