Portimao Kitesurf World Championships
href="http://www.outdoornewswire.com/v/current/htdocs/etc/sa.php/63617465676f72794c6162656c3d4b697465626f617264696e67266c6f636174696f6e3d323030362f30362f313135303438323331382672737349643d33383233">Portimao Kitesurf World Championships
Portimão, Portugal - There was plenty of exciting action on the water for the second day of the Portimão Kitesurf World Championships 2006. Overcast skies were ominous in the morning, however, the bad weather held off until mid day when there was about an hour postponement in the competition to let the first of several squalls pass. The wind was even better than the first day, in the morning averaging from 18-20 knots, fluctuating somewhat with the rain storms, and becoming very strong for the afternoon heats, hitting as much as 25 knots before the event was called for the day due to the foul weather. Conditions were pretty extreme with waves reaching 4-6 feet as the day wore on. The strong downwind current, the choppy shorebreak and the changing tide also wreaked havoc on riders trying to land smoothly and perform tricks close to the beach.
The first competitors took to the water at 10:30 am and the riders seemed to take the first round to warm up. Local Portuguese riders gave a good effort but were no match to the seasoned regulars on tour. Leshai Miller (Naish, Israel) won the award for the most powerful kiting of the day nailing the best back mobe, and going huge on every move, however, he wasn't able to land many of his tricks which held him back. Jan Korycki (Naish, Poland) was fired up, advancing three rounds displaying solid, powerful riding including a sweet Pete Rose, big kiteloops and back mobes, before being halted by Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal) in the fourth. Alberto Rondina (Cabrinha), the recent Italian champion, was also on fire passing to the third round with some nice kiteloop slims and blindjudges, to the thrill of his family cheering him on the beach.
Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands) ended Rondina's charge with some bold kiting, firing off a blind judge 3 and an arsenal of handlepass moves.
Youri's big, fast, fluid style with the kite at extreme angles is reminiscent of Ruben Lenten (still missing in action due to an ankle injury) and keeps the crowd on the edge of their seats. Cesar Portas (North, Spain) ended Youri's run in the fourth round with a close 2-1 judge's vote. Youri had the kite lower, firing off the same moves, such as a raley 3, mobe, slim, and KGB, however, Cesar was a bit more technical landing the higher scored switch KGB and back mobe to blind.
Cesar, struggled in the next round against fellow North teammate, Mallory De la Villemarque (France), breaking his board and not landing many tricks, overpowered with the oncoming storm's higher winds. Mallory nailed a switch mobe and switch aerial back to blind, keeping his kite lower and more powered, securing the win, commenting afterwards he had fun but sometimes felt like he was caught in a washing machine when crashing in the waves.
Madison Van Heurck (Naish, USVI), the youngest and smallest male on tour braved the elements, often getting lost behind the waves pulling huge moves, rattling off a full arsenal of handle pass tricks, advancing to the fourth round before losing his kite in the waves and shorewash against Mallory. Guilly Brandão (RRD, Brazil) also had a nice comeback charge in the doubles. His smooth, flowing riding style with good combination moves helped him advance to the fourth round before he was halted by Mikael Blomvall (JN Kites, Sweden).
Mikael Blomvall had an epic day, his best ever on the PKRA tour, even having to borrow kites along the way to the finals. After Guilly, Mikael took on Rui Meira in a close heat. Rui ripped, hitting a big kiteloop handlepass (L3) and back mobe but carried his kite higher and missed most of his landings in the waves. The nailbiting action continued against Mallory, who had a slick nosegrab slim but also carried less variety and power. And in the final men's heat of the day, Mikael battled it out with Etienne Lhote (F-One France). Etienne came out with a bang, blasting off a wave for a big air jump and getting the crowd cheering with a wave. Mikael, by this time tired and running out of energy, was still able to execute his textbook perfect KGB, slim, mobe and switch mobe, however lost a lot of time when he was ripped out of his board near the end of the heat. Etienne was not able to capitalize though, breaking his board going for a huge L3, coming in to switch it out but never managing to wrack up any more strong moves. Tomorrow Mikael will continue his charge for the winner's podium, knowing he has at least secured 4th place overall.
The stand out of the day for the women was Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland). Ania was on fire, first charging past Laima Baradaite (Cabrinha, Lithuania) then Angela Peral (North, Spain), who got lost in the waves and struggled to land her tricks. She went on to meet up with Katja Roose (Airrush, Netherlands), who was also having a strong day, having bested Jalou Langeree (Naish, Netherlands) in a close heat just prior, both with their families cheering them on from the beach. Unfortunately, Katja's lines were tangled from the mid day storm that even blew parts of the judge's tower away, and she had to switch bars, not knowing that the replacement was the wrong size causing her kite to crash due to no power and ending her winning run.
Ania seized the opportunity to continue her charge for the winner's podium taking on Bruna Kajiya (Best, Brazil) next. They seemed to match trick for trick, but in a close 3-2 judge's vote, Ania edged out the victory, displaying more moves on both tacks and riding with a ton of confidence and power. The day ended with Ania winning the quarterfinals against Karolina Winkoloska (Naish, Poland), who was seemingly washed downwind and unable to perform in the choppy water, before more rain brought the action to a halt until tomorrow.
Tonight the party is at the XL bar starting at 10 pm in the town of Alvor.
There should be a good turn out as most of the riders are finished the freestyle main event. For those who want to continue into the wee hours, the Katedral Disco is open every night from 2 am.
The skippers meeting at 10 am, with first possible start at 10:30 am.
Portimão, Portugal - There was plenty of exciting action on the water for the second day of the Portimão Kitesurf World Championships 2006. Overcast skies were ominous in the morning, however, the bad weather held off until mid day when there was about an hour postponement in the competition to let the first of several squalls pass. The wind was even better than the first day, in the morning averaging from 18-20 knots, fluctuating somewhat with the rain storms, and becoming very strong for the afternoon heats, hitting as much as 25 knots before the event was called for the day due to the foul weather. Conditions were pretty extreme with waves reaching 4-6 feet as the day wore on. The strong downwind current, the choppy shorebreak and the changing tide also wreaked havoc on riders trying to land smoothly and perform tricks close to the beach.
The first competitors took to the water at 10:30 am and the riders seemed to take the first round to warm up. Local Portuguese riders gave a good effort but were no match to the seasoned regulars on tour. Leshai Miller (Naish, Israel) won the award for the most powerful kiting of the day nailing the best back mobe, and going huge on every move, however, he wasn't able to land many of his tricks which held him back. Jan Korycki (Naish, Poland) was fired up, advancing three rounds displaying solid, powerful riding including a sweet Pete Rose, big kiteloops and back mobes, before being halted by Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal) in the fourth. Alberto Rondina (Cabrinha), the recent Italian champion, was also on fire passing to the third round with some nice kiteloop slims and blindjudges, to the thrill of his family cheering him on the beach.
Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands) ended Rondina's charge with some bold kiting, firing off a blind judge 3 and an arsenal of handlepass moves.
Youri's big, fast, fluid style with the kite at extreme angles is reminiscent of Ruben Lenten (still missing in action due to an ankle injury) and keeps the crowd on the edge of their seats. Cesar Portas (North, Spain) ended Youri's run in the fourth round with a close 2-1 judge's vote. Youri had the kite lower, firing off the same moves, such as a raley 3, mobe, slim, and KGB, however, Cesar was a bit more technical landing the higher scored switch KGB and back mobe to blind.
Cesar, struggled in the next round against fellow North teammate, Mallory De la Villemarque (France), breaking his board and not landing many tricks, overpowered with the oncoming storm's higher winds. Mallory nailed a switch mobe and switch aerial back to blind, keeping his kite lower and more powered, securing the win, commenting afterwards he had fun but sometimes felt like he was caught in a washing machine when crashing in the waves.
Madison Van Heurck (Naish, USVI), the youngest and smallest male on tour braved the elements, often getting lost behind the waves pulling huge moves, rattling off a full arsenal of handle pass tricks, advancing to the fourth round before losing his kite in the waves and shorewash against Mallory. Guilly Brandão (RRD, Brazil) also had a nice comeback charge in the doubles. His smooth, flowing riding style with good combination moves helped him advance to the fourth round before he was halted by Mikael Blomvall (JN Kites, Sweden).
Mikael Blomvall had an epic day, his best ever on the PKRA tour, even having to borrow kites along the way to the finals. After Guilly, Mikael took on Rui Meira in a close heat. Rui ripped, hitting a big kiteloop handlepass (L3) and back mobe but carried his kite higher and missed most of his landings in the waves. The nailbiting action continued against Mallory, who had a slick nosegrab slim but also carried less variety and power. And in the final men's heat of the day, Mikael battled it out with Etienne Lhote (F-One France). Etienne came out with a bang, blasting off a wave for a big air jump and getting the crowd cheering with a wave. Mikael, by this time tired and running out of energy, was still able to execute his textbook perfect KGB, slim, mobe and switch mobe, however lost a lot of time when he was ripped out of his board near the end of the heat. Etienne was not able to capitalize though, breaking his board going for a huge L3, coming in to switch it out but never managing to wrack up any more strong moves. Tomorrow Mikael will continue his charge for the winner's podium, knowing he has at least secured 4th place overall.
The stand out of the day for the women was Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland). Ania was on fire, first charging past Laima Baradaite (Cabrinha, Lithuania) then Angela Peral (North, Spain), who got lost in the waves and struggled to land her tricks. She went on to meet up with Katja Roose (Airrush, Netherlands), who was also having a strong day, having bested Jalou Langeree (Naish, Netherlands) in a close heat just prior, both with their families cheering them on from the beach. Unfortunately, Katja's lines were tangled from the mid day storm that even blew parts of the judge's tower away, and she had to switch bars, not knowing that the replacement was the wrong size causing her kite to crash due to no power and ending her winning run.
Ania seized the opportunity to continue her charge for the winner's podium taking on Bruna Kajiya (Best, Brazil) next. They seemed to match trick for trick, but in a close 3-2 judge's vote, Ania edged out the victory, displaying more moves on both tacks and riding with a ton of confidence and power. The day ended with Ania winning the quarterfinals against Karolina Winkoloska (Naish, Poland), who was seemingly washed downwind and unable to perform in the choppy water, before more rain brought the action to a halt until tomorrow.
Tonight the party is at the XL bar starting at 10 pm in the town of Alvor.
There should be a good turn out as most of the riders are finished the freestyle main event. For those who want to continue into the wee hours, the Katedral Disco is open every night from 2 am.
The skippers meeting at 10 am, with first possible start at 10:30 am.
Labels: accidents, board, Cabrinha, Competition, Naish, North, Ruben Lenten
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