PKRA Fuerteventura Reports

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6548 Posts Couve / Hood Site Lackey

2006 Fuerteventura World Cup

Riders are geared up and eager to get back into kiteboarding action in Sotavento, Fuerteventura after nearly a month since the last PKRA competition.

Event organizers René Egli Pro Center and Ayuntomiento de Párajara Concejalía de Tourismo are ready for the Fuerteventura PKRA Kiteboarding Grand Prix 2006, which is set to kick off tomorrow and continue through Saturday, August 5th.

The riders took advantage of registration day to test out their kites in the extreme wind conditions and hang out with friends in the main event tent. In this sixth annual competition to be held in Fuerteventura, boarders will vie for €41,875, or roughly $50,000 USD, in three disciplines including freestyle, hang time, and speed. A grand total of 76 riders from 22 nationalities have registered, including 32 men and 14 women for the freestyle competition, and 30 riders for the speed trials.

Ruben Lenten (Netherlands) is making his comeback here at the fifth stop of 2006 PKRA tour after an ankle injury sustained in Coche, Venezuela in early May which kept him from competing in the last three tournaments. Ruben, who has been training at the Gorge, Oregon in preparation for this event, will undoubtedly face rival Aaron Hadlow (UK), last year’s winner, in the fight for the top spots. Also registered is Dominican Alex Soto who impressed judges and fans alike last month at the Cabarete World Cup earning fourth place overall in the freestyle tournament and gaining the respect of the world’s top kiteboarders.

Ania Grzelinska (Poland) was a standout last year in Fuerteventura, finishing first overall in the freestyle competition, however Best Kites team head, Kristin Boese (Germany), has taken first place in every PKRA freestyle tournament so far for 2006, and is determined to keep her spot at the top of the podium.

In pursuit of the Men’s kiteboarding speed record, which is currently held by Olaf Marting (South Africa) at 41.79 knots, riders from around the globe have signed up for the Speed Grand Prix. Sebastien Cattelan (Wipika, France), Dirk Hanel (Germany), and Christophe Prin-Guenon (France) were the top three finishers in Fuerteventura last year, and are back again this year to chase the record.

The 2006 PKRA World Cup would not have been possible without the support of Gobierno de Canaries, Cabildo de Fuerteventura, Canaries, Fuerteventura Tourismo, Playas de Jandía, Movistar, Melía Gorriones, Group H1O Hotels, Barceló Jandía, SBH, Occidental Grand Fuerteventura, R2 Hotels, Tropical Cerveza, Binter Canarias, Fuerteventura 2000, Armas, Cabrinha, Neilpryde, Chiemsee, Viajes Jandia Tour, and Gesdemupa.

Tonight, the opening ceremony will be held in the event tent at 10 pm, and the skippers meeting is scheduled for 10 am with a first possible start at 11 am. A DJ will be at the event tent every night this week starting at 10 pm.

www.pkra.info/press/fuerte/2006/riders/index.htm Check out the Fuerteventura registered ridersLive results and contest ladders.

2006 Fuerteventura World Cup – Day 1 August 1st:
Day 1 of the Fuerteventura PKRA Kiteboarding Grand Prix 2006 was packed with action as riders showed off for the large crowd cheering them on from the area’s wide sandy beaches. The powerful winds, blowing 25 to 30 knots the entire day, along with the choppy water, made for some challenging conditions amongst the competitors.

The day kicked off with a 10 am skipper’s meeting, and an 11 am first possible start, however, the tournament was delayed until early afternoon to allow for some of the riders to arrive from the airport. Heats were run in pairs of two, rather than the usual four, due to the late arrivals and to allow for better judging under the conditions. Nonetheless, the entire first round of the single eliminations for both the men and women were able to be completed for the day.

At 1 pm the red flag was raised and the heat sequence was underway. The first match up of the day paired fellow North kiters, Mallory De la Villemarqué (France) against Tom Court (UK). Mallory nailed an aerial back to blind, a mobe, and a sweet front side 3 to edge out the victory. Youri Zoon ( Netherlands) was ripping right out of the gate, landing a blind judge, front mobe, and a massive kiteloop against Christian Holley (Best, Spain), who was forced to pull out of the heat early after injuring himself during a bad crash. Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain) also cleared the first round, having a good day on the water, nailing an aerial back to blind, a mobe, and a front side 3 all with a powerful, low sailing kite.

Next up was Bas Koole (Best, Netherlands) and Luis Miguel Martinez (Dominican Republic). Although Luis Miguel showed off a strong jump to blind with a surface handlepass, Bas displayed more power, nailing a sick handlepass as well as a kiteloop to secure a spot in the next round. And the exciting action continued with Kevin Langeree (Netherlands) facing off against teammate Jan Korycki (Poland). Fresh off his win in Cabarete, Kevin went for his arsenal of tricks, landing a technical mobe 5 and several immense grab moves. However, Jan, up for the challenge, answered back with a mobe and a raley to blind, yet it was not enough to win against #2 in the world, Kevin Langeree.

Perhaps the most exciting heat of the day was Alex Soto ( Dominican Republic) versus Ruben Lenten (Netherlands). Ruben was back in full force after missing nearly three months of competitions from an ankle injury, displaying handlepasses in both directions, plenty of soaring jumps with kiteloops, and a sweet front mobe. Meanwhile, Alex, his challenger, also nailed handlepasses in both directions along with a blind judge, but in the end, Ruben reaffirmed his winning style, moving on in quest of the podium.

Etienne Lhote (France) and Alberto Rondina (Italy) battled it out next, with Etienne going for a colossal kiteloop backloop, however, Alberto was on fire, laying down a raley to blind and an indy back roll to persist on into the next round. Mikael Blomvall (JN Kites, Sweden) also continued his charge to round two of the single eliminations after displaying a technical aerial back to blind against Madison Van Heurck (US Virgin Islands).

Continuing to thrill the crowds, Rui Meira ( Portugal), charged out against Alex Pastor (Spain), landing a powerful slim and a blind judge, sealing his spot in the next round. World Champion Aaron Hadlow (UK) blew past the competition in the first round with a huge kiteloop and blind judge as well.

Randy Hereman ( Netherlands) enjoyed the strong wind conditions, executing a perfect mobe 5, along with a nice slim for the victory against Jo Ciastula (Spain). Erik Volpe (Italy) also landed a nice, high slim and extremely technical front and back handlepasses to edge out the win over Lex Dekker (Netherlands). And, in one of the final men’s heats of the day, Cesar Portas (Spain) nailed an impressive old school move, a deadman, to win against Paul Caswell ( US), who pulled a solid blind judge to kiteloop.

In the last men’s heat of the day, Philipp Brückmann (Germany), who had just arrived from the airport, didn’t miss a beat, advancing against Reno Romeu (Brazil).

The women’s single elimination tournament began with Naish teammates Karolina Winkowska (Poland) and Jolou Langeree (Netherlands) facing off against one another. Both displayed similar moves, but Karolina tried to perform more difficult tricks, at one point almost nailing a handlepass. Next up was Wiktoria Boszko (Poland) who expertly landed a front and back to advance against Ola Tomkowicz (Best, Poland).

A notable performance of the day was that of Jo Wilson (Naish, UK) firing off a front 180 in both directions with the kite nice and low, a back roll 540, along with a strong raley against her opponent, Gabi Steindl (Austria), who has just returned to the water after an ACL injury that lasted nearly a year. The last women’s heat of the day was Gisela Pulido (Spain) against Vika Soloveykina (Russian Federation). While Vika nailed a super powered raley and a sick krypt, she was no match for Gisela, who fired off a battery of blind tricks, as well as a technical kiteloop.

The action continues tomorrow with the continuation of the single elimination tournament. The skipper’s meeting is set for 10 am with the first possible start at 11 am. Tonight a DJ will be at the event tent starting at 10 pm.