The Kiteboarding World Tour started with Trials for the first day of competition in Barra Do Cunhau, Brazil. With ten Brazilian riders on form to enter the main event together with a lot of international riders, it promised to be a good day of action. Once the tide came up, the conditions changed from a flat spot in the river mouth to choppier waters. But that didn’t stop the Brazilians from giving the spectators a glimpse of their level.
According to Bruna Kajiya (BRA, Flexifoil), the Brazilian riders come from a “champions factory”, the famous spot of Cumbuco, near Fortaleza. The spot is renowned for its flat-water lagoon, with perfect wind conditions all year long.
The Brazilians training has consisted of watching web videos of the pros and trying hard to land all their tricks in order to prepare for the PKRA tour stop this week. It’s a chance for them to compare their level with the best riders in the world and prove that they are not only the kings of their own spot, but also potential world champions.
After the first round of trials a very interesting competition for the rest of the week seemed to be on hand, as most of the Brazilian riders made an outstanding impression, winning most of today’s heats.
There were no major surprises as all the main riders qualified into the main event. Although competitors such as Sebastien Garat (FRA, RRD), Michael Schitzhofer (AUT, Best), Christopher Tack (BEL, Liquid Force) and Nils Wesch (NED, Naish) lost in the first round against the Brazilians and had to compete again in order to get qualified for the main event.
Two wild cards were given to Madson (BRA), and to Silva Eudazio (BRA). Eudazio, who won the Brazilian Nationals at the beginning of the week, promises to be a strong contender for the podium at this event with everyone talking about his incredible skills on the water.
The top 8 riders were pre-seeded into the main event and watched the action from the beach. Youri Zoon (NED, Slingshot), current leader of the tour, said that with such a high level and a perfect spot that has different conditions depending on the tide, the event should be very interesting.
More than half of the 14 places left were taken by Brazilian riders.
Fernandez injured himself on a bad landing and there was no word this evening if he will be able to compete tomorrow. If not, his spot would go to Nils Wesch (NED, Naish).
The single elimination is set to start tomorrow at 10.30am and the wind is predicted to be on for the rest of the week. Race Director Olaf Van Tol has decided to spread the competition over the four-day waiting period in order to kite in the best possible conditions every day.
This is event is organized by Dream Factory with the PKRA. The Kitesurf Wind Riders is sponsored by Volkswagen, co sponsored by the Kitesurf and Surf Association of Rio Grande de Norte (AKSRN), Viva Barra Association, the Ministery of Tourism, the State of Rio Grande do Norte, the secretary of Tourism of Rio Grande do Norte and Emprotur.
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