On the final day of the 2nd Annual IKA KiteFoil Gold Cup in La Ventana, the Playa Central building was silent as competitors energized themselves for another day of races with a hearty breakfast. Some looked like wounded soldiers as they sanded away at their fins and racing shaft. The constant dedication to their racing equipment is astonishing and impressive. Many of these men and women dedicate hundreds of hours each month to training. This is the kind of dedication that gets you to their level, competing in the KiteFoil Gold Cup 2015 Tour around the world.
Organizers were stalled waiting for wind. while the day before, competitors were greeted with 16-20 knot wind conditions for a full day of of close racing action with Nicolas Parlier, Johnny Heineken, Julien Kerneur, Maxime Nocher, and Joey Pasquali finishing in the Gold Fleet, the top four separated by only one point with a three-way fight for first. However, for the finals, the winds were lighter and the Gold fleet got in two races, the Silver fleet got in one race and was timed out for the second, which was thrown out.
Matt Taggart is relishing the victory of Ozone’s new R1 Race Kite (release tbd) and his rider winning the top spot while F-One couldn’t be happier with the dcbut of their new foil race kite and team rider, France’s Maxime Nocher. The riders, race committee, and jury had a busy week both in the protest room and on the water, as passionate protests and redresses were addressed by Chief Judge Grant Baldwin. In the end, Nicolas Parlier wins the first stop of the IKA KiteFoil Gold Cup in La Ventana (Ozone, France), followed by Maxime Nocher (F-One, France), Julien Kerneur (Airush, France) and Johnny Heineken, USA, riding Ozone, in fourth. For the women, Erika Heineken (Ozone, USA) took first, Daniela Moroz second (F4, USA), Catherine Dufour third (Ozone, Canada), and Cynthia Brown (Ozone, USA) fourth.
While sitting listening to friendly chit chat on the Playa Central lawn amongst the Golf Fleet, sixth place finisher Joey Pasquali remarked, “From first to third in one gybe,” referring to a previous race where Johnny Heineken gybed a few seconds later. The decision of when to gybe, is crucial in racing. Seconds make a huge difference, which was exhibited in the high level of talent and close finishes at the first stop on the 2015 IKA KiteFoil Gold Cup Tour, hosted by Playa Central Kiteboarding in La Ventana.
Playa Central Beach Club Webpage: https://playacentralkiteboarding.com/kiteboarding/kite-events/
Results Page (Qualifications Series): https://www.sailwave.com/results/kitefoillaventanaqual.htm
Live Race Updates: https://www.kitenews.fr/la-ventana-kitefoil-gold-cup-2015/
High Quality Event Photos: https://www.facebook.com/michael.petrikov
