After the success of last year in which Airton Cozzolino took the title ahead of Keahi de Aboitiz, the 2016 Tarifa Strapless Pro carries a big expectation among the industry, riders and kiting fans. The Tarifa Strapless Kitesurfing Pro 2015 saw huge crowds pack the beach, cheering loudly for the incredible action on the water. This year looks set to further build on that success and be even bigger and better than the last. Starting with qualifiers on the 29th of June, the Tarifa Strapless Kitesurfing Pro 2016 will run until the 3rd of July.
24 riders will compete in the main event. Those 24 riders are made up by:
”¢ The top 8 riders from last year’s event who qualify directly to the competition;
Ӣ 4 wildcards will be also be awarded to riders by local contest organizers;
Ӣ 12 riders will qualify via a trial competition on the 29th June.
Here’s the current list of riders for the 2016 event, taking place at the famous Valdevaqueros beach
in Tarifa:
Airton Cozzolino, Mitu Monteiro, Matchu Lopez, Julien Kerneur, Patri McLaughlin, Evan Netsch, Matt Elsasser, Reider Decker, Jan Marcos Rivera, Theo Demanez, Sando Pisu, Camille Delannoy, Danny Morrice, Herve Boure, Tundra Max Tachteris, Paulino Pereira, Luis Brito, Djo Silva, Stefano Gentilli, Ralph Boelen, Ismail Adarzane, July Rebollo, Gustavo Arrojo, Lele.
The Tarifa Strapless Kitesurfing Pro is also the first event in the GKA Wave & Strapless Freestyle Tour, which consists of four events. At the end of the season, the GKA will crown a GKA Wave and Freestyle Rider of the Year the most all-round high-performing rider across all four events, both in waves and in strapless freestyle.