Annelous Lammerts gaat bij t internationale team van Cabrinha varen 

Annelous Lammerts

DOB: 01-11-1993

Kiteboarding since: November 2009

From: Zeeland, the Netherlands 

Homespot: Brouwersdam

Best results: National Freestyle Champion, European Freestyle Champion, 4th place overall freestyle world championships, vice world champion slalom, 2nd place World Cup Germany, 1st place Hood River jam 2016

I grew up in a small village in the south west of the Netherlands. Together with my two brothers and two sisters I was always outside, but even though I lived close to the beach I didn't start kiteboarding until 16 years old. I'm the only one doing kitesurfing from the family, but last year I finally had the chance to get both my parents on the kite and ride a few meters. 

In the summer of 2009 I learned to kitesurf and I am addicted to the wind ever since. After working in our local supermarket for a few months I bought my own material in November 2009 and the cold couldn’t stop me from going. Whenever it was windy I just had to go kitesurfing and on the most extreme day there were snowkiters on the beach but I still needed to go for a session in the North Sea. 

I lived 17 kilometres from the beach and the only way for me to get there was on my bike. I always cycled to the beach with a cart behind my bike loaded with my gear, with every bit of wind. I never wanted to take the chance to miss a windy day! 

From the beginning I was always trying new things on the water and I love the feeling that I have when I land a new trick, it’s like the feeling I had when I made my first meters on the board. It is the best feeling in the world! Since I was always riding with guys I just wanted to do what they were doing, that definitely helped me to progress a lot from the beginning. 

In the summer I got a job at the beachclub on my homespot the Brouwersdam where I was working in the kite shop. I would work there almost every day of the summer, but on windy days they would always give me the time to go for a session. That way I could keep training and at the same time earn money to escape the cold winter. I remember all those evenings cycling back, totally broken but with a big smile on my face, after having a good session after a day of work. 

At 17 years old I finished my high school and I knew I wanted to see how far I could get with kiteboarding. During the week I usually could go kiting because of school and work and because I was so addicted it was super frustrating. Finishing high school was a big relief and I could finally do what I really wanted to do. After working the whole summer I left for 4 months to Brazil, the best place to progress. 

When I came back from Brazil I started competing in the European Championships for two years and combined it with working and training. After becoming European freestyle champion I decided to focus on the World Championships. It was amazing to be competing against all the girls I have been looking up to since the beginning. Making my first podium in the World Cup in Egypt my first year on tour is definitely something I will never forget. 

Since the slalom and freestyle world cups are usually hosted during the same event I decided to start doing slalom racing as well. I really like the fact that it's really competitive and really easy to understand, the fastest one wins. I have also been competing in all the big air events. I love all the different possibilities that kiteboarding had to offer. 

Together with Alex I also started riding wakestyle this year. Alex always has been really passionate about wakeboarding and because of him I started too. Since we both really enjoyed wakeboarding we really wanted to try to hit the sliders with our kite. Riding the sliders and kickers was a great new challenge. We built our first kicker and slider last winter in Brazil and filmed our Triple S wildcard video. Going to the Triple S was a great experience, we both have been following the event since the beginning. Since we didn't have the chance to ride much features with my kite before the event, I was happy with my 5th place. After the Triple S we went straight to Hood River, the only place where the kitepark is always out. The new Cabrinha rail is a perfect addition to the park and definitely my favorite one, since the possibilities on this rail are endless. My first place at the Hood Jam 2016 was an amazing way to end a whole summer of training in the park, and I couldn't be more happy with my new Cabrinha gear!