Alberto Rondina (Cabrinha & Turbolenza) recently won the Italian championship for the fourth year in a row and currently compete on the PKRA World Tour for the second year running. On top of being a great rider Alby (his nickname) is a really nice person to chat with. After meeting him last summer, he agreed to answer a few questions for Hanglos.



Alberto, where about are you from in Italy?
I am from Riccione, on the north east coast of Italy. It is not a super windy coast: during the summer is often light, around 12-14 knots, then autumn and spring are the best periods and during the winter we have strong and cold north wind!


What would you recommend to an Hanglos user who wants to go on a trip to Italy tomorrow and also enjoy all the history/culture that Italy has to offer, where would you recommend him/her to go?
Well... The best historical places are on mainland, Rome, Florence, Venice... But the most windy places are the islands. So if you wanna ride and sightseen some really cool places I would send you to Sicily! You will get some really good conditions and the historical ruins are awesome.


How and when did you started kitesurfing?
It happens about 7 years ago. I was already windsurfing a bit and surfing. Then when kiteboarding arrived in Italy, my father(windsurfer) start to learn it, and I got hooked!



I understand that you did a lot of gymnastic in the past. Did this helped you a lot for your kitesurfing especially for all the handle passes and rotations?
I still do gymnastics when it is not windy, when I am home and I like it so much. I think it helps me a bit with coordinations and for sure with the stretching.


You have now won three times the Italian kitesurfing championship! Are you planning to carry on competing on that tour and finally let some younger rider a chance?
I have just made it to 4x this weekend ...and I am super stocked for that! It is always a nice goal…the level in Italy is getting higher and higher!


Alberto winning his third Italian Champion in 2008.


You are competing on the PKRA Tour for the second year running and doing it full time for the first year. Would you recommend to the young talented rider out there to compete at national level for a few years before hitting the PKRA Tour?
For sure doing nationals gives you lots of experience..but competing on the Pkra is a whole different story. It is cool, I remembered my first Pkra, looking to all the pros, they seem like stars to me! Ah ah... And you really see how a real competition works!


You have been riding with Cabrinha for quite a few years now. How did it all started?
I attended the Italian championship in 2003 and got second. The next year I got contacted by Cabrinha Italy…and here I am, Cabrinha rider since then!

Alby back in 2006!

What do you do as part of your job as a pro rider at Cabrinha?
I train as much as possible, to stay fit and do my best in competition! I do some photoshoot stuff and promos around Italy. I also like to stay in contact with the R&D team giving feedback and suggestions about the new gear.


Riding with bindings is getting more an more popular at the moment. Cabrinha has put a lot of effort into this part of the market with Dre. Does having Dre as a team mate pushed you to ride bindings? Is this something you like and plan to do more in the future?
I always carry with me a pair of bindinds and sometimes I used them! It is really cool, I like it a lot and it is a complete different feeling, that everyone should try! The Custom is the perfect board for bindinds and watching Andre ripping up for sure push me to try! When I am tired of straps, or there are perfect conditions, a bindings session it is really worth it!



You recently produced a cool movie "Nomad to Brazil" with the 2010 Cabrinha Nomad kite following a recent trip to Brazil. Is the Nomad your kite for 2010 or are you going to swich between the Nomad and Swichblde depending on the condition?
I really like the new feeling of the Nomad, it is like going back to C-kite but with benefits of a bow. They are less powerfull than the Switchblade, but with the 13m Nomad you can kite with 12-13knots…so for sure it is enough for competing!


A bit of a traditional question on Hanglos (well, sort off!), do you have any tips to avoid paying extra when checking in with all your kitesurfing equipments at the airport?
I understand that every company have its own rules and every check in is different. But lately the Golf bag save me from paying lots of extra: 1 set of golf is free!


Where would you go on a kitesurfing trip if you had everything paid for tomorrow?
Maui or Brasil

Poussada or Hilton on the beach?
Pousada with internet is enough!



The winter is coming really quickly now! Are you going to Hawai, South Africa?
The last Pkra in New Caledonia will start the 29th of November but I still have to plan everything after that. If the place there is great as it looks like..maybe I will stay there a little more! We will see. Anyway it would be awesome to be back in Maui with the Cabrinha crew for spring!!!


Alberto is sponsored by Cabrinha, flying the 2010 Nomad and riding the Caliber and wear Turbolenza clothes once out of the water! His other sponsor include, Marcar (every kitesurfer needs a car!), Andrel Multimedia and Exis.

Do you have any questions for Alberto?
Login into Hanglos.net and leave your questions in the comment. Alberto is a regular visitor on Hanglos.net and will take the time to answer you.

To keep in touch with Alby visit www.albertorondina.com