Following its success in 2008, Mexico is back on the 2011 PKRA World Tour Calendar as the second official stop of the 2011 PKRA World Tour Season which will be held from March 22nd through March 27th, 2011! The best-seeded racers in the world will have the chance to compete in Riviera Maya Mexico’s warm turquoise waters. This is an epic kiteboarding destination famous for its consistent winter winds ranging anywhere from 10 to 25 knots, hot, sunny days, endless parties and 100% Mexican hospitality. Playa del Carmen is a fun and exciting venue with thousands of spectators who travel from all around the world to catch a glimpse of all the world-class professional kiteboarding athletes in action. The town of Playa del Carmen is known as the heart of the world famous “Riviera Maya” with its many kilometers of powdery white sandy beaches, and crystal clear Caribbean water.
As an added attraction a Freestyle Pro Competition will be held with a $10,000 USD Prize Purse. 2 Top ranked PKRA riders will be invited, all expenses paid. 3 wildcards will be awarded by the organizer to outstanding Mexican riders. 7 spots left will be granted to the top 7 riders from the trials.
Distribution of $10,000 USD will take place as indicated below.
Mexico Freestyle Pro
Men
Place Money
1 $3,500.00
2 $2,200.00
3 $1,600.00
4 $1,200.00
5 $900.00
6 $600.00
Total $10,000.00 USD
The Freestyle Pro will be judged taking into consideration both old school and new school tricks, rewarding the rider that can perform both tricks in the most outstanding style and fashion. Basic new school and old school tricks will be expected but not requited. The Freestyle Pro will be run in a Round Robin elimination format described below with 12 participating male riders:
The round robin freestyle elimination format means the 12 riders will be divided into two groups of 6 riders. The 6 riders in each group will compete in men to men heats 5 times. Each heat will be against a different rider of the group. Two judges will be scoring the heats, each giving a winner or a looser. Therefore each rider will get 2 points for winning each heat (both judges giving it to the winner), 1 point for tying (each judge giving the heat to different riders), and 0 points for loosing.
The two riders from each group with the highest scores will advance into a knockout semifinal round, and then into the finals.
It was yet another beautiful, hot sunny day in Riviera Maya, Mexico. A large crowd of spectators scattered along the beach this morning in hopes of catching a glimpse of all the non-stop kiteboarding action. The competition got underway at 10:30am with light wind conditions. Rider’s prepared their 14-16m kites and dashed off onto the water for the three final races of the competition.
There were a few close finishes, and a couple of tangles in a couple of the races this morning, but in the end it was a spectacular racing day. John Heineken (Ozone, USA) finished overall in first place while Olivier Dansin (North, FRA) took second place while Julien Kerneur (Takoon, FRA) took the lead over Riccardo Leccese (Ozone, COL) who finished 4th overall.
Mexico Racing podium
In the women’s division, Caroline Adrien (Cabrinha, FRA) took the first place position on the event podium this afternoon. Melissa Gil (Cabrinha, USA) ranked second while Nuria Goma (Liquid Force, ESP) came in third place.
Mexico Racing podium Women
In the production board class, Olivier Dansin (North, FRA) came in first place followed by Dirk Hanel (North, GER) in second while Blazej Ozog (North, POL) finished in third place.
Mexico Racing podium Production
It was an exciting finish to the event here in Mexico as the Freestylers put on a great show to wrap up the event. Alvaro Onieva (Slingshot, ESP) finished in first place while local Mexican rider, Sean Farley (North, MEX) came in second while Cesar Portas (North, ESP) stood in third position on the podium.
Mexico Freestyle podium
An award ceremony was held directly on the beach in front of Mamita’s Beach Bar where locals, fans, tourists watched as the top riders received their awards.
The Racing Kiteboard World Tour & Freestyle Pro is sponsored in part by MINI and The Riviera Maya Tourism Board and organized by PhotoproMedia Productions.
RACING RESULTS
PRODUCTION CLASS MEN
1. Olivier Dansin (North, FRA)
2. Dirk Hanel (North, GER)
3. Blazej Ozog (North, POL)
CUSTOM CLASS MEN
1. John Heineken (Ozone, USA)
2. Olivier Dansin (North, FRA)
3. Julien Kerneur (Takoon, FRA)
WOMEN RACING RESULTS
1. Caroline Adrien (Cabrinha, FRA)
2. Melissa Gil (Cabrinha, USA)
3. Nuria Goma (Liquid Force, ESP)
Warm blue, sunny skies lit up the beautiful beach of Playa del Carmen this morning as course racers dashed out on the water just before the red flag went up at 11:00am sharp. Two fantastic races were held before lunch on an up & down course set by Race Director, Erik Troostheide.
During lunch the wind shifted to a more southerly direction therefore a change in the course setup was necessary for the following two races of the day. Riders were on 14-16m kites to compensate for the light wind conditions, which were between 8-13 knots with unpredictable choppy water.
It was yet another spectacular day for John Heineken (Ozone, USA) finishing overall in first place today. His outstanding knowledge of the game and racing strategies definitively play a key factor in his overall successful performances.
French rider Olivier Dansin (North, FRA) had a fantastic 2nd place finish in the final race of the day speeding past Julien Kerneur (Takoon, FRA) in the final inches before the finish line. Dansin has been putting the pressure on Heineken as these two competitors fight for the number one position.
Julien Kerneur (Takoon, FRA) had a much better day today than yesterday earning the number three spot on the scoring charts. It is a more than extremely close fight between Kerneur and Columbian competitor Riccardo Leccese (Ozone, COL) for the third place podium position with a difference of 0.4 points between the two. The 2 or 3 races in tomorrow’s final day of competition will determine who will step up on the podium.
Brazilian rider Wilson Veloso (Advance, BRA) had some of the best starts today despite being over early in race #8, he managed to close in on some of the top named riders.
In the women’s division, Caroline Adrien (Cabrinha, FRA) remains in the overall number one position followed by Melissa Gil (Cabrinha, USA) in second while Nuria Goma (Liquid Force, ESP) follows closely in third.
After the last course race of the day, the race director decided to continue the day with Freestyle at 4:15pm. Highlights from the Freestyle Pro include Alvaro Onieva (Slingshot, ESP) and Cesar Portas (North, ESP) putting on a highly entertaining freestyle show during their heats for the vast spectators on the beach. A battle between the ages took place as Dimitri Maramenides (Epic Kites, GRE) versus 10 year-old Anthar Racca (Airush, MEX) put on a brilliant show for everyone on the beach.
It will be an earlier start for the racers with a skippers meeting set for 9:30am with a 10:00am first possible start for race #10. Freestylers are looking at 10:30am with an 11:00am first possible start.
Tomorrow’s weather forecast is predicting fantastic winds for all disciplines for the final day of the Racing Kiteboard World Tour & Freestyle Pro here in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
Day 2
It was another bright and sunny day in beautiful Riviera Maya, Mexico. A large number of spectators lurked around the beach today in hopes of catching a glimpse of all the exciting kiteboarding action. Racers made their way to the beach early this morning for the skippers meeting.
Competitors had a little extra time to fine tune their equipment and make last minute preparations before spurting out onto the water. A total of five course races were held today under light but unstable and gusty winds averaging 10-12 knots with a scorching air temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.
Racers pumped up their largest kites and dashed off to the start line for what would be the first race of the Racing Kiteboard World Tour & Freestyle Pro in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
It was a great race day for California sunny boy, John Heineken (Ozone, USA). Heineken took first place in three races of five today, earning him the top position on the scoring chart. He managed to come in second place in the second race and ran into a bit of trouble during the fourth race, which was the cause for him to not finish.
French rider Olivier Dansin (North, FRA) had a couple of great runs today, finishing first as well as second in two races today followed by a third position in the third race. Blazej Ozog (North, POL) was amongst the top scoring racers today taking on second place in one race today. Ozog is part of the North production class team who are on fire this year with their great racing equipment.
An impressive debut for newcomer to the PKRA World Tour Racing lineup is Riccardo Leccese (Ozone, COL) from Columbia. Leccese represented his country proudly today by taking second place in one race today as well as two third place positions. Leccese ran into some technical difficulties with his gear during the final two races today however this unforeseen incident did not affect his overall performance.
In the women’s racing division all three women fought strategically for first place. French rider Caroline Adrien (Cabrinha, FRA) made a couple errors during the first two races of the day, which set her back to the overall second position. Melissa Gil (Cabrinha, USA) had a spectacular run today taking on first place in the first two races followed by three second place finishes. Gil who has been competing competitively for some time has proved today that her skills and determination could find her taking an event title here in Mexico. Spanish rider Nuria Goma (Liquid Force, ESP) ran a tight course today enabling her second place in the first two races of the day followed by three third place positions in the final three races of the day.
The mandatory skippers meeting is set for 10:30am tomorrow morning where the wind and weather forecast is predicting light wind conditions.
The Racing Kiteboard World Tour & Freestyle Pro is sponsored in part by MINI and The Riviera Maya Tourism Board and organized by PhotoproMedia Productions.
Day1 - The PKRA Racing Kiteboard World Cup & Freestyle Pro 2011 began today in beautiful Riviera Maya, Mexico.
A large number of participants from all around the world made their way to the beach in front of Mamita’s Beach Bar last night to register for a chance to compete against some of the best kiteboarding athletes on the planet.
A traditional Mayan wind dance was performed in order to officially kick-off the exciting week of non-stop kiteboarding action. The sun was shining in full force today as the Wind God’s answered to the call of the wind prayer. Shortly after 2:00pm the wind increased enough to run the Freestyle Pro trials followed immediately by the main event.
A total of 6 heats were completed today in the Freestyle Pro where Cesar Portas (North, ESP), David Furchtogott (Morph, MEX), Alvaro Onieva (Slingshot, ESP), Daniel Koenig (Cabrinha, CAN), Melissa Gil (Cabrinha, USA) and Victor Adamo (Cabrinha, BRA) are all moving on to the second round.
Racers will get the first opportunity to test out the crystal clear, breath taking water tomorrow.
The mandatory skippers meeting is set for 10:30am tomorrow morning where the wind and weather forecast is predicting similar conditions as today.
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The Racing Kiteboard World Cup & Freestyle Pro is sponsored in part by MINI and The Riviera Maya Tourism Board and organized by PhotoproMedia Productions.
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hier nog wat meer fotos. Hoorde dat Dimitri ook door was naar de volgende ronde.