For the upcoming Panama event, organizers have noted a significant increase in jellyfish in the Chame Bay waters. It is recommended to bring a light wetsuit or similar should the jellyfish still be present during the event.

ik heb verstaan dat liam niet meedoet,nu zie ik dat youri ook al niet zal deelnemen...

er gaan al 2 goede riders niet naar het event hopelijk komt hier verandering in!

Alex Pastor heeft ook zijn arm uit de kom en vaart dus niet mee

Nitro City and Punta Chame, Panama, welcome the inaugural stop of the 2014 PKRA World Tour.  This first-time event will showcase the best Freestyle kiteboarders as they converge on the extreme sports mecca of Nitro City, Panama, to do battle for the 2014 world title.  

The competition location at Nitro City Action Sports Resort offers everything for an amazing event. Apart from the excellent kiteboarding conditions with small chop, warm water, and steady wind, the venue provides a motorcross track, skate park, and cable park to keep even the most ambitious rider busy all day long. 

As first stop of the tour season, there is an exceptionally stacked field of athletes. Competitors will be hungry for points toward the world title, but will first need to battle through the qualifying rounds to qualify for the remaining 10 spots in the main event. 

Today’s registration drew the regular tour veterans alongside many competitors from South America and beyond.  In total, 50 riders represent 18 countries, making the pool of talent deep. Overall, 39 men and 11 women have registered to compete for the $42,000 in prize money.

Present in the men’s division is a large contingency of Brazilian and Dominican riders, who are always pushing their level year after year. Most notably, the young Carlos Mario from Brazil has a lot of pressure following his rookie win at the last tour stop and having secured an international sponsorship deal.  

In an unfortunate turn of events, current World Champion Alex Pastor dislocated his shoulder while training this morning and will not be able to compete here to defend his title.  Liam Whaley is out this event with a rib injury, and former world champion Youri Zoon is not present either. For the women, Bruna Kajiya returns after suffering a knee injury last season and will almost certainly be battling against the top females to regain her title run.

This absence of many of the top male riders leaves the door open for the coveted top five spots. Tour veterans such as Marc Jacobs, Christophe Tack, Alberto Rondina and Reno Romeu all have a good opportunity to be in contention for the title. However, it won’t be easy with 5x world champion Aaron Hadlow and the incredibly talented crew of Brazilian riders en force.  

Conditions for tomorrow look good, with the strongest winds expected in the early morning and late afternoon. The event will begin with the men’s qualifiers with a 6:30am riders meeting and a 7:00am first possible start.  At 11:00, the opening ceremony will take place and if conditions allow, the main event will begin in the afternoon. Stay tuned. to the Facebook and Twitter feeds for the latest results and start times for the live web cast, which can be viewed here.

Ben heel benieuwd... zijn dus wat riders uitgevallen
en Hadlow die er wel is.

Zag dat Tack weer erg netjes ging!

Day 2 of the Kiteboard World Cup Panama started out early to take advantage of the strong morning winds. Stacked with young guns, tour rookies, and seasoned veterans alike, the first elimination round of the trials got underway at 8am in 11-13m kite conditions.  As each competitor knew that they had to put it all together in their 7 minute heat to make it into the main event, the level of riding from the competitors was high and left many close heats, as riders pushed their hardest with hopes to make it into one of the remaining ten spots. 

The biggest surprise of the qualifiers came from the young Carlos Mario who was not riding in top form.  Although Mario landed some very technical tricks, his execution lacked power and amplitude and he did not move on into the main event. In the end it was some of the more seasoned tour veterans who advanced, as well as many of the strong Brazilian and Dominican riders including, Alesandre Neto, Evandro Da Silva, Felix Martinez, Robinson Hillario, and Nico Suriel.

With the anticipated mid-day lull in the wind, the opening ceremony took place in the early afternoon at Nitro City Actions Sports Resort restaurant, where the government officials and organizers christened the event and offered well wishes for the competitors for the upcoming week of competition.  

After a nice break, competition began with big tricks, close heats, and impressive riding. Close heats between Mario Rodwald and Antoine Fermon left Rodwald advancing by .28 of a point and in the second round, and Reno Romeu inched ahead of Stephan Speissberger by .32.  

Impressive riding from the first round had Robinson Hilario scored big points first against fellow country-man Nico Suriel and in the second round against Marc Jacobs, he beat the 2013 vice world champion with his powerful style exemplified in his S-Mobe, Front Blind Mobe and Blind Judge 5.  

Big tricks were unleashed from Christophe Tack who scored the highest heat total of the day with some impressive toeside tricks, including a Crow Mobe 5 and Pete Rose 5, in addition to an exceptionally massive Blind Judge 7, which earned himself a total score of 38.74.  Also noteworthy from today’s heats was Felix Martinez who impressed riders and judges with a very powered 313 and an eye-catching and creative one handed Front Blind Mobe. 

Only one round of the women’s heats were completed, with a noteworthy performance from Annelous Lammerts.  In the end, the day was full of exciting action, spectacular crashes and thrilling riding. Tomorrow kicks off early again with a 6:30 Riders Meeting and a 7:00 first possible start.

Stay tuned. to the Facebook and Twitter feeds for the latest results and start times for the live web cast, which can be viewed here.

Waarom vaart Kevin niet meer mee, slaat die een jaar over of is de competitie te sterk geworden en gaat hij zich op het wave-rijden concentreren.??

Klasse van Tack,
hopelijk straks wat meer wind!

nu live de finale... met TACK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjkg08pQXAc

ziet er naar uit dat Tack heeft gewonnen!

TACK!!

 !

Klasse van Tack, heb de heat gekeken live
en hij lande nagenoeg alles clean. geen super final dus, gewoon in 1 x gewonnen!

2014 een belgische wereld kampioen freestyle!!