Who's faster: a professional kiteboarder or a DTM driver riding a bike? Anne Valvatne and Maximilian Götz accepted the challenge and raced for glory in Sylt, Germany.
Valvatne felt ready; Götz believed his physical skills would prevail. In an unusual clash, both contestants had to race the 3.5-kilometer (2.1 miles) roundabout course using their very own muscle strength.
Anne, 34, had her kite; Maximilian, 30, had a high-tech road racing bike he used in his training sessions. In the end, the westerly to southerly winds helped Valvatne finish slightly ahead of the Bavarian DTM pilot.
"I was very excited to see how a professional DTM race driver would stand up against the power of my kite. Anything was possible on that course, but in the end, the wind played a little more into my hands, I guess," explained the Norwegian kiteboarder.
Anne Valvatne had already beat a 6,200-hp ferry in a race between List in Germany and Rømø in Denmark. So, the DTM race driver accepted the defeat with grace.
"Being a race driver, I do have petrol in my blood and want to win every race, if possible. Today, though, I just wasn't able to contrast Anne's speed on the water on my bike. So, I'm totally fine with her winning that race. I had fun, though!" concluded the German pilot.
The Kitesurf Cup Sylt 2016 runs from 28th June through July 3rd in Westerland/Sylt.