Overcast skies hovered the competition site this morning and temperatures gradually reached a comfortable 21° Celsius.  The gentle breeze that blew during the morning would eventually dictate the day’s events, reaching a maximum of only 15 knots which was below PKRA standards.

A lot of the tourists visiting the Kitesurf World Cup 2009 got a dose of sunshine while visiting the 12 km long by 2 km wide beach.

PKRA race director Olaf Van Tol announced during the 10:00 am riders meeting that the course races will be held in the morning followed by the freestyle events in the afternoon in anticipation of a more favorable wind forecast.

PKRA racers led by Kite Masters champion Bruno Sroka made their way to the starting line as kiteboarding enthusiasts cheered from the beach.  Two races were completed for the day which wrapped up around 1:00 pm.

After seven races, still unbeaten Bruno Sroka (Cabrinha, FRA) extends his lead further by dominating today’s races yet again, crossing the line ahead of everyone else. He is now almost 14 points ahead of his nearest competitor, Olivier Dansin (North, FRA), who made a surprising comeback. The French rider trailed Sroka to the finish line along with North teammate Dirk Hanel in an ultimately exciting first race of the day. The two North riders were neck-and-neck in the first race, crossing the finish line at the same time. Rallying to second place overall with 18 points, Dansin managed to elevate his overall standing via a second place win in the last race of the day while Hanel dropped to third place overall as a result of a 5th place finish in the last race.

An exciting twist also unfolded in the women’s racing division as Steph Bridge (North, GBR) continues to dominate the games crossing the finish line ahead of the women in the second race of the day. Kristin Boese (Best, GER) launched a surprise attack in today’s events, redeeming herself from yesterday’s consecutive losses by finishing first in the opening race and second in the last race. Fabienne D’Ortoli (Cabrinha, FRA) finished both races in third place. As a result, Boese once again occupied the 2nd spot overall with 12.7 points while D’Ortoli dropped to number three overall with 13.7 points.

Over to the Freestyle events, the competitors have been as anxious as kids in a candy store anticipating perfect wind conditions.

Practice makes perfect proves to be true as in the case of Nobile rider Mike Blomvall (SWE) powered by his 14-meter kite. Blomvall landed a whopping 12 tricks during his heat against Naish rider Alex Pastor (ESP). Among them were several switch tricks, a switch kgb and a switch slim chance versus the 8 tricks executed by Pastor who was underpowered on a smaller kite. Power, execution and kite position were the deciding factors in winning against Pastor who had several outstanding tricks as well including a front mobe to blind and a double s-bend pass.

Johnno Scholte (Slingshot, NED) had a winning heat landing a kiteloop handle pass, flat 360 and blind judge over countryman Jerrie Van De Kop (Best) who landed several tricks including a blind judge with aerial handle pass and s-bend to blind.

Race Director Van Tol released the riders and called the day off at exactly 2:30 pm after the second heat due to diminishing wind conditions.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast looks very promising with strong, near gale force winds of 30 knots which will surely be a day full of huge and high-flying tricks.

The mandatory riders meeting is scheduled for 9:30 am with the first possible start of 10:00 am.

The Palmolive for Men 2009 Kitesurf World Cup is supported by the German beer company Jever.  A German beer brand, named after the town where it is has been brewed since 1848.

Course Racing Results (after 7 Races)

Men:

1. Bruno Sroka (FRA, Cabrinha) –  4.2 pts.
2. Olivier Dansin (FRA, North) –  18 pts.
3. Dirk Hanel (GER, North) –  20 pts.

Women:

1. Steph Bridge (GBR, North) –  5.5 pts.
2. Kristin Boese (GER, Best) –  12.7 pts.
3. Fabienne D’Ortoli (FRA, Cabrinha) – 13.7 pts.

SOURCE: PKRA