| Spectacular kiteboarding performances at the 2010 Mondial du Vent |
| Monday, 12 April 2010 09:00 |
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Today a myth has been put to rest… For all of you who believe that Lecaute is only known for it’s rainy, storm like weather conditions this is untrue. Leucate is now known as the place where you can have the best of all weather conditions, good consistent wind, warm, sunny, cloudless blue skies and hundreds of spectators holding their breath as they watch the stunning riders out on the water from the beach. Race director Erik Troostheide made a wise decision to run the competition this morning even though the wind forecast was a little deceiving. The wind picked up in strength pretty early this morning, and averaged 25-30 knots most of the day. The single eliminations got underway just after 9:00am. French rider Sebastien Garat (RRD, FRA) kicked off the first heat of the day defeating Mario Rodwald (North, GER) and later also eliminating Brazilian rider Tomas Teixera (RRD, BRA) but was later defeated in an extremely close heat against Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NED). The judges pondered for minutes after the heat to make their final 3/2 decision in favor of Zoon. It was a winning day for Australian Competitor Andy Yates (Slingshot, AUD) who defeated Spanish rider Gerard Sanchez in his first heat of the day. Yates was riding strong, with much power, style and execution, which enabled him a winning heat against the current world champion Kevin Langeree (Naish, NED) moving him into the final against Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NED). Yates defeated fellow Slingshot rider Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NED) in the men's final. Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NED) was consistent throughout all his heats today landing him in the second spot on the podium today, followed by Alex Pastor (Airush, ESP) in third and surprisingly Kevin Langeree (Naish, NED) in fourth place. Langeree seemed to be having some technical difficulties with his equipment throughout all his heats. In the women’s division, it was a successful day for 16-year-old Spanish rider Gisela Pulido (Airush, ESP) who eliminated Karolina WInkowska (Slingshot, POL) as well as 2009 world champion Bruna Kajiya (Flexifoil, BRA) making her the 2010 France single elimination champion. Bruna Kajiya (Flexifoil, BRA) takes second place, Karolina Winkowska (Slingshot, POL) in third followed by Angela Peral (North, ESP) in fourth. The double eliminations began with deteriorating wind conditions. During the fourth heat, the horn sounded announcing the cancelation of the heat due to the shifting wind direction and speed. Tomorrow’s skippers meeting is set for 9:30am with the first possible start at 10:00am.
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