| Freestyle kitesurfers hit Kinmel Bay |
| Wednesday, 29 June 2011 15:39 |
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Luke Whiteside and Hannah Whitely have dominated the 2011 BKSA Kinmel Bay, in North Wales. The number of pro kitesurfers has declined, but the battle for the national title is fierce. For all classes, there were 35 kiteboarders ready to hit the winds and the water. Robbie Shire-Maidment and Ellys Bloor went straight into the final, leaving the remaining riders of Jordon Hurst, Tom Ford and George Dufty to fight it out for the final place. George got through into that final and showed he was over the nerves from the first event he entered in Redcar, by stealing second place from Ellys. Robbie once again took first place and edged out a serious lead on the other riders with three events still to run. The Juniors were followed by the Am Women which once again proved to be a big fight for top spot. Danielle Durrant went straight into the final after her first heat but sister Chloe was out manoeuvred by Polly Crathorne who also went straight into the final. Chloe managed to redeem herself in the second round and managed a place in the final alongside fellow Hunstanton rider Keira Alwood. In the final Keira managed to loose her kite with a heavy crash and the safety leash came apart. Both Keira and kite were recovered but it meant she had to accept fourth place overall. The Durrant girls once again took the top two spots but with Danielle in first place this time. The men’s Youth class is always very intense and Jack Daykin and Will Makinson weren’t to be messed with and went straight into the final. In the final Jack once again took first place with Will chasing hard for his first podium of the season. Current champion Ned Taylor was edged into third place by Ali Barrett who still demonstrates to the onlookers that mixing up a bit of old school with wake style is entertaining. But it was the style and consistency of Luke Whiteside on this occasion that got the attention of the judges to take the top spot. When Luke and Ned went into the last heat of the day the way it all stood up to that point was if Ned won, then Ned, Luke and Ali would all have equal points and would have had to go into another heat to get a definitive 1,2,3. However Luke took that final heat to give us the final standings. 1 – Hannah whitely |
