Mauritius Strapless Kitesurfing Pro Qualifiers
Wed 7th Sep, 2016 @ 12:00 am
The biggest names in kitesurfing have converged on Mauritius for the Strapless Kitesurfing Pro, which runs Sept. 5- 15, 2016. Riders are competing in this wave-only stop of the Global Kitesports Association (GKA) Wave and Freestyle World Tour. The field of competitors was narrowed from 23 riders to 12 during the qualifying heats. Check out the full report from the GKA about registration and the qualifiers, below.
The hallowed spot of Le Morne in Mauritius plays host to the third stop on the GKA Wave & Strapless Freestyle tour and is the first full wave event on this mixed five-stop tour.
After registration, 23 riders battled it out in six qualifying heats with 12 progressing through to the main event. Conditions were good, with the contest running between Chameaux and down to One Eye, when the waves allowed.
As a result of the qualifiers, lining up in round one heats for the main event were:
01
Keahi de Aboitiz
Max Bonnieux
Sandro Pisu02
James Carew
Gael Velazquez
Jan Marcos Riveras03
Reo Stevens
Mervin Louis
Mitu Monteiro04
Christian Stepnow
Matt Elsasser
Matchu Lopes05
Felipe Fereira
Jean Jose Ricot
Ralph Boelen
Heat five closed the day’s action yesterday. All five riders who won their heats in round one progressed to round three, and all were riding sublimely. Possibly a new name in your minds is James Carew from Australia, riding with power and amazing confidence.
As well as James, other riders winning their heats were Keahi de Aboitiz, Reo Stevens, Matchu Lopes and Felipe Fereira.
The remaining three heats of round one will continue this morning (Tuesday). Stay glued to the GKA Instagram and Facebook pages for more updates.
06
Pedro Matos
Torrin Bright
Paulino Pereira07
Anthony Jacoby
Jeremy Chan
Patri McLaughlin08
Sebastian Ribeiro
Dimitry Evseev
Airton Cozzolino
On the completion of round one, we move to round two, where the riders who didn’t win their heats in round one will get another chance. Conditions look promising for Tuesday to progress far with the main event with a good swell continuing to push through.
Thanks to Toby Bromwich for the photos. The Mauritius Strapless Kitesurfing Pro is brought to you thanks to the following organisations:
The GKA Wave & Strapless Freestyle Tour will see a mix of freestyle and wave events run in 2016, eventually resulting in the crowning of a GKA Wave & Strapless Freestyle Rider of the Year. After Mauritius the tour moves to Dakhla, Morocco in October and Fortaleza, Brazil in November.
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