World Kiteboarding Championships, Cumbuco – Qualifiers Championship – Day Two
Wed 21st Nov, 2018 @ 10:40 am
The day commenced with ideal conditions and a promising forecast at Duro Beach, Cumbuco, allowing for the completion of full Women’s Qualifier Championship, and up to the third trick attempt of the Men’s Qualifier final.
Heat 6
The completion of Heat 6 was first in the sequence. Here, Brazilian athlete Alex Neto stormed his way through, landing a powered Slim 7 scoring him 8.27 points. He continued to rack up the scores and passed directly through to Round 3. Stino Mul and Erisverton Ribeiro pass through to Round 2.
Heat 7
Heat 7 saw local rider Manoel Soares battle against Moroccan Jonas Ouahmid, both riders hoping to advance directly to Round 3. Manoel started strong, landing a powered Backside 317, and continued his good riding with a Front Blind Mobe and Back Mobe 5. Ouahmid commenced with a Double Heart Attack followed by a Slim 5. The strong performance from Soares put him through to Round 3, and Ouhmid together with Mendes pass through to Round 2.
Heat 8
Our Qualifier Championship winner from Dakhla, Gianmaria Coccoluto, started the event with a bang, landing a big Front Blind Mobe followed by a powered Backside 317. He continued racking up the scores and grabbed the spot in Round 3. Felipe Macedo followed by Lau Duprez advanced to Round 2.
Men’s Round 2
Men’s round 2 was next in sequence and saw the trick attempts now reduced to 6, instead of 7. The stakes were higher for the second round, which saw only two riders from each heat advance to Round 3.
Heat 9
Things got serious during Round 2 as the athletes had to fight hard to finish in the top two positions of their heats. Heat 9 went to Brazilian rider Marcelino Santos who rode a committed heat and landed a varied array of good tricks. Elite rider Paul Serin from France goes through to Round 2, followed by David Ribeiro.
Heat 10
Young Moroccan rider Jonas Ouahmid delivered another good performance as landed some solid tricks such as his Double Heart Attack. He went for some massive moves off the kickers, fully committed, and his effort paid off as he passed through to Round 3. Sergei Borisov from Russia had to fight hard against Brazilian Paulo Roque, as they were neck and neck until the final trick attempt. Borisov was rewarded after landing a good Backside 315 for his final trick attempt, and he joins Ouahmid in the next round.
Heat 11
It was an impressive start to Heat 11, which saw all four athletes landing similar tricks with even scores. It wasn’t until the 3rd trick attempt that some athletes started to gain an edge on their opponents. Stijn Mul rode a fantastic heat, landing a Slim 5 to open, followed by a Hinterberger Mobe and KGB. Colombian athlete Juan Rodriguez fought hard to stay at the top, and landed a powerful Hinterberger Mobe 5 and Double Heart Attack, riding with plenty of style and power. South African athlete Aaron Rosslee locked down some solid scores for the start of the heat, together with George Dufty from the UK, but both riders struggled with their final attempts and couldn’t manage to keep up the momentum. Mul went for a massive Backside 317 boosted off the kickers for his final attempt and scored 6.7 points to secure his spot in the next round, but it was Colombian talent Juan Rodriguez who took the win, landing an outstanding Backside 317 on his last attempt to secure the top spot.
Heat 12
Once again, last years wildcard, Erick Anderson, was on fine form. He threw down trick after trick, with his powerful 317 scoring him 8.53 points. He had an objective to once again win the event Wildcard, and his performance was a demonstration of that. He cruised through the heat with ease, finishing in 1st place and securing his spot in Round 3. Another Brazilian rider, Mateus Mendes, put in a good effort to keep up with him, and also advanced through to the next round, sadly eliminating Joao Lucas and Lau Duprez from the competition.
Women’s Round 1
The women took to the water at 11.30 am, ready display their talent and fight for a spot in the Qualifier Championship finals.
Heat 1
Brazilian competitor Estefania Rosa showed her experience for this first Women’s heat of the day, as she landed her tricks confidently. Elite rider, Pippa Van Iersel from the Netherlands started the heat with an impressive Backside 313 but then struggled to land her next trick attempts. Both Van Iersel and Rosa pass through to the final after Nathalie Lambrecht and Alina Kornelli struggled to land all of their trick attempts.
Heat 2
It was a pleasure to watch local athlete Dioneia Vieira, back competing with the WKC, and she proved her worth as the landed every trick attempt, including a clean S-bend to Blind. She cleared her way easily into the finals. Elite Championship athlete Kristina Belogorskaya from Russia joined her.
Men’s Round 3
Heat 13
At midday, it was Men’s Round 3 next in sequence. New young rider to the WKC Edgar Ulrich performed well, opening the heat with a clean Slim 5 and KGB. Brazilian athlete Alex Neto was also on fire and landed a powered Slim 7 that scored him 8.5 points. He finished the heat with a KGB and cleared his path into the Semi-finals, together with Edgar Ulrich.
Heat 14
There were four strong riders in Heat 14, each of them willing to battle it out on the water for their opportunity to enter the Qualifier Championship Semi-Final. Kalu de Sousa from Brazil remained firmly in control. He commenced the heat with a powered Backside 317 and continued to land trick after trick. Jonas Ouahmid started the heat well with a clean Double Heart Attack but lost concentration after his 4th attempt, when he assisted his fellow competitor Anthar Racca who lost his kite while performing his trick. Racca sadly did not make it back out for the remained of the heat. That left the battle for second place between Paul Serin and Ouahmid, and it was young Moroccan Ouahmid who stole the spot in the semi-finals.
Heat 15
Louka Pitot was once again fully focused for heat 15, landing a big Front Blind Mobe to open the heat, followed by a Heart Attack. His powerful approach paid off and he completed the heat in 1st place. Colombian Juan Rodriguez also had a clear goal to reach the semi-finals, and his riding did not disappoint the judges. Amongst his attempts was a clean Double Heart Attack and a Double Hinterberger Mobe5, and his clean riding was rewarded with the second spot in the semi-finals.
Heat 16
Gianmaria Coccoluto was aiming to reach the Qualifier Championship final, however, he could not quite pull out his best tricks during Heat 16, until his very last attempt, a very clean 317 with a solid landing, catapulted him up into 2nd place. Local rider Erick Anderson performed exceptionally well, and his opening 319 scored him 8.17 points. Despite two crashes, he advanced easily into the semi-finals, together with Coccoluto. Soares and Mul were unfortunately eliminated at this round despite riding well throughout the heat.
Women’s Small Final
The women struggled during the small final with the heavy shore break, but it was Nathalie Lambrecht who persevered and took the lead. Maria Vassilau followed in second, Alina Kornelli in 3rd and Any Nuppenau in 4th.
Men’s Semi Finals
Heat 17
As the athletes endured the tough conditions, we saw some superb action for heat 17, with the riders pushing themselves harder than ever in order to secure a spot in the Qualifier Final. It was all down to the final 6th trick attempt, where Alex Neto managed to jump up to the first position, Juan Rodriguez from Colombia into 2nd, with both riders advancing to the finals. Kalu de Sousa and Gianmaria Coccoluto, two extremely strong riders from the Elite Championship, were knocked out.
Heat 18
Brazilian powerhouse Erick Anderson delivered a high performance, showing his confidence and determination as he fought for a spot in the Qualifier Final. His massive KGB5 scored him 8.5 points, and he managed to maintain a lead over his fellow competitiors. Louka Pitot was absolutely on fire, and rode the best heat we have seen from him so far. His Backside 317 which was powerful and well executed, scored him 8.5 points. He follows Anderson into the Qualifier Championship final.
Women’s Qualifier Championship Final
The women’s Qualifier Final went to local rider Estefania Rosa, who closed the heat with an impressive S-bend to Blind. Rosa was delighted to take the win at her home spot, and will be receiving the Wild Card for the Elite Championship commencing tomorrow. Pippa van Iersel placed second, riding a good heat and landing a powered Hinterberger Mobe. Another local athlete, Dioneia Vieira, placed third, and also wins a spot in the Elite Championship.
The final Qualifier Championship results are:
1 – Estefania Rosa
2 – Pippa van Iersel
3 – Dioneia Viera
4 – Kristina Belogorskaya
Men’s Small Final
Kalu de Sousa kept up the strong performance by commencing his heat with a massive Backside 317. He worked hard for the win and finishes the Qualifier Championship in 5th position.
Edgar Ulrich took 6th place, a wonderful result for the newcomer.
The day come to an end after the 2nd trick attempt of the Men’s Qualifier Championship final, as the wind conditions suddenly deteriorated. The finals will resume first thing tomorrow morning.
Follow all the live scoring from the Qualifier Championship here. Our live stream will starting on Wednesday with the Elite Championship, so be sure to tune into our Facebook Page our Youtube Channel.
