GKA Freestyle-Kite World Cup France 2023
16 August-20 August
Spot: Dunkerque
Discipline: Freestyle-Kite
Day four: Saturday, 19 August, 2023 (GMT+2)
20.23 That’s a wrap. We will try again tomorrow.
19.05 The AP flag is up. We’re on hold.
18.50 The green flag is still up on the men’s final, but the wind has dropped again with the riders completing almost four tricks each.
18.08 Men’s final. The riders have each performed two tricks and each opened with big sevens and eights. But the wind has dipped again and the athletes are waiting for it to come back.
17.55 Men’s Final. Gianmaria Coccoluto v Maxime Chabloz v Arthur Gilbert v Carlos Mario.
17.25 The conditions are improving. We are going to try to run the men’s final again. Get ready.
15.50 Men’s final on shortly. Well, we tried, but we’ve got the AP postponement flag up again. Gianmaria Coccoluto eventually and reluctantly tried a trick, a Front Blind Mobe for 5.37. But it’s just not enough right now. The waiting game continues.
15.38 We’re going to try to start the final at with the red flag up at 15.50, signalling the riders are in sequence.
15.14 We’re on standby as we wait for the tide and the wind. Next call 15.30 for a 15.40 possible start.
14.35 Men’s Final. Gianmaria Coccoluto v Maxime Chabloz v Arthur Gilbert v Carlos Mario.
14.18 Mario takes the win with a heat score of 27.37 in a stop-start affair as the wind turned on and off. His biggest trick was a 7.70 for a Backside 315. Chabloz got the second with 24.10, his best 6.70 for a Front Blind Mobe. Val Garat was not happy when he was tricked out for one attempt after he took too long as he felt the wind was insufficient. We have a short break before the final.
13.36 We’re back in sequence. The green flag is up and we start again with the riders’ fourth trick attempts from seven.
13.00 The AP flag is up to signal the heat is abandoned as we wait for the wind to hopefully fill properly. The riders have completed three tricks each. We’ll probably pick up there when the wind is back.
12.25 M S-F2 Matteo Dorotini v Carlos Mario v Valentin Garat v Maxime Chabloz. Heat coming shortly. The heat is on. Quite a slow semi-final as the riders are given latitude to perform their tricks by race director Rui Meira in the up and down wind.
11.45 M S-F1 Finn Flugel v Gianmaria Coccoluto v Karim Mahmoud v Arthur Guillebert. Guillebert takes the win with a heat total of 26.50 and advances to the final in first spot. Coccoluto get the second final berth with a 23.74. Cocco lands the highest trick score of 8.20 for a Backside 317, which Guillebert scored 7.07 for. Flugel, in his second consecutive semi, came third with 18.03 for the amazing 14-year-old. It wasn’t quite Mahmoud’s heat as he seemed unpowered. The riders were on 11m and 13m kites.
11.35 We’re on standby at the moment. The wind’s unstable at the moment. Looking for the best conditions.
11.00 We’re planning to go into sequence with the red flag up at 11.30. The judges are going to flexible with trick timings because the south-westerly 13-14kts cross-offshore breeze is quite gusty. As usual the riders in the four-man heats will have seven trick attempts in turn, with the best four from different trick families to count.
10.50 Next call is 11.00 with a first possible start at 11.15.
09.30 Good morning. After a day when the north-easterly never quite developed on day three, we’re optimistic to complete the men’s semi-finals and finals today. The skippers’ meeting is set for 10.30, with a first possible start 11.00. We have clear skies and a building south-westerly now. Fingers crossed.
Day two: Thursday, 17 August, 2023 (GMT +2)
20.00 That’s a wrap for today. We’ll be back tomorrow to continue the men’s action. Join us then.
19.30 W Final Francesca Bagnoli v Claudia Leon v Bruna Kajiya v Therese Taabbel. Kajiya takes the win in a tight final in difficult conditions, with 23.40 to Claudia Leon’s 21.08. Francesca Bagnoli gets gets third and Taabbel.
18.35 W S-F2 Alexandra Torres v Francesca Bagnoli v Therese Taabbel v Nais Balbinot. Taabbel takes the win when she hits all four trick families to see her into the final. Bagnoli, on her second competition after a return from a long injury, takes a solid second to make the final too. She put down some solid scores, but only ticked off three trick families.
18.13 W S-F1 Matilda Roux v Giulia Anania v Claudia Leon v Bruna Kajiya. Brilliant heat from Kajiya. She landed every trick and more importantly put on some big scores from each of the trick families, including an 8.03 for a KGB. She goes to the final with Leon.
17.55 M Q-F4 E Panet v B Jacquemain v M Chabloz v G Coccoluto. Chabloz wins and advances to the semis with a massive heat score that relfected brilliant powered, controlled riding. A well deserved 31.17 that bettered reigning world champion Coccoluto, though her served notice with his last trick of the heat-a Combo that earned 8.97 and highest score of the day so far. Buckle up for the semis.
17.30 M Q-F3 T Fermon v V Garat v F Flugel v H Nakano. Garat advances in first place with Flugel in second. Nakano had a huge heat, scoring big tricks. Unfortunately all of them did not count as the four to count must be from different trick families, to encourage variety and a more interesting spectacle.
17.05 M Q-F2 Juan Rodriguez v Arthur Guillebert v Louka Pitot v Carlos Mario. What a heat. France’s Guillebert on fire on home turf. The former world champion blew away the other former world champions with a heat score of 31.97 that included three 8-plus trick scores. The 8.67 for a Heart Attack 7 was the biggest of the day. Mario goes to the semis as well.
16.45 M Q-F1 Rafael Contreras v Valentin Rodriguez v Karim Mahmoud v Matteo Dorotini. Huge heat and a big upset. Rodriguez is out as Mahmoud advances in first place, closely followed by Dorotini in second into the semis. Dorotini is returning after breaking his leg in Saudi Arabia last year when he reached the semi-final.
16.40 W Q-F2 16.25 Eva Dupon v Francesca Bagnoli v Matilda Roux. Bagnoli and Roux go through.
16.10 W Q-F1 Giulia Anania v Mika Sol v Alexandra Torres. World champion Mika Sol has pulled out with a knee injury.
After training in Cabarete and Maui, she went on the water several days ago and felt he knee unstable . She decided not to risk it here in Dunkerque, using the event as her discard, available with five events on the calendar. She’ll check out her knee and plans to return at the next stop on the flat water of Brazil. As a result both Anania and Torres progress.
15.45 R4 H4 Robin Gotgoebuer v Luca Seer v Louka Pitot v Theo Fermon. Pitot and Fermon go through to the quaters in first and second place. Fermon just takes it from Seer at the end of the heat.
15.20 MR4 H3 Hugo Gaborit v Nathan Texier v Elliot Panet v Valentin Rodriguez. Former world champion Rodriguez goes through. His biggest trick score was a 6.90 for a KGB5 taking his total 18.80. Frenchman Elliot Panet scores 16.76 to advance also.
15.00 M R4 H2 Rafael Montero v Baptiste Jacqueman v Alessio Pintus v Julien Jacquet. Jacqueman goes through in first place, taking Montero with him into the next round
14.20 M R4 H1 Peyo Cremades v Eros Balbinot v Valentin Garat v Juan Rodriguez. Rodriguez and Garat advance with strong scores. Garat landed a 6.90 for a Slim 7.
14.15 We’re about to transition back to the men’s R4. World champion Mikaili Sol has unfortunately pulled out because of injury.
13.55 R3 H3 Eva Dupon v Therese Taabbel v Alexandra Torres. Taabbel gets the win with a 16.18 heat score, while Torres takes second.
13.40 R3H2 Francesca Bagnoli v Bruna Kajiya. Kajiya gets the win, 6.27 for a Front to Blind her biggest trick.
13.20 Women’s R3 H1 Guilia Anania v Matilda Roux v Claudia Leon. Leon gets the win with Roux second and Anania.
13.00 R3 H8 Theo Fermon v nathan Texier v Gianmaria Coccoluto. Coccoluto wins with a strong heat that included 7.77 for a 313 to Blind taking his heat total to 26.01. Good conditions for the men who are riding in about 16-18kts.
12.20 R3 H7 Hugo Gaborit v Louka Pitot v Maxime Chabloz. We’re on hold right now while we try to fix a problem with the scoring. Chabloz wins and goes to the quarters while Pitot and Gaborit fight it out in R4.
12.00 R3 H6 Hironobu Nakano v Luca Seer v Valentin Rodriguez. Nakano takes a brilliant win with a 7.13 for a Frontside 317 and goes the quarters. He sweeps aside Rodriguez who goes to R4.
11.45 R3 H5 Elliot Panet v Robin Goetgebeur v Finn Flügel. French rider Paent takes it with a strong heat and a 20.48 heat total, going to the quarter finals. Flugel takes second and will fight for survival in R4 with Goetgebeur.
11.25 R3 H4 Julien Jacquet v Eros Balbinot v Carlos Mario. A masterclass from four times world champion Carlos Mario to take the win and go to the quarter finals. He scored 6.90 for a Backside 317.
10.55 R3 H3 Alessio Pintus v Arthuer Guillebert v Peyo Cremades. 2021 world champion Guillebert takes the win and advances to the quarter finals with a 25.40 total and 6.83 for a Frontside 317.
10.40 R3 H2 Baptiste Jacquemain v Matteo Dorrotini v Juan Rodriguez. There’s our first big upset. Matteo Dorotini throws down a big heat that included 7.60 for a Backside 317 to amass 28.00 out of a possible 40 for his four counting tricks. Rodriguez does well with a Backside 317 for 7.07 and a total of 19.20.
10.10 R3 H1 Rafael Montero v Karim Mahmoud v Val Garat. AP flag is down and we’re just about to go. Mahmoud takes the win with strong riding and four good tricks to count including a 6.27 for a 313 to Blind that takes his total to 24.24 and the win.
09.55 We’re due to start with R3 H1 of the men shortly.
08.50 The next call is 09.15 for a 09.30 first possible start.
08.15 Good morning. We have just had the riders’ meeting and there’s a north-easterly already, that we’re expecting to increase shortly.
Day one: Wednesday, 16 August, 2023 (GMT +2)
19.15 That’s it for today. Unfortunately the wind is dropping and the race director has called it. The forecast looks much better for tomorrow. We’re set for a full day of action. Join us then.
18.50 The next call is 19.15 for 19.30.
18.30 Next call 18.45 for possible start at 19.00.
17.45 Next call 18.15 for 18.30 possible start.
17. 20 The wind is edging up a little. Fingers crossed. Next call 17.45 for possible start at 18.00.
16. 30 The next call is 17.15, with a possible start at 17.30.
15.30 Next call is 16.30, for a possible 16.45 start.
14.30 The waiting game continues. Next call is 15.30, for a 15.45 start.
13.55 We are still waiting for the north-easterly wind to build a little more. Now the next call is 14.30 for a first possible start at 14.45.
10.45 Good morning. The riders are registered, 23 men and 10 women, for the third freestyle stop of the Qatar Airways GKA World Tour. We are waiting for the wind to fill in and it looks good for a north-easterly breeze later in the afternoon. Stay tuned and follow all the action on the Livestream with our host Lewis Crathern elsewhere on this page.