WKC DAKHLA – QUALIFIER CHAMPIONSHIP DAY ONE
3rd to 5th of November Qualifier Championships
6th to 10th of November Elite Championships
The Qualifier Championship kicked off today inย Dakhla, Morocco, with optimal kite conditions at this world famous stop. The registration took place at 9am atย Dakhla Spirit, with 27 men and 7 women from over 12 different nationalities competing.
Rounds 1 and 2 were completed for the Men, and Round 1 for the Women.
Menโs Qualifier Round 1
Heat 1ย saw two Moroccan riders,ย Abdrahim Moutatoukilย andย Jonas Ouahmid, competing againstย Aron Rosleeย from South Africa, and Elite competitorย Gianmaria Coccolutoย from Italy.ย Coccolutoโsย experience put him in a comfortable first place, landing each of his 7 trick attempts.ย Jonas Ouahmidfollowed through to the next round together withย Abdrahim Moutatoukil.
Heat 2ย went to young French athleteย Edgar Ulrich, who landed several good tricks including a nice 317 scoring 7.73. He passes through followed byย Kalu de Sousaย from Brazil. Elite riderย Nico Delmasย also passes through, andย YassineBoucetaย landed in 4th.
Heat 3ย was a great one for French riderย Louka Pitot, who rode very consistently and gained a solid lead.ย Ivanildoย Fernadesย from Brasil cruised though to the next round behind him, despite crashing three trick attempts. Elite riderย Paulย Serinstruggled slightly during the heat, but still placed 3rd and will have another opportunity in Round 2.
As the tide gradually went out, the wind continued to increase.ย Heat 4ย sawย Arthur Guillebert, Elite rider from France, clear his way through with ease, performing tricks such as a cleanย Front Blind Mobe.ย Young athlete and fellow Frenchmanย Oscar Perrineauย rode a great heat landing a goodย Double Heart Attack.ย Domantas Jusionisย from Lithuania placed 3rd, and all riders will pass through to Round 2.
Russian athleteย Sergey Borisovย showed his talent and motivation forย Heat 5ย where he rode solidly landing a goodย Backย Mobe 5ย andย Heart Attack. He passed through to the next round together withย Julian Krikkenย and local riderย SoufianeHassouni.ย Oussama Bouchabchoubย started the heat well but struggled to get high enough scores towards the end.
Heat 6ย contained strong riding from the athletes, withย Jerome Cloetensย from Spain performing well, clearly comfortable with the Dakhla conditions. Despite three crashed trick attempts, he still maintained a solid lead.ย Romain Giulianofrom France landed a niceย Backside 315, and passed through in 2nd place, followed by local riderย Larbi Edderkaoui.
Heat 7ย went toย Anthar Raccaย from Mexico, who pulled off a niceย Backside 317. French team riderย Lucas Ferreiraย andย Cohen van Dijkย follow him through to Round 2.
Heat 8ย was a struggle forย Augustas Dudenasย from Lithuania who landed his firstย 313ย but then struggled for the remainder of the heat.ย Youssef Keribech, local rider placed just above him, and Elite riderย Valentin Garatย came in 1st, with all three athletes passing to the next round.
Menโs Qualifier Round 2
Round 2 for the Men was continued directly from Round 1, to take advantage of the great conditions.
Nico Delmasย improved on his earlier performance forย Heat 9.ย He stomped some solid tricks such as a 7.03ย Backside 315.ย Romain Giulianoย landed an even better one, scoring slightly higher, and both athletes advanced to Round 3.
Ivanildo Ferdandesย sadly injured himself and was unable to compete inย Heat 10.ย Lucas Ferreiraย advanced together withย Domantas Jusionisย to Round 3.
Heat 11ย was a battle between three Moroccan local riders and one Brazilian.ย Kalu de Sousaย blasted his way through, landing clean and powered tricks including aย Slim5ย andย Backside 315.ย Soufiane Hassouniย andย Jonas Ouahmidwere neck and neck right until the end. Jonas narrowly missed out on advancing, as Soufiane placed a fraction of a point above him, and gained the desired spot in Round 3.
The final Menโs heat of the day wasย Heat 12. Paul Serinย is an experienced Elite rider, and he proved this with his riding in Heat 12.ย Cohen Van Dijkย fought his way through despite a slow start, and both riders advance to Round 3.
Womenโs Round 1
Rita Arnausย is no stranger to Dakhla, having visited the spot several times of the last year. It was clear that she was comfortable with the conditions, as she landed each attempt comfortably, and took the lead forย Heat 1.ย Danish Championย Therese Taabbelย followed her in 2nd place, landing a niceย S-bend to Blind. Osaia Redingย from France struggled at the start of her heat but made up for it with her last attempts, placing her in 3rd, followed by Russian riderย KristinaBelogorskaya.
Heat 2ย saw a fantastic performance from Italian athleteย Francesca Bagnoli. She landed a strong array of tricks that included aย Slim Chance,ย Backside 313ย and aย Heart Attack.ย She advanced in 1st place, followed by Dutch riderย Pippaย van Iersel. Pippa started the heat very well with two high scoring tricks but then failed to maintain the rhythm and crashed her last trick attempts. She finished the heat in 2nd place followed byย Claudia Leonย from Spain who also struggled to land the tricks she was aiming for.
The day concluded at 7pm as the sun was setting. The competition will resume at 10am tomorrow morning.
The live-stream will be running as from the 6th of November, for theย Elite Championship.ย Meanwhile, be sure to follow our updates onย Facebookย andย Instagram!
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