Thursday update – GKA Gran Canaria begins

EVENT BEGINS TODAY – 11:30 FIRST POSSIBLE START – UPDATES BELOW

Thursday 13th June

Report: Matt Pearce / All photos: Svetlana Romantsova 

The action gets underway this morning here at Playa de Vargas and we’re counting down to a first possible start as the wind builds.

At this morning’s riders briefing the heat order was confirmed with the men on the water first in three and four man heats followed by the women who’ll be competing with two to three riders per heat.

Riders will be judged purely on freestyle this morning, with the chance to do seven tricks per heat and the top four high scoring tricks counting towards their heat score.

Check the heat order below.

MEN’S HEAT ORDER

HEAT 1
J. Rodriguez
R. Guillano
G. Coccoluto

HEAT 2
J. Burlando
A. Rosslee
V. Rodriguez

HEAT 3
A. Guillebert
N. Delmas
A. Corniel

HEAT 4
L. Casati
J. Ouahmid
M. Chabloz

HEAT 5
L. Cruz
J. Krikken
L. Whaley

HEAT 6
K. Mahmoud
P. Martinez
S. Teixeira

HEAT 7
M. Lopez Torres
S. Mul
P. Serin
L. Pitot

HEAT 8
J. Prieto
J. Del Rosario
C. Mario

WOMEN’S HEAT ORDER

HEAT 1
N. Lambrect
B. Kajiya

HEAT 2
H. Whiteley
P. Van Iersel

HEAT 3
D. Morena
R. Arnaus
T. Taabbel

HEAT 4 (cancelled)
L. Schamann
M. Sol

ROUND ONE MENS

Kite size: Riders out on 9-12 metre kites

Conditions: Cross onshore from the left with chop and small kickers on the inside.

HEAT 1

J. Rodriguez / R. Guillano / G. Coccoluto

Gianmaria Coccoluto takes the heat with a clean back mobe 7 in which he managed to combine height, power and a stomped landing in the challenging onshore chop.

HEAT 2

J. Burlando / A. Rosslee / V. Rodriguez

Valentin Rodriguez wins the heat by a massive margin of 15.04 points ahead of 13 year-old local Jeremy Burlando and South Africa’s Aron Rosslee. Valentin’s 317 put him in front and his competitors just couldn’t close the gap from then on.

HEAT 3

A. Guillebert / N. Delmas / A. Corniel

Nico Delmas was the most consistent rider at first but Adeuri Corniel pulled ahead with a high scoring BS 317 that earned him 7.47 followed by a clean front blind mobe. A super tight heat to begin with, but Adeuri added a double heart attack and 317 to take the win.

HEAT 4

L. Casati, J. Ouahmid, M. Chabloz

Maxime Chabloz cruised this heat and already had a 13+ point lead after just four tricks. A solid opener from the tour number two.

HEAT 5

L. Cruz / J. Krikken / L. Whaley

Luiz Cruz racked up the highest score with a 7.3 for a 319 but Liam Whaley put in an ultra-consistent display to win. He regularly scored high sixes and his highest scoring trick was only 0.1 points behind Luis’. He’s going to be one to watch at this event if he keeps up this form.

HEAT 6

K. Mahmoud / P. Martinez / S. Teixeria

Posito Martinez opens with a heart attack and rides with the most power of all three riders throughout the heat. His 317 was one of the top scoring tricks of the day up to this point and he kept up the tempo to take first in this heat.

HEAT 7

S. Mul / P. Serin / L. Pitot / M. Lopez Torres

Louka Pitot looked very composed in this heat and led from start to finish. Stinj Mul from the Netherlands showed a glamour of serious talent though with the highest scoring trick of the heat, 7.23 for a BS 315. Paul Serin just pulled past Stinj into second on his last trick though.

HEAT 8

J. Prieto / J. Del Rosario / C. Mario

Predictably, Carlos Mario ran away with this heat from the start. No massively high scores from him, but he’s clearly saving himself for the tougher rounds to come.

ROUND ONE WOMEN

Kite size: Riders out on 7 metre kites

Conditions: Still cross onshore from the left with chop / small kickers but also more flat sections due to falling tide. Wind now stronger at 20-25 knots.

HEAT 1

N. Lambrecht / B. Kajiya

Natalie Lambrecht pulls out the first big surprise of the competition and beats Bruna Kajiya by 0.4 points!

HEAT 2

H. Whiteley / P. Van Iersel

Another tight heat here but Hannah Whitely clinches it ahead of Dutch ripper Pippa van Iersel.

Heat 3

D. Morena / R. Arnaus / T. Taabbel

Rita Arnaus leads from early on but Therese manages a late heat comeback with a big s-bend to blind to win it.

ROUND TWO MEN

Round one losers fight to stay in the running in four man heats with top two riders from each heat progressing to round three.

Kite size: Riders out on 9-12 metre kites

Conditions: Still cross onshore from the left with kickers. Wind beginning to push past 25 knots but increasing lulls in between.

HEAT 9

J. Rodriguez / A. Guillebert / J. Burlando / L. Casati

Juan Rodriguez wins this comfortably, not crashing a single trick and scoring two tricks over 7 points.

HEAT 10

J. Ouahmid / N. Delmas / A. Rosslee / R. Giuliano

First place being regularly traded off here and changing almost every time a rider lands a trick. Frenchman Giuliano pulls ahead with two tricks to go and holds on to the lead to progress to round three.

HEAT 11

S. Mul / J. Prieto / L. Cruz / S. Teixeira

Luis Alberto Cruz comes back from the brink in this heat with a late surge to win it!

HEAT 12

A. Guillebert / K. Mahmoud / P. Serin / J. Del Rosario

Paul Serin leaves nothing to chance in this round with four high scoring tricks straight off the hat including a double heart attack and back mobe 5. A solid win for him to earn his spot in round three.

ROUND THREE MEN

The semi-finals beckon!

Kite size: Riders on 11-12 metre kites

Conditions: Wind dropping down to sub-20 knots but still consistent.

HEAT 13

G. Coccoluto / J. Rodriguez / A. Rosslee / V. Rodriguez

Valentin Rodriguez wins with the highest combined score of the event so far – 33  – and the highest single trick score of the day as well – 9.43 for a KGB7! In the same heat, Gianmaria Coccoluto took the second highest combined score of the day and the second highest scoring trick – a KGB5 for 8.4 points.

Super tight this one – Valentin only had a 0.89 point lead on Gianmaria by the end of the heat.

Heat 14

A. Guillebert / R. Giuliano / A.Corniel / M. Chabloz

Another big heat to round out the day. Maxime Chabloz combines four big scoring tricks, including a BS 317 and a 319, to accumulate yet another 30+ point overall score. No more holding back, this was Maxime going for broke and coming up golden.

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 1 OF THE MAIN EVENT BELOW