Women’s Wave Single Elimination – Mauritius Day Seven

JALOU LANGEREE CLAIMS WOMEN’S SINGLE ELIMINATION VICTORY

Thursday 12th September
Report: Jim Gaunt
Photos: Ydwer van der Heide / Svetlana Romantsova
Videos: Mintautas Grigas 

The event is hosted at Bel Ombre by: C-Beach Club and Kite Globing. 

Judging Criteria: Pure wave – 20 minute heats / best 2 waves count from 15 possible waves
Wind: 15 knots sideshore
Wave conditions: Head high (occasionally over) but nice and clean. 

Head to the Kite-Surf live page with heat ladders, scores and more. 

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Completing the women’s single elimination heats that began yesterday, we reached a well contested final between the two leading contenders who had to battle it out for the title at the final event of the season in Brazil last year. Carla Herrera Oria, a strapless freestyle specialist who is adapting to waves, and eventual 2018 title winner, Jalou Langeree, a highly respected double wave world champion who had to adapt to freestyle last year to help her over the line in winning the 2018 crown. 

THE WOMEN’S FINAL
Jalou Langeree (NED) V Carla Herrera-Oria (ESP) 

Eight minutes and four waves into the heat, Jalou had a best two wave score of 13.53, already higher than Carla had managed so far in the competition, so with the pressure off to some extent, as is the case when you relax, the waves seemed to come to her. Every approach back in to the reef she seemed to be able to pick the faces that would hold up best and demonstrated to the judges her flowing and fluid style, repeatedly letting her fins loose on the top turn.

Carla, however, it must be said is much improved in waves, but reaching the final here is a solid bonus for her in terms of the championship – which she leads through her excellent strapless freestyle results at other events. The Spaniard put everything into this heat having made it this far, careering down from the lip, turning back up and leaving her turns as late as she could at the top, dropping steep and then banking hard again.

Her seventh wave gave her a 5.47, pushing her up to 9.47 overall, still chasing down Jalou’s 13.53 that she’s maintained from waves two and four neat the start of the heat.

Six minutes remained… 8 waves to 7 registered, with Carla bagging most. No matter, it’s only the best two that count.

Jalou chased all her waves in close and seemed more comfortable when engaging repeatedly with the lip. There have been fewer big waves so far in the final, but with four minutes left a new set came in.

Jalou faded right into the foam giving herself more of an open face and attacked, managing just two turns though before hopping over the back early to ensure she’d still have time to catch one of the remaining waves in the set. Carla did the same.

Seconds later Jalou was being escorted in on a clean wall. She held her rail, waited for the lip to feather, cut up and turned right underneath the lip… safe and secure… she dropped in again and smacked the lip once more before 30 yard to her left the remaining section closed out.

The set’s end was looming as was the heat and Jalou had picked another growing chunk. Obviously coming hard off the top she kicked up a big fan of spray beyond the mass of white water of the wave in front of her that we were peering over. She repeated the process on her next turn so there was no mistaking the calibre of her control. Bang-tidy, she looked good.

One minute left and the scores were still 13.53 v 9.47.

Close-out followed closeout for the next 30 seconds; both women had wisely managed to not chase those ones in.

Jalou made three turns on what was surely her last wave, but behind Carla was frantically outrunning a massive wall of white water. As the wave took form she started an evenly timed assault, managing only two turns before the shallows sent the wave into meltdown. In the end it wasn’t enough. Jalou had done it!

WOMEN’S SINGLE ELIMINATION FINAL RESULT:
Jalou Langeree wins the women’s single elimination: 13.53
Carla Herrera takes second: 9.47

The men’s double elimination also got underway. Head to the Kite-Surf live event page to see the scores. 

15.00 – WOMEN’S MINI-FINAL

Sophia Abreu (BRA) V Maria Kinkina (BUL)

Battle of the newcomers proved a pretty stylish affair with both riders cutting clean and repeated hacks down the line. The scores were really tight throughout, but in the end, and probably fair on balance from what we saw throughout the whole single elimination, Kinkina snuck her way ahead of the Brazilian onto the last step of the podium at her first GKA event! Look out for these two ladies over the coming months. They’ve take their surfing abilities into kiting and with some more competition experience, we hope to see them challenging Jalou in the wave stakes more closely soon! 

RESULT:
3rd place women’s single elimination: Maria Kinkina (BUL) 6.7
4th place women’s single elimination: Sophia Abreu (BRA) 6.33

The day was still yet young when we were gifted an early treat and in a different heat draw fate, if these two hadn’t met in round three, it could have easily been the final. 

HEAT 13A R3 – (Quarter final)

Jalou Langeree (NED) V Ninja Ricot (MRU / GER)
When you come to Mauritius, you always have to beat Ninja Ricot if you want to win the crown. Formerly Ninja Bichler, she was the 2016 GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Mauritius Champion and the 2012 winner when the KSP ran the tour here, so is the undisputed queen of waves on this island.

The first seven waves each rushed by in this heat, it was action packed. With seven minutes remaining the score was 15.54 to 14.1 in Jalou’s favour. If Ninja could get one more 7 point score, to match Jalou’s 2 x 7s she’d be right there.

Jalou slotted her highest score of 7.8 on her ninth wave after a steady and consistent barrage of great scores, mostly over the 6.5 mark throughout. Ninja wasn’t far behind, but her scores for each wave were some way below those of Jalou’s, but it’s just two waves that count, so the actual score remained close with three minutes left on the clock: 15.77 for Jalou and 14.1 to Ninja.

At the end of the heat the wave count was 14 to Jalou and 12 to Ninja – very respectable, and second only to themselves in their previous heats on day six. Jalou commented that this was one of the best heats of her career – lots of respect between these two.

Jalou won went through to the semi-finals: 15.77
Ninja will return in the double eliminations coming over the next couple of days: 14.1

Congratulations to all 19 women involved in the event – they will all get another chance in the doubles. Find the results for all heats on the Kite-Surf live page, and for a more detailed wave breakdown, here on the livescore site. 

MEN’S DOUBLES 

The men’s doubles resumed on completion of the women’s singles, starting with the riders who were ejected first in the single elimination, who were given the first chance to re-enter the competition, riding against each other in 20 minute man-on-man heats. 

The double elimination ladder continues like that, with riders having to advance through several rounds, before they reach the top finishers from the singe elimination, beating them one by one, before they’ll face yesterday’s winner, Airton Cozzolino, who already waits in the final. 

The day ended with the last shred of usable light, a golden sunset glimmering across the water as local rider Willow-River Shakes-Tonkin emerged from a long deep barrel, earning a 9.07. We’ve seen similar barrels get a fraction higher towards a perfect 10, but rather than continue to work the remaining wall of the wave, Willow decided that it was a moment worthy of letting go of the bar and swinging his hands by his side – rocking the floss manoeuvre. Willow is a man who lets his emotions lead him, but his instincts to pull high and slip in and out of that tube have propelled him into round 3 of the double elimination, beating Louis Marvin, another local. 

More tomorrow, skippers is at 08.30. 

DETAILED STORY OF THURSDAY’S MEN’S SINGLE ELIMINATION FINALS (DAY SIX)

The wave size and power in yesterday’s epic single elimination wave final were perfectly suited to Airton Cozzolino and James Carew to put everything into their performances. 

Click here for the full story and images.