The third Kitesurf World Tour stop started on 11 of July in Tarifa, at the south end of the beach Los Lances. That day 47 Competitors from 21 different countries, registered to compete against each other in the disciplines of Freestyle and Big Air.
Unfortunately the following days the wind conditions wasn't good enough to start the competition properly due to insufficient winds on the competition area, as the first day wind kicked in just one hour after cancelation and the day after, it was windy all day long just 400m away from it..
The forecast for the next days was strong Levante winds and the competition area was not on the right place, so the VKWC Crew decided to move the whole competition to Tarifa´s Top local Spot Balneario, where Levante blows best with nice flat water and constant winds.
Balneario is located right next to Tarifas port where Mediterranean sea and Atlantic ocean meets. With Levante the water is very flat and the wind blows steady, perfect for Freestyle and great Big Air action.
In Freestyle Female the current World champion Karolina Winkowska went against Local rider Gisela Pulido in an impressive final. The crowds were cheering their local rider from the very beginning but unfortunately Gisela, even when she showed more power and impressive ticks, couldnt land clean many tricks while Karolina consistently scored points and finally won the Freestyle Female Final in Tarifa. The third place went to Bruna Kajiya and to forth Paula Novotná.
In Freestyle Men the winners Final was between Marc Jacobs and the young Brazilian newcomer Carlos Mario. The Heat started very close as they both landed the same impressive tricks. After Carlos changed from a 7 to a 9qm Kite he started to win the action consistentcy during the whole heat and a huge repertoire of massive, technical tricks, that he landed clean and smothly even with the extreme wind conditions. The third place went to Liam Whaley and forth to Aaron Hadlow.
Overall in Big Air we got to see incredible action in Balneario, as the conditions was perfect for big jumps. The riders gave everything and delivered a real show for the delighted audience, jumping as high as possible and perform aerial manoeuvres such as mega loops, massive rotations, board offs and few extremely high handle passes.
The Level was very high but finally Gisela Pulido won the Female Big Air Action in a Final against Hannah Whiteley who got second, Rita Arnaus who won the third position and Isabeau Giliart who got the fourth place.
The Male Big Air Final was insane, the riders was making massive jumps over the whole competition area and we got to see a highly motivated Ariel Corniel who went head-to-head with Big Air Legend Keving Langeree. At the end Kevin won, convincing audience and judges. Ariel won the second place, Marius Hoppe became third and Lewis Crathern won the fourth place.
The VKWC World Championship event in Tarifa is now over. Congratulations to all the riders and winners of this event, it was a real pleasure to watch you and be part of it. Thank you for another great event in Tarifa. And remember, if you want to learn some moves, or just kitesurf, come to our kiteschool in Tarifa!
In adition to all the action, we could also see some new 2016 gear from some riders, as the new twintip from Aaron Hadlow for 2016, soon more pics!
Carla and Rodri, combined experience flying kites of more than 30 years. And a Kitesurf World Championship...🔥