6 June 2023
Tarifa, Spain
Words: Ian MacKinnon
Pictures: Samuel Cárdenas
- On Monday, we completed the Men’s and Women’s Round 1 of the TwinTip discipline,
- Get ready for an exciting Tuesday as we aim to finish the event and crown the World Champions
- Don’t forget to tune into the livestream today as we crown the Surfboard Men, Twintip Men’s, and Women’s World Champions
With massive Levante winds forecast for Tuesday, the organisers hope to complete the men’s and women’s Twin-Tip competition and the men’s Surfboard contest to crown the world champions in each division.
On Monday, it was only after 6pm that the race director judged that the wind, blowing at about 21 to 23 knots, was sufficiently strong to get the women out on Balneario’s flat waters so the breath-taking show could begin.
In the women’s three-rider heats, each athlete had seven trick attempts with the best three counting. The winner of each heat advanced to round three, while the losers get to battle for survival in round two.
Spain’s Liam Whaley and Italy’s Andrea Principi threw down the gauntlet in the much-anticipated opening clashes in the men’s Twin-Tip division of the Qatar Airways GKA Big Air Kite World Championships in Tarifa, Spain.
The pair, who head the standings in the race for the title, racked up big scores to win their separate heats and advance. Both went huge, showing control and power, and putting down a marker for their rivals battling on Tarifa’s Balneario beach.
The women’s field in the Big Air Twin-Tip class also saw some standout performances at the opening of the competition. France’s Angely Bouillot’s big win in her heat sent a warning to reigning world champion Mikaili Sol (USA) that the 18-year-old star may have her work cut out if she is to retain her crown.
Both the 24-strong field of men and the fleet of 12 women got through the whole of their first round after a long day of waiting for the Levante wind to kick in on day four of the competition.
