KSP Ponta Preta and World Champion awards ceremony 2011

The ripeness of the strapless rippers.

That was a bit disappointing final stop because of low swell compared to the insane conditions in Mauritius and Peru. Bad luck for the right-hander riders, that entered after the start like Adriana Harlan and Bear Karry. They seriously could have disturbed the ranking if they had run the official competition in Cape Verde instead of super sessions far from real waveriding…C’est la vie !
Above all, what struck me in this first KSP Pro tour is : riders have shown that strapless kitesurfing has become much more than a rising style. It has reached maturity. Congrats to all the athletes and the KSP staff for sharing these nice moments. Big up to Airton, Mitu, Guilly, Ines, Marie and Kristin, the tops notch of the moment.

A big thanks to Felix Pivec, the strapless Guru, the KSP is now set on Strapless kitesurfing style.

Here’s the original summary of the KSP: Ponta Preta Kite Surf Pro Concludes, World Champions Crowned
Sal Island, Cape Verde — December 8, 2011: Bringing the Ponta Preta Kite Surf Pro to a close, today concluded the KSP’s inaugural three-stop 2011 Kite Surfing World Championship Tour.

“We had insane conditions on tour this year,” said KSP rider and Vice President Sky Solbach. “ We scored the most perfect surf ever seen in competition in Mauritius and the longest waves on the planet in Peru. Unfortunately Mother Nature did not cooperate in Cape Verde, but we still had a blast in the Super Sessions here.”

Due to the bleak swell forecast for the remainder of the 10-day holding period, yesterday, the KSP rider’s committee decided along with KSP organizers to end the competition early following the two Super Sessions in varying conditions.

According to the KSP contest rules all 24 men at this Cape Verdean tour stop received an equal number of points (4,365), which go toward the 2011 World Championship title. The 12 female riders each earned 5,265 points. Overall, 64 riders from 20 countries competed on the inaugural KSP Tour.

Kicking off at 7 p.m. last night at the beachside venue of Odjo d’ Agua in downtown Santa Maria, KSP officials awarded the Cape Verde Super Session winners and crowned the 2011 World Champions.

In the women’s Super Session Overall, Kirsty Jones (UK/North) took first, with Adriana Harlan (Hawaii) placing second and Kristin Boese (Best/Germany) coming in third. On the men’s front Airton Cozzolino (Italy/North) took first, with Bear Karry (USA) and local wild card winner Jose Djo Silva (Cape Verde/F-One) coming in second and third, respectively.

The prize giving then turned to the coveted World Championships, the culminated results from the One Eye Kite Surf Pro in Le Morne, Mauritius, the Pacasmayo Kite Surf Pro in Pacasmayo, Peru and the Ponta Preta Kite Surf Pro in Santa Maria, Cape Verde — held at three of the best kite surfing locations in the world.

On the women’s podium, 9-time World Champion Kristin Boese (Germany/Best) took third place, with Marie Gautron (France/Naish) coming in second and the young Portuguese rider Ines Correia taking the World Championship title.

The men’s podium saw 2010 Kitesurfing World Champion and winner of the second KSP Tour stop in Peru, Guilly Brandao (Brazil), in third place and local Cape Verdean hero Mitu Monteiro (F-One) in second. However, it was Airton Cozzolino (Italy/North), winner of the first tour stop in Mauritius and second place finisher in Peru who stole the crowd’s hearts. In an emotional interview, the native Cape Verdean could not fight back his tears of joy after being carried onto the podium by his local crew and graciously accepting his first ever World Championship trophy in front of his home crowd.

“I am so happy. Thank you to everyone. It’s a dream come true,” said the near-speechless Cozzolino.

The 2012 KSP World Championship Tour schedule will be released on February 1, 2012. Once again, the lineup of venues promises world-class exotic locations across the globe to showcase high-performance kitesurfing in the world’s best waves by the world’s best riders.

The KSP 2011 Ponta Preta Kite Surf Pro was supported by Camera Municipal do Sal, Cape Verde Investment Promotion Agency, CVTelecom, Melia Tortuga Beach, Villaggi Bravo, Cabocan, TAP Portugal, ASA, APP, Sal Affitti and BoinxTV. The KSP World Championship Tour is sponsored by ION and Vitamizzer.

For more information, please visit KSPworldtour.com or email info@kspworldtour.com.

PONTA PRETA KITE SURF PRO SUPER SESSION RESULTS

Women’s Super Session Day 1 at Secrets:

1st Adriana Harlan (Brazil)

2nd Kirsty Jones (UK/North)

3rd Kristin Boese (Germany/Best)

Men’s Super Session Day 1 at Secrets:

1st Bear Karry (USA)

2nd Airton Cozzolino (Italy/North)

3rd Sky Solbach (USA/North)

Women’s Super Session Day 2 at Kite Beach:

1st Kirsty Jones (UK/North)

2nd Adriana Harlan (Hawaii)

3rd Odile Cavin (France)

Men’s Super Session Day 2 at Kite Beach:

1st Airton Cozzolino (Italy/North)

2nd Matchu Almeida (Cape Verde/North)

3rd Jose Djo Silva (Cape Verde/F-One)

Women’s Overall Super Session:

1st Kirsty Jones (UK/North)

2nd Adriana Harlan (Hawaii)

3rd Kristin Boese (Germany/Best)

Men’s Overall Super Session:

1st Airton Cozzolino (Italy/North)

2nd Bear Karry (USA)

3rd Jose Djo Silva (Cape Verde/F-One)

2011 KITE SURFING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RANKINGS

MEN

1st place: Airton Cozzolino (Italy/North)

2nd place: Mitu Monteiro (Cape Verde/F-One)

3rd place: Guilly Brandao (Brazil)

4th place: Mauricio Pedreira (Brazil)

5th place: Sky Solbach (USA/North)

6th place: Jesse Richman (Hawaii/Naish)

7th place: Juan Pablo Diban (Chile), Patri McLaughlin (Hawaii/North)

9th place: Etienne Lhote (France/F-One)

10th place: Jeremie Eloy (France/North), Lee Harvey (UK/North)

12th place: Nuno Figueiredo (Portugal/Best)

13th place: Bruno Bordovsky (Brazil), Sebastien Ribeiro (Brazil)

15th place: Bastien Bollard (France/Underground), Bear Karry (USA)

17th place: Filippe Ferreira (Brazil)

18th place: John Amundson (Hawaii/North), Marc Ramseier (Switzerland), Max Bonieux (Mauritius), Oswald Smith (South Africa)

22nd place: Cameron Dietrich (USA), Diego Anta Lopez (Spain), Gonzalo Ribba (Chile), Ian Glaza (Brazil), Jacobo Said (Peru), Joao Stopani (Portugal), Jose Djo Silva (Cape Verde), Juan Antonio Gordillo (Peru), Luis Brito (Cape Verde), Matchu Almeida (Cape Verde), Patrick Desvaux (Mauritius), Paulino Pereira (Portugal)

34th place: Gunnar Biniasch (Germany/Underground), Gustavo Foerster (Brazil), Herve Boure (France), Jamie Donaldson (USA), Libero Cozzolino (Italy), Mark Moore (Canada), Nans Laviolette (La Reunion), Octavio Chaine (Argentina), Paulo Rios (Peru), Scott Peterson (USA), Sebastien Schmitt (La Reunion)

WOMEN

1st place: Ines Correia (Portugal)

2nd place: Marie Gautron (France/Naish)

3rd place: Kristin Boese (Germany/Best)

4th place: Melissa Gil (USA)

5th place: Maayke Tadema (Netherlands/Best), Ninja Bichler (Mauritius/North)

7th place: Kirsty Jones (UK/North)

8th place: Kelly Strachan (USA)

9th place: Adriana Harlan (Hawaii), Suzanne Kuiper (Netherlands/F-One)

11th place: Erika Lindberg (Sweden)

12th place: Milla Knesse-Ferreira (Brazil)

13th place: Steph Bridge (UK/North)

14th place: Dianira Lopes (Cape Verde), Elsa Saintville (Mauritius), Odile Cavin (France), Tomoko Okazaki (Japan)

18th place: Celina Guardati (Argentina), Laurel Eastman (USA/Best), Muriel Vandenbempt (France)

Here’s the video of the wrap up of the whole KSP and the ceremony

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