KSP 2012 Portugal // Strapless Kitesurfing
Keahi de Aboitiz c. John Bilderback
Cascais, Portugal – June 3, 2012: Consistent surf and stacked heats made for an exciting first day of competition at the EDP Kite Surf Pro Cascais World Championship Tour event in Portugal.
Riders showcased their world-class skills in side on-shore winds and shoulder- to head-high waves today. Australian Keahi De Aboitiz, 19, 2011 PKRA Wave Tour winner, dominated the second men’s heat with powerful aerial maneuvers.
“I got pretty lucky during the first 20 seconds of the heat and had a nice wall on takeoff, a couple of nice sections, and then it reformed on the inside and gave me some good sections to hit to maximize my scoring potential,” said De Aboitiz. “I had an air reverse and a fin-bust that felt pretty good.”
Another banner performance was delivered in the forth men’s heat when Mitu Monteiro (Cape Verde), 28, got barreled on the inside sand bank. The 2008 Kite Surfing World Champion later nailed a frontside air, which helped him secure a 1st place win in his heat. He also earned the highest single-wave score of the day with 8.17 out of 10.
Other heat winners of today included top-scorer Sebastian Ribeiro of Brazil, 19, who was voted “top up-and-comer” at the 2011 Pacasmayo Kite Surf Pro event and scored a total of 14.2 points; Lee Harvey (UK), 34, who placed 10th on the 2011 KSP World Championship Tour; and Gonçalo Gomes of Portugal, 20, 2011 Ocean Spirit Champion. A local favorite, Gomes learned to windsurf at Guincho and earned the loudest cheers from the crowd on the beach at today’s competition. After his win, Gomes’ fans waved the Portuguese flag in his honor.
Fading winds compelled contest officials to call the contest after the fifth men’s heat. The next call for the competition will be tomorrow, June 4, at 10 A.M. Portugal time (UTC). To hear the next live call, tune in to http://www.kspworldtour.com/index.php/live.html
For a selection of pictures please klick here and check out the clip of the day on www.kspworldtour.com.
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