GKA Kite World Tour curtain raiser sees Kajiya and Coccoluto triumph in Qatar

A packed house at Fuwairit Kite Beach witnessed the first clash of the season where Bruna Kajiya made an ecstatic return to the top step and Gianmaria Coccoluto’s title defence held firm.

The crew assembled at dawn with big business to be done before the water level dropped too low in this tidal lagoon. While the competition was on hold, by midday a vibrant crowd had already started to amass, with hundreds making the 80 minute drive from Doha to start their weekend early. Almost as soon as the lagoon started to fill again the spectators were treated to full afternoon’s feast of kiteboarding, starting with a big air show from some of the professional athletes to whet their appetite for the upcoming drama of the freestyle finals.

Women’s Final

Qatari crowds were certainly ready to get their first taste of a world class Freestyle final. Claudia Leon, Bruna Kajiya, Nathalie Lambrecht and Mika Sol rocked a great show.

In an emotional twist, 3x world champion, Bruna Kajiya, returned to the top step of an event podium for the first time in two seasons. She put on a truly gritty performance on an eight metre in windy conditions and had a close battle with reigning champion, Mika Sol.

Bruna had opened up with an impressive hat-trick of moves; evidence of how this most experienced of competitors is maintaining such an awesome competitive drive. A textbook back mobe was followed by a backside 313 and a clean slim chance to give her the early advantage.

Mika herself had opened up the heat with a massive slim 5 which would be the highest scoring trick of the final, earning 8.07 points. She then suffered later on by taking three attempts to finally nail a hinterberger 5.

In an emotional interview on the water’s edge right after the result was announced, with teary eyes Bruna beamed, “I think it’s obvious how hard it is for me to find words. I love this sport, To have been doing it for so long and to still be able to feel this emotion means so much. All the girls killed it, and it’s a privilege to compete with them. To be number one again, I don’t even know what to say.”

WOMEN’S FINAL RESULTS:

(Including the variety score in brackets – read more about that at the end of this article)

1. Bruna Kajiya (BRA) 31.86 (7)
2. Mikaili Sol (USA) 28.24 (4)
3. Nathalie Lambrecht (SWE) 26.56 (7)
4. Claudia Leon (ESP) (0)

Men’s Final

A strong, cool wind blew in across the lagoon with riders on nine, ten and eleven metre kites, often with a heap of depower yanked on. The 22 – 25 knot wind speeds belied the density in its power.

The event’s high performers had reached the final and, in his first ever GKA Kite World Tour final, Louka Pitot took the fight bravely to the three world champions that lined up against him.

Pitot led the heat up to trick six of the eight attempts allowed in the final, but then crashed twice, opening the door…

Of course no one wins until all tricks have been thrown, the top four scoring moves for each rider have been pulled out and then the final variety score has been allocated for hitting different trick families and added on top. Freestyle finals always deliver intensity with such small margins for error and it was the experience of Gianmaria Coccoluto and Carlos Mario that shone through, with both staying cool to the end. Only when the final scores dropped at the end with the top four tricks for each rider combined with their variety score was current champion Coccoluto confirmed as the event winner.

His victory was a narrow one, winning by less than half a point over Mario, thanks in part to a clinical slim 7 close to the end.

MEN’S FINAL RESULTS:

(Including the variety score in brackets – read more about that at the end of this article)

1. Gianmaria Coccoluto (ITA) 32.53 (7)
2. Carlos Mario (BRA) 32.10 (7)
3. Louka Pitot (FRA) 31.93 (7)
4. Valentin Rodriguez (COL) 28.43 (7)

 

Freestyle Format Details

In each Freestyle heat, riders take it in turns to throw a trick within a 40 second time limit until they’ve all had seven trick attempts. Each rider’s top four counting tricks make up their final score. If each of those four tricks are from different trick families a maximum of 7 extra points can be awarded as a variety bonus.

This isn’t just the start of a fresh new season. Should they get their tactics right, this format change offers the potential for new riders to challenge the pack of reigning and vice world champions that were amassed at this event.

VARIETY POINTS

Essentially, there are seven points available for ‘variety’ which can be added to a rider’s best four trick scores from seven attempts in the heat. If they manage to land all four of those tricks in different trick families, they’ll earn an extra seven points. The variety score breakdown is:

• Landing all four tricks from the same single family: 1 point
• Two families: 2 points
• Three families: 4 points
• Four families: 7 points

Next on the calendar is the GKA Freestyle-Kite World Cup Colombia 2023, held in Salinas Del Rey from 1-5 March.

Full schedule

Text and images courtesy of GKAkiteworldtour.com.