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Pringles World Cup VKWC 2015 day 3 Germany kitesurfing news and events kiteworld magazine

As the third day of Pringles Kitesurf World Cup got underway, the riders prepared their larger kites and got ready for the start of the slalom discipline. The wind was blowing an estimated 14 knots and the sun was shining over the vast beach of St. Peter Ording.

The fastest racers entered the water for this first VKWC slalom event of the season. The racing conditions were optimal, and two full eliminations were completed for both the men and women. An outstanding performace was given by many riders, and currently for the overall ranking we have Rolf Van der Vlugt (NED/Airush), Marvin Baumeister (AUS/Flysurfer), Florian Gruber (DE/Ozone) and Elias Ouahmid (MOR/North) in the lead. The women were also on fire, and the current top rankings are Katja Roose (NED/Airush), Annelous Lammerts (NED/Slingshot), Bibiana Magaji (SVK/Core) and Marie Lou Fourre (VEN/Crazyfly). Stef Bridge (GB/North) won the first elimination but unfortunately could not participate in the second elimination as she had to assist one of her sons who had a minor hand cut. Let’s see if she will be able to gain the lost ground on the upcoming eliminations.

After a short break, the competition resumed with the start of the Freestyle Qualifiers. 45 men have to compete for one of the 8 places in the main event. The riders have to battle hard to earn their spot and get a chance to compete with the top riders in the world. The wind was complicating the heats as it was rising and dropping continously, meaning that various heats had to be abandoned and re-run, much to the rider’s frustration.

Three heats were successfully completed, and winning to pass directly to round three were Sander Bos (NED/North), Val Garat (FR/Best) and Adeuri Corniel (DR). The beach was packed with spectators, lining up around the competiton area to enjoy the freestyle action on this beautiful German summer day.

The competitors remained on the beach until 7.30pm whilst waiting for the wind conditions to improve, but unfortunately it did not get strong enough to resume the elimination.

During the afternoon, the public were treated to a surprise appearance of boxing Heavy Weight Champion Wladimir Klitschko, who is an avid kitesurfer and came to show his support for this popular event. The crowds rushed around him to get a chance to meet and take a photo with the champ. He also came to meet our current kitesurf World Champion Christophe Tack (BE/Liquid Force).

The forecast for tomorrow looks stronger in the morning so the rider’s meeting has been called for 8am with a first possible start at 8.30am. We look forward to another supreme display of kitesurfing on the beautiful beaches of St. Peter Ording.