Kiteworld Magazine | The original international kitesurfing magazine

GKA WAVE & STRAPLESS FREESTYLE STOP #03 – REGISTRATION AND QUALIFIERS

Le Morne, Mauritius, 6th September 2016

All photos: Toby Bromwich

The hallowed spot of Le Morne in Mauritius plays host to the third stop on the GKA Wave & Strapless Freestyle tour, and is the first full wave event on this mixed five stop tour.

Early buzz at registration at one of the most beautiful and incredible kiteboarding spots in the world

After registration, 23 riders battled it out in six qualifying heats with 12 progressing through to the main event. Conditions were good, with the contest running between Chameaux and down to One Eye as and when the waves allowed.

Keahi de Aboitiz, went straight through to round three

As a result of the qualifiers, lining up in round one heats for the main event were:01
Keahi de Aboitiz
Max Bonnieux
Sandro Pisu

02
James Carew
Gael Velazquez
Jan Marcos Riveras

03
Reo Stevens
Mervin Louis
Mitu Monteiro

04
Christian Stepnow
Matt Elsasser
Matchu Lopes

05
Felipe Fereira
Jean Jose Ricot
Ralph Boelen

Heat five closed the day’s action yesterday. All five riders who won their heats in round one progressed to round three, and all were riding sublimely. Pick of the names and possibly a new name in your minds is James Carew from Australia, riding with power and amazing confidence.

As well as James, other riders winning their heats were Keahi de Aboitiz, Reo Stevens, Matchu Lopes and Felipe Fereira.

The remaining three heats of round one will continue this morning (Tuesday). Stay glued to the GKA Instagram and Facebook pages for more updates.

06
Pedro Matos
Torrin Bright
Paulino Pereira

07
Anthony Jacoby
Jeremy Chan
Patri McLaughlin

08
Sebastian Ribeiro
Dimitry Evseev
Airton Cozzolino

On the completion of round one, we move to round two, where the riders who didn’t win their heats in round one will get another chance.

Conditions look promising for Tuesday to progress far with the main event with a good swell continuing to push through.

Please enjoy these images from Toby Bromwich and we’d appreciate it if you could share them. More to come!

#GKAWave, #StraplessFreestyle, #beachcomberhotel, #ion, #mauritius, #mautourco, #gopro, #jeewin, #toukoreksurfshop

Felipe Fereira (BRA)

Matchu Lopes (Cape Verde)

Ralph Boelen (France)

Catch up on the Day 1 video highlights here

The GKA Wave & Strapless Freestyle Tour will see a mix of freestyle and wave events run in 2016, eventually resulting in the crowning of a GKA Wave & Strapless Freestyle Rider of the Year. After Mauritius the tour moves to Dakhla – Morocco in October and Fortaleza in Brazil in November.