PKRA - Beach Day at the Beetle Kitesurf World Cup

The wind stayed light at the beetle kitesurf World Cup, in Saint Peter Ording Germany. Slalom racers and freestylers were ready to go at 11 AM this morning at the skippers meeting, but the wind was not cooperating. The freestylers were released for the day but the racers needing only 6 knots of wind to complete the course were hoping that in the afternoon the sea breeze would kick in. The wind never materialized and all the competitors enjoyed the kite village with the skate ramp, volleyball courts and many other activities planned around the event site. The forecast is to looking light for tomorrow but the slalom racers are still hoping for a light breeze to get some races in.



I caught up with 3 riders: Kevin Langeree(NED, Naish), Annabel Van Westerop(ABW, Cabrinha) and Adam Withington(MEX, ASV kites) and asked them questions about gear and how the season was going.

PKRA: The big change for you at this event is that you went from straps to boots, how this change affecting your riding?

Kevin: I was one of the last one still riding foot straps with Ariel Corniel and Eudazio da Silva. I tried a few pairs of bindings and none of them were very comfortable and I could not understand why everybody was so stoked on them. Now I’ve got a pair of Ronix that is light and comfortable for my feet. It’s a new challenge to ride with them in competition and I’m hoping that I’ll be a land more tricks with more pwer and that it will pay off with a win.

Question for Annabel: How as switching over to boots changed your riding?

Annabel: If I look at videos of how I was riding before I started using boots to how I ride today. I feel that my style has improved, I have more power and I can land more tricks. I really feel that it has helped my riding.



Adam Whitington is one of the top slalom racers in the world and is currently 3rd on the PKRA. We asked him how the season was going and how he sees slalom racing evolve.?

Adam: This is the 1st year that slalom has a Pro tour and I pretty excited about it, I’ve been racing slalom for 3 years already. Have mainly been competing at home in a local race series and it’s a lot of fun. It’s a race that does not forgive mistakes, one mistake and you can go from 1st to last. The high-speed racing is really fun and it’s also fun for spectators that can follow it, because it’s always close to the beach. I really see slalom blossoming over the next few years and in Europe a lot of people already practice slalom racing. We have a pretty small fleet of this event but extremely competitive once you get to the semifinal it’s hard to know who is going to advance. I really hope that slalom booms the next few years and that we have large competitive fleets.



We are pretty optimistic about possibly running some slalom tomorrow and getting back to freestyle on Thursday. Make sure you stay tuned into to the and follow us on and for the latest news and updates.