PKRA - Germany 2009 Day 4

St. Peter-Ording, Germany, July 28 -What else can bring a tinge of sun and heat into the moderately cool and sometimes rain-soaked competition area of the German Tour stop? Three scorching races participated in by some of the best kiteboard riders in the world.

Lately, the wind has been about as unpredictable as a drunken bee. In the middle of all this randomness however, PKRA Race Director Olaf Van Tol manages to run a perfect event, doing what he does best - fulfilling an extremely demanding and stressful job and still managing to carry a warm, welcoming smile.

Today was no exception. Sunny blue skies prevailed throughout the day with temperatures reaching a high of 22? Celsius but the gentle breeze that was, foiled the opportunity to conduct the Freestyle event which requires stronger winds. As a result, Van Tol decided to release the Freestyle riders early to make way for the Racing events and cap the day full of excitement.

The mandatory riders meeting was held on time at 10:00 am and the racers got started at 10:45 am. PKRA’s extreme kiteboard racers flew their way across the finish line to the delight of the spectators watching from the beach. A total of three races were completed just before lunch and the competition wrapped up for the day at 12:30 pm.

Five time world champion Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, GBR) as well as teammate Petr Tyushkevich (Flexifoil, RUS) managed to briefly take advantage of the light breeze to practice tricks even if they were underpowered on their 12-14m kites. Mike Blomvall (Nobile, SWE) was also out on the water landing some fancy moves preparing for the Freestyle competition.

Course Racing Highlights

Once again Cabrinha-sponsored Bruno Sroka (FRA) dominated today’s games by winning all three races. Short of saying deja vu, he is again on top of the leader board with a total of 2.8 points after 5 races. In a show of racing ability, North’s Dirk Hanel (GER) wearing jersey #32, finished in second place overall with a total of 13 points, up three notches from number 5 overall in yesterday’s results. Currently tied in third place are Sami Gali (Best, ESP) - up 3 notches from number 6 and Olivier Dansin (North, FRA) whose rank was unchanged from yesterdays overall results. Both riders have a current score of 14 points.

In the women’s results, it is yet another victorious day for North power racer Steph Bridge (GBR) who finished way ahead of the rest of the ladies in today’s second and third races with a total of 2.8 points. Fabienne D’Ortoli (Cabrinha, FRA) finished in second place overall after managing to cross the line first in today’s opening games. Kristin Boese (Best, GER) dropped in 3rd place overall after 5 races with a total of 10 points after finishing third in all of today’s races.

Course Racing Results (after 5 Races)

Men:

1. Bruno Sroka (FRA, Cabrinha) - 2.8 pts.
2. Dirk Hanel (GER, North) - 13 pts.
3. Sami Gali (ESP, Best) - 14 pts.

Women

1. Steph Bridge (GBR, North) - 2.8 pts.
2. Fabienne D’Ortoli (FRA, Cabrinha) - 7.7 pts.
3. Kristin Boese (GER, Best) - 10 pts.

Tomorrow’s riders meeting is set for 10:00 am with a first possible start at 10:30 am.

The Palmolive for Men Kitesurf World Cup 2009 is majorly sponsored by Palmolive for Men in cooperation with We Love, TV14, Jever and the local government of St. Peter-Ording, Germany.