PKRA - Tack and Winkowska Sweep Nitro City Kite and Cable Challenge

The final day of the Kiteboard World Cup Panama wrapped up with Christophe Tack and Karolina Winkowska earning the top spots in the Nitro City Kite and Cable Challenge, sweeping both the first and second disciplines.

With all the pressure from the main event freestyle contest behind them, the riders seized the opportunity to participate in a fun competition format that combined two of the many sports on offer here in Nitro City - kiteboarding and cable wakeboarding.

Today’s Cable contest had the top eight men and four women finishers from yesterday’s kiteboarding Best Trick contest doing battle for the top spot by showcasing their skills behind the cable. Taking place a mere 150 meters from the beach, the stage was set with the Red Bull mobile DJ unit spinning tunes and American kite pro Erik Reinstra commentating the action.

With six passes through the two-obstacle course, riders were judged half on their tricks on the kicker and the other half on their slider maneuvers. The sum of their score from today and yesterday’s kiteboarding best trick contest was then added together to decide the winner.

Taking to the water first were the ladies, who were clearly having fun as the amped crowd cheered them on. With some solid passes and spectacular crashes, the ladies put forth a valiant effort. In the end, it was Karolina Winkowska’s Frontside 360 off the kicker and nice ollie on slider hits that led her to the win with both the highest kite and cable score.

For the men it was Aaron Hadlow and Christophe Tack that shined the brightest, as they demonstrated solid execution of a variety of tricks on both the slider and kicker.

Hadlow styled out the first big hit of the day with a Toeside Backside 540 off the kicker as well as a smooth Nose Press to Blind on the slider. Tack also went big and almost landed a Heel Frontside 900 after stomping a consecutive Backside 540 and Frontside 720.

In the end, Hadlow’s cable scores totaled 0.1 point higher than Tack’s, however after combining the cable and kite scores, Tack came out on top, giving him the victory by a mere 1.1 point spread.

With the winners of the Nitro City Kite and Cable Challenge decided, the Kiteboard World Cup Panama officially came to a close with a spectacular award ceremony crowning the event champions and awarding the Sportsman Award to Eudazio DaSilva, and the Best Newcomer Award to Analous Lammerts.

A surprising, suspense filled, and fantastic event now sets a high bar for the next event to come in Morocco. Stay tuned to the and feeds for updates on event videos and all the latest info from the PKRA World Tour.