Heavy hitters registered for action at GKA Freestyle World Cup Fuerteventura
by GKA Kite World Tour 20 Jul 06:22 BST
19-24 July 2019
More flags than the United Nations! - GKA Kite World Tour - Freestyle World Fuerteventura 2019 © Romantsovaphoto
The GKA Kite World Tour is in Sotavento, Fuerteventura, this week for the fourth GKA Freestyle World Cup stop of the season.
22 men and 12 women registered for the event this morning at the Rene Egli Watersports centre, and there's a host of riders in the ranks who are out to unseat current tour leaders Carlos Mario and Mikaili Sol when the main event begins.
In the women's division, Mikaili has a bigger lead on points having been in two finals this season (one of which she won at the GKA Gran Canaria) but fellow Brazilian Bruna Kajiya and Pippa van Iersel from the Netherlands are on her tail.
Mikaili may look hard to beat, but she hasn't had her customary clean sweep of victories so far this year so her first place position is by no means unassailable.
So, that means we're in for a potentially pivotal week here at Playa de Sotavento, with two big double events still to come in Mauritius and Dakhla, plus Brazil still potentially in the calendar at the end of the season.
There's a plentiful supply of Calima trade winds on the forecast and the main event's set to start tomorrow at 10:30 GMT.
The event will Streamed Live from round three onwards, so keep an eye on the official event page for that. You'll also be able to find daily videos and behind-the-scenes imagery there.