GKA Kite World Cup Cape Verde - Registration day and opening ceremony
by Kate Chandler 1 Mar 03:42 GMT
29 February - 6 March 2020
GKA Kite World Cup Cape Verde © Ydwer van der Heide
The GKA Kite World Tour is in Cape Verde for the first event of the season.
30 men (8 Cape Verdeans) and a record 23 women (2 Cape Verdeans) registered for the event this morning at Robinsons Club Hotel. Never before have there been so many women participating in the World Tour!
With International Women's Day approaching on the 8th of March, it seems only appropriate to celebrate some of the ladies that have been leading the way over the past 12 months.
Current female Kite-Surf World Champion Carla Herrera will be competing this week and we're excited to see her back in action after the winter training months. Carla and the other female Kite-Surf competitors have obviously been a great inspiration to other women in the sport, with so many new riders joining us in 2020. There are numerous new faces, both male and female, on the tour this year and we are looking forward to introducing them in the coming days.
In Cape Verde riders spent the afternoon warming up for tomorrow at Kite Beach, it looks likely that the event will be starting here, due to the conditions not being favourable at Ponta Preta. There was an autograph session at Robinsons Club Hotel after the warm-up session, riders got to meet and greet some of the crowd before the official opening ceremony at Odjo d'agua Hotel.
Matchu Lopes is back on the tour this year and is amped to be riding at his home spot for the first event of the season:
"2019 was a tough year for me, I had a lot of problems with my shoulder. At first I thought I needed surgery but finally just a lot of rehab and slow progress, and I'm good. I'm excited and I'm keen to compete. I've been travelling around the islands from Cabo Verde looking for waves, have had a free mindset, and a relaxed mood for myself. I'm feeling so excited, so ready and without pressure for the event. Yeah, I'm super super excited to see the results!"
There is a cross onshore wind predicted, and we will be running both wave and freestyle to make the most of conditions on offer. The main event's set to start tomorrow at 09:15 GMT.
The event will streamed live from round three onwards, so keep an eye on the official event page.