Please select your home edition
Edition
Stoneways Marine 2021 - LEADERBOARD

GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Dakhla - Day 3

by GKA Kite World Tour 30 Sep 2022 15:07 BST 27 September - 2 October 2022

Carew and Delannoy turn up the heat at just the right moment to defeat all comers in Morocco. Westpoint once again continued to deliver hour upon hour of contestable wave conditions on day three of the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Dakhla.

Re-joining the competition at the quarter final stage for both the men and women, this was always going to be a day of tense action as the first wave event on this year's Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour.

The wave pulses peaked and lulled throughout the day.

Taking those opportunities was key.

Women:

An early casualty of the lighter offshore conditions was Brazilian Maria Kesiane Rodrigues who had excelled in yesterday's bigger afternoon waves. Canada's Frances Kelly made her waves count best that quarter final

Frances then kept her semi final scores consistent against Johana Catarina Edin and was suddenly catapulted into the final to meet Capucine Delannoy.

On the other side of the draw, in an all-French tie, Capucine had overcome the very impressive debutante, Zoe Bazile in the semis.

The best and most compact carving performers had made it to the women's final. The wind picked up and after coming into the beach to drop down a kite size, Delannoy then took advantage of the extra control, finding the peeling sections to her liking, repeatedly firing down the line with power to cement her first win in Morocco, 15.72 points to 10.22.

Women's final results:

1. Capucine Delannoy (FRA)
2. Frances Kelly (CAN)
3. Johanna-Catarina Edin

Men:

The men's quarter finals were littered with what could have been match-ups worthy of a final.

Most striking was Airton Cozzolino V Sebastian Ribeiro.

In a heat rare on big wave opportunities, the best swell fell to Ribeiro, who mechanically dissected every section.

In in his livestream interview, Sebastian was evidently relieved to overcome the biggest hurdle on his mental road map to the final.

"Airton was the buy to beat in this event and it was an honour to go against him and win. Step by step to the final."

Local hopes were finally crushed when Mohamed-Ali Beqqali's incredible performances at his home spot finally relented in the semi final.

Beqqali lost out to Ribeiro, who was continuing to look a sure bet to reach the final. The Brazilian paid tribute to the Moroccan rider who'd impressed everyone.

Meanwhile, current world champion James Carew was starting to turn up the heat, despatching Matt Maxwell in the quarters and then a typically fluid Matchu Lopes in the semis.

Australian Carew had given little emotion away in any interview, repeating simply that he was just "here to fight".

And fight he did in the final against Ribeiro.

Mid sized waves pervaded the heat and the final became a question of whose legs would last longest as each rider relentlessly cranked out turns and threw buckets of spray.

James was merging full power surfing with elements of freestyle, landing two clean airs on the inside, right in front of the judges.

Sebastian found some high scoring rides of his own but late in the heat found himself in a combo situation, needing two high 9 point rides to get ahead.

As the best champions do, Carew had peaked at just the right time in the competition's final heat achieving the highest score of the contest with 18.54 from two waves (9.47 & 9.07).

Sebastian has gifted us some of the best wave riding moments throughout this competition, but when it really counted it was the Australian who out-punched his team mate, utilising his immense grunt and grit to muscle his way to the top.

Men's final results:

1. James Carew (AUS)
2. Sebastian Ribeiro (BRA)
3. Matchu Lopes (ESP)

Related Articles

Australian sailors take to Olympic waters
Regatta serves as an important test, not just for sailors, but also for organisers The Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta is set to get begin, marking the first major combined event on the waters of the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Posted on 12 Jul
Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta 2025 Preview
The fourth stop of the five series Sailing Grand Slam circuit Over 200 elite athletes from 42 nations have converged on Long Beach to test their skills on the same waters that will host sailing events during the LA2028 Olympic Games as they compete in the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta July 12-20 Posted on 12 Jul
20 Canadians set for Long Beach Grand Slam Event
The Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta will be held July 12-20 20 Canadian sailors will take part in the fourth and next-to-last event of the 2025 Sailing Grand Slam Series, the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta, to be held July 12-20 at one of the two Olympic venues for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Posted on 10 Jul
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria overall
Once again, Gizzeria delivered near-perfect racing conditions Once again, Gizzeria delivered near-perfect racing conditions, with a steady thermal breeze sweeping in from the Tyrrhenian Sea across the Calabrian coast. Posted on 7 Jul
Red Bull Sailing Academy Opens
A new hub for current and future superstars to reach the top of their sport Marina Monfalcone, North Italy, made waves yesterday, as sports superstars gathered to open the Red Bull Sailing Academy, marking the beginning of a new era in the sport. Posted on 6 Jul
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria day 4
It's been a week of steady breeze and near-perfect conditions off the Calabrian coast It's been a week of steady breeze and near-perfect conditions off the Calabrian coast, and Gizzeria has put on a great show as host of the 2025 IKA Youth European Championships. Posted on 5 Jul
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria day 3
The invincibles stumble during qualifying The men's competition has moved into its decisive phase, with the top 22 riders now forming a gold fleet. After Saturday's racing, only the top ten will qualify for the medal series and today, the pressure began to show, even on the frontrunners. Posted on 4 Jul
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria day 2
Thrills and spills - with the speed came plenty of racing incidents Day 2 of the Youth European Championships in Gizzeria saw fantastic conditions that gave the racing added pace. With the speed came plenty of racing incidents. Posted on 3 Jul
2025 IKA Youth Europeans in Gizzeria day 1
Rising stars shine at Youth Kitefoil Euros kickoff Some of the world's best young kite foilers started racing today in southern Italy aiming to become Youth European champions. Posted on 2 Jul
World Sailing announces split venues for LA28
The boards will be at Long Beach, with the dinghy events at the Port World Sailing has said it welcomes the confirmation of sailing venues for the Olympic Games LA28 the boards will be at Long Beach, with the dinghy events at the Port. Posted on 30 Jun