GKA Kite-Surf World Championship: Title race up for grabs at halfway mark
Title race wide open at season mid-point in the GKA Kite-Surf World Championship
Third stop of Kite-Surf tour returns to Dakhla as margins between the leaders shrink after shuffling of pack.
The race for the Qatar Airways GKA Kite-Surf World Championship title is set to heat up as the tour returns to Morocco for a mid-season showdown in Dakhla’s long right-hand point-break.
Margins between the leaders have tightened after the tour’s second call in Sylt, Germany, where the pack saw some reshuffling. This puts added pressure on competitors at the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup in Dakhla as they seek to keep their title hopes alive.
Current men’s world champion, Cape Verdean Airton Cozzolino (ITA), holds the top spot in the rankings by a slim margin, just ahead of Gabriel Benetton. However, Cozzolino’s unexpected quarter-final exit in Germany resulted in a fifth-place finish and narrowed his lead.
Gabriel Benetton, a young Brazilian rider, moved up to second in the rankings after finishing second in Sylt. He was narrowly defeated in the final by James Carew (AUS), who made a strong comeback after an 18-month injury hiatus and is hungry for his third world title.
Sebastian Ribeiro (BRA), who favors pure surfing wave competitions, skipped the Sylt stop and will be looking to excel in the upcoming events in Brazil.
In the women’s category, France’s Capucine Delannoy aims to regain the title she lost last year to Moona Whyte of the US, who is taking a step back from the tour this year. Delannoy, at just 17 years old, currently leads the rankings.
Stay tuned for the action at the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup in Dakhla to see who will strengthen their title aspirations.
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