Kite-Surf World Tour champions ride the Torquay winds

THE best kitesurfers in the world were crowned on the Surf Coast at the weekend in the final stage of this year’s GKA Kite-Surf World Tour.

The sixth event in the tour, which was making its debut in Australia, ran over three days in varying conditions at Point Danger and 13th Beach.

Australian kitesurfer Keahi de Aboitiz had a Saturday to remember, winning the men’s final in cross-off winds and peeling waves against Brazilian Sebastian Ribeiro and also celebrating his birthday.

“For me, I’m just stoked to have an event in Australia, to be able to take out the first GKA event that happened here, it feels pretty amazing,” de Aboitiz said.

The win elevated de Aboitiz from third to second on the overall standings, behind only world title winner Airton Cozzolino (Cape Verde/Italy).

“I really love Torquay, this is an amazing place,” Cozzolino said.

“Bells Beach is one of the foremost beaches in the world for surfing, so for us to be kiting near Bells Beach is so great.”

On the women’s side of the competition, Jalou Langeree from the Netherlands defeated Spain’s Carla Herrera Oria in the final to not only win the debut Torquay event but also retain her spot at the top of the championship standings and the title.

“It’s awesome, it feels great to win the tour,” Langeree said.

“I’ve been competing for so many years, so this is a massive reward for all the hard work and all the training I’ve put in; I’m super-stoked.”

Australian wildcard Jennie Milton finished fourth at Torquay and was named rookie of the year, while the men’s rookie of the year was Beau Pilgrim. The GKA Kite-Surf World Tour will return to Torquay in 2019 and 2020.

Men’s results at Torquay –
• 1st: Keahi de Aboitiz (AUS)
• 2nd: Sebastian Ribeiro (BRA)
• 3rd: Matchu Lopes (CV/ESP)
Women’s results at Torquay –
• 1st: Jalou Langeree (NL)
• 2nd: Carla Herrera Oria (ESP)
• 3rd: Johanna Catharina Edin (SE)
Men’s World Tour top five –
• 1st: Airton Cozzolino (CV/ ITA)
• 2nd: Keahi de Aboitiz (AUS)
• 3rd: Matchu Lopes (CV/ESP)
• 4th: Mitu Monteiro (CV)
• 5th: Camille Delannoy (FRA)

Women’s World Tour top five –
• 1st: Jalou Langeree (NL)
• 2nd: Carla Herrera Oria (ESP)
• 3rd: Charlotte Carpentier (FRA)
• 4th: Johanna Catharina Edin (SE)
• 5th: Moona Whyte (USA)

For full results, head to global-kitesports.org. The GKA event was held alongside the Surf Coast Kite Festival, which saw a colourful array of flying devices take off near Point Danger on Saturday. The annual community event raises funds for the Jan Juc Pre School.