GKA Kite-Surf World Tour Dakhla – The Final Climax

The riders who already had their podium positions after the single elimination knew they’d have some talented riders coming up and trying once more to knock them down. We were sure of some shake-ups.

Marie is an experienced competitor and well-versed in the Dakhla conditions but Olivia took the heat and then it was down to just five riders in the division; Olivia and the existing top four from the single eliminations – Jalou, Moona, Ines and Carla.

Then the women’s heats were paused as the men took to the stage and this was when Jan Marcos Riveras reembarked on his meteoric rise up the double eliminations ladder after an early exit in the singles on day two. He met Paulino Pereira in the first round who, like Jan Marcos, can perform at a high level both in the waves and in strapless freestyle. Jan Marcos rose to the occasion though and it seems like the harder an opponent he faced in the doubles the harder he rode himself.

His strapless freestyle level is also on the up and he was landing some challenging tricks including 360 shuvits, toeside 360s and some huge boosted backrolls off the lip and that gave him the edge over Pedro to take the win.

Matchu actually did a trick never seen before in competition; a front roll rodeo to toeside with a revert to finish but most of Sebastian’s points had been for wave riding and, as priority was being given to that discipline on the day, tour rules dictated that the win was his by default.

Sebastian met Mitu Monteiro next and the sheer amount of heats that the Brazilian had battled through in the last couple of days might have finally taken their toll – he just couldn’t rise to Mitu. They were closely matched in the waves, but Mitu is one of the best strapless freestylers on the tour and he crammed in the wave rides before blending low angle technical moves and bigger aerials to take the win.

Then came a clash of gigantic proportions between Keahi and Mitu for a place in the final against Airton. Mitu was blazing on all cylinders, but Keahi was consistent with his cool, calculated wave riding and fluid freestyle and he just tipped the balance in his favour. The final was now set and it would be Airton and Keahi competing their third final of the season so far.

Moona and Jalou were standing together after their heat when they were told that they’d be going again and Jalou’s response was nothing short of stoic. She nodded her head, re-buckled her harness and walked back to her kite. The fire was burning, she was in it for the win.

Tomorrow, the plan is to run an expression session off the point at Westpoint Dakhla Hotel.

Check out the podium shots, final standings after today’s double eliminations and the updated tour rankings below!