PKRA News:
Day of Racing and Awards for final day of PKRA Pingtan
The final day of the 2013 Pingtan kiteboarding World Cup brought more great winds and many great races were run. The day started with the TT races, Julien Kuerner dominated the discipline, but many local riders came out and really enjoyed the race. Later in the afternoon two slalom races were run, with Bryan Lake winning both of them and the event, Paula Novotna was in great form and won both races and the event as well. In the evening a great closing ceremony was held at the Pingtan Dragon Phoenix Resort Honor hotel with all the riders coming out to cheer on the winners.
Three races of the TT racing series were run; the course was set up with an upwind reach and a downwind leg around the mark to the finish line. A Large fleet came out to compete in the discipline and all three races were very exciting. Julien Kuerner from France with his experience dominated the race but it gave the opportunity for many riders to compete in their first PKRA event. On the womens side it was Kay Su who won the Race series.
After a lunch break the slalom racers took to the water, two races needed to be run to reach the third discard. The big storyline was whether or not Ariel Corniel from Dominican Republic was going to be able to hold his second-place against Julien Kuerner and Oswald Smith. While Bryan Lake won both races Ariel Corniel did just enough to secure his second-place and upset some top riders. The conditions were still quite rough, with big waves coming through the course making it challenging for the slalom racers.
In the evening all the riders gathered at the Pingtan Dragon Phoenix Resort Honor hotel for dinner and the price ceremony. All the winners were announced and given their prizes. Alex pastor did not win the event but won the overall freestyle title and a podium spot. Christophe tack won his first event ever on the PKRA in a spectacular manner; landing some the biggest moves we have ever seen on tour. Gisela Pulido solidified her lead in the points ranking and Bryan Lake kept dominating the slalom season. Paula Novotna upset Christine Boenniger for the first time this season in slalom but Christine is still leading the points race.
This was truly an incredible event with Tack landing a flat seven in his heat, Hadlow returning to the podium, Bryan Lake dominating the slalom field in 3 meter waves, Reno Romeu setting a Guiness World Record, Alex Pastor winning his first title and being introduced to the Chinese culture. Everyone was truly overwhelmed by how good the conditions were and are looking forward to coming back here next year. Not only did China provide great kite surfing conditions but also $80,000 in prize money and some great memories.