PKRA Austria, TOUR STOP#2, May 1 - May 6th: Bruna Kajiya takes second!

Posted Monday May 7th 2007

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Austria, in Bruna's words ...

Second stop of the tour was held in Podersdorf, Austria. The spot is 45 minutes from the Vienna Airport in a nice little town.

The competition only had wind for one day so we were all pretty bored during the other 6 days of event. The good thing was that there was a paintball field and that made the time go quicker.

The wind was coming from the north so it was suuuuuper cold, I came out of my first heat with so much pain in my hands from the cold that I was crying ... :(

Lots of times on my heats I tried to do a handlepass and wouldn't feel my hand so didn't know where the bar was.

We had enough wind to finish the singles and I finished second on this event, I was looking forward tor the doubles, but they never happened because of the lack of wind.

Well it was a good event and I'm happy we got to finish the singles and have results, now I'll practice for Italy and get use to the new yargas that just came out!

Haaa ... whatever wind we missed in Austria we got back on parties! = )

-Bruna

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To sum it up, it was really cold, and there was only wind ... rather light wind ... on the first day. Unfortunately, there was only enough time to run through the singles for both the men and the women, and since they couldn't do the doubles, the results of the singles held, and neither Alvaro nor Bruna were able to have a second chance at the top position. It was especially upsetting for Alvaro, who had been planning a repeat of his stunning comeback in Venezuela where he pushed through 6 straight rounds to battle Hadlow in the finals for a second place win. Having lost to Rocky Chatwell during round two of the men's singles, Alvaro finished 9th overall.

Best-related excerpts from the PKRA Press Releases, Neusiedlersee, Austria

Pictures by Roberto Foresti/Canon

Tuesday May 1

The first day of the PKRA - DMG Surf Worldcup 2007 got off to a slow start under clear sunny skies and light winds in the morning, averaging only 6.5 knots, but managing to pick up speed during the afternoon, peaking out at 18 knots before the day was over. The temperature was much cooler than competitors had hoped for, greeting everyone at 12.5 degrees Celsius and only rising to a mere 15 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. As expected, thousands of spectators lined the shores of Neusiedlersee to watch their favorite riders and cheer on the exciting action ...

Round two of the men's singles held the first big upset of the day when Rocky Chatwell (Crazyfly, US) took out crowd favorite and current World No. 4 Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain). Even though Alvaro had the spectacular come back in Venezuela to wind up second, Rocky got in the ring today and took on the world, on his way into the top rankings. He passed Onieva with a smoother style and lower kite in 14m conditions, landing a front mobe, KGB, regular and switched mobe, and a big kiteloop slim against Onieva, who will have to battle it out again in the doubles for a chance at the podium ...

In the women's final heat of the single eliminations, Pulido came out firing to prove a point and regain some pride from her loss in Venezuela. A blind judge, slim, front mobe, 313 and aerial back to blind were needed to claim the top spot over tour leader Bruna Kajiya (Best Brazil), who managed a powered s-bend to blind with air pass, however, she did not have clean landings on her kiteloop with aerial handle pass and downloop with surface handle pass opening the door for Pulido. She also crashed some of her standard moves such as the blind judge, 313 and back to blind giving the win to Gisela. Tomorrow's doubles promises a good fight, as Bruna will want to reclaim her #1 position.

Wednesday May 2

The second day of the PKRA – DMG Surf Worldcup was once again greeted by sunny skies and a little warmer temperatures, peaking at 16 degrees Celsius during the afternoon. Although the spectators that lined the shores of the Neusiedler See were hoping for a much heated battle once more, light winds forced the competition to go under immediate wind delay. During the morning the wind blew onshore, gradually turning offshore in the afternoon as forecasted, however, the strongest wind speed recorded was a mere 6 knots (2 bft), which is well below the PKRA standards for competition ...

The competition was called for the day at 5 pm. Tomorrow's skippers meeting is set for 10am with a first possible start at 10:30am. If all goes well according to the wind, it will be interesting to see if Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain) will be able to repeat his incredible charge to the podium like his feat in Venezuela, winning six straight heats before finally surrendering to Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK) in the finals of the men's doubles. But first, he'll have to face the powers of two Dutch riders, ‘Big Kev' Langeree (Naish) and Youri Zoon (Slingshot), who will not want to bow down twice in a row to Onieva. If successful in his early heats, the Spanish rider could also have a chance for sweet revenge against the punching power of ‘Rocky Balboa' Chatwell (Superfly, USA) who is equally charged-up after upsetting Onieva in the men's single eliminations, or will Chatwell prove to be the better man in the Austrian round? Stay tuned ...

Thursday May 3

The wind was still a no-show on the third day of the PKRA – DMG Surf Worldcup at Neusiedlersee. There was a slight breeze in the morning but gradually backed off in the afternoon which averaged only 6 knots throughout the day. The sky was partly cloudy in the afternoon but the temperature still managed to warm up the surroundings especially during the afternoon which peaked at 18 degrees Celsius. With nothing much to do, most of the competitors did what they usually do when there is no wind - relax. Some were seen sleeping on couches while others were seen practicing their board skills on the “Indio Board.” Some competitors enjoyed playing table tennis while the rest were content watching videos and movies. PKRA judge David Tyburski even brought out his small toy for the big boys – a radio-controlled airplane which the competitors took turns flying in the food tent.

Friday May 4

Warmer weather greeted the fans and competitors on the fourth day of the PKRA – DMG Surf Worldcup 2007 with temperatures reaching a maximum of 17 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. There were clear skies in the early morning however they turned overcast by early afternoon. After a few hours, the clouds diminished to let the sun out again, warming up the competition site once more before finally setting in the horizon leaving a high overcast. To the dismay of the crowd, event participants and organizers, the wind was a different story. Light breezes prevailed during most of the fourth day of competition. Although the trees made it look otherwise, the wind was still below the PKRA standards, peeking at 7 knots during the afternoon. Being a Friday, the event site had swollen with people who came to cheer for their favorite riders and enjoy some of the festivities.

Saturday May 5

It was the fifth day of competition for the PKRA – DMG Surf Worldcup 2007 and the wind was nowhere to be found. The day started out with low overcast skies and averaged a pleasant 16 degrees Celsius throughout most of the day. The onshore wind gave the competitors and crowd false hopes in the morning, gradually increasing, then changing directions 360 degrees during the day, only managing to peak at 8 knots before finally dying down to 2 knots late in the afternoon in an offshore direction. The sun was in full force though, and clear, bright skies warmed up the event site to summer temperatures. Most of the people took the opportunity to lay out in the sun and take in the warm weather. Before the day was over, however, there was an overcast sky that made the temperature go down once again.

There were fewer competitors warming up the couches inside the riders lounge as most were seen outside in the competition area taking part in the festivities. A crane was setup with a bunjee cord where everyone could experience the thrill of freefalling. Two young riders, Angela Peral (North, Spain) and Jalou Langeree (Naish, Netherlands) were the first brave souls to bunjee jump from the crane. Not to be outdone by his sister, Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands) was next to take the plunge. Mallory De La Villemarque (North, France) and Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain) also took turns to get the adrenaline pumping.

As the Austrian round of the PKRA – DMG Surf World Cup 2007 drew to a close, there were mixed emotions among the crowd and competitors that gathered at Neusiedlsee. The whole event saw only one day of competition, as the wind proved to be the dominating handicap in this extreme sport. Since the second day of the event, the wind kept holding back with occasional teasers for both the crowd and the riders by showing strength early in the morning before finally dying down in the afternoon. However, the competitors, judges, organizers and the fans of the PKRA were able to enjoy off-competition activities such as paint ball shooting, bunjee jumping, and other outdoor leisure activities.

Sunday May 6

The final morning wasn't any different from the prior few days. Early in the morning, rain poured down on the event site before finally coming to an end around 7:30 am. There were also low overcast clouds the whole day that never cleared. Around 1:30 in the afternoon, the wind turned onshore and gradually picked up speed which made the riders and the organizers scramble to setup for the second discipline. There was a flurry of activities as the PKRA judges announced the start of the Best Trick competition. The format was to run two men's heats with the best two riders advancing to meet in a final heat composed of the four best riders. Heat #1 was composed of Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK), Philipp Brueckman (Carved, Germany), Mallory Dela Villemarque (North, France), Alvaro Onieva (Best Spain), and Lewis Crathern (RRD, UK) while Heat #2 was composed of Paul Caswell (Cabrinha, US), Cesar Portas (North, Spain), Rocky Chatwell (Crazyfly, US) and Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands). The women's Heat was made up of Jo Wilson (Naish, UK), Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland), Gisela Pulido (Slingshot, Spain), Angela Peral (North, Spain), Karolina Winkowska (Naish, Poland) and Gabi Steindl (North, Austria).

First to hit the waters was Caswell followed by Dela Villemarque and Onieva, as the rest of the men finished rigging for a quick practice. Within a few minutes after the heat started, race director Olaf Van Tol sounded the postponement horn and ordered the AP flag raised as the wind started to fade once more. Finally, the competition came to a close at 3pm since the wind showed no signs of a promising a strong comeback.

The award ceremony took to the stage at midnight before a jam-packed crowd applauding the top riders. After the ceremony, Barcardi Rum sponsored crowd surfing with Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal) standing tall on a small surf board held up by the large crowd below him.

Men's Freestyle Final Results:

1. Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK)

2. Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands)

3. Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands)

4. Rocky Chatwell (Crazyfly, USA)

Women's Freestyle Final Results:

1. Gisela Pulido (Slingshot, Spain)

2. Bruna Kajiya (Best, Brazil)

3. Karolina Winkowska (Naish, Poland)

4. Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland)

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For all previous news on the 2007 PKRA, visit Best's PKRA 2007 homepage.