PKRA TOUR STOP#1: VENEZUELA: Alvaro Onieva Takes Second!

Posted Tuesday April 24th 2007

Fresh out of the gates and charging hard, Best Team Rider Alvaro Onieva is off to a brilliant start in the 2007 World Tour ... finishing Second in the Men's Freestyle Event in Venezuela.

After a disappointing 9th place finish after the Singles on Day 3, Alvaro made a spectacular comeback on Day 4, ending with "the best performance of the day," according to the PKRA Press Release, against Sebastian Garat, 2006 KPWT Champion, guaranteeing a final result of no less than 5th place. Even more spectacular was his performance on Day 6, when ... one by one ... he took out first Zoon, then Lenten, then Langeree ... until finally meeting Hadlow in the finals, taking a second to Hadlow's first, which was no small feat.

Having won the singles on Day 3, Hadlow had only to wait until the final round, conserving his energy and biding his time. And while the stress of sitting around waiting is not inconsiderable, fighting your way from 9th place to a spot in the final round takes another kind of courage, determination, and strength altogether.

Congratulations, Alvaro ... we couldn't be more proud. And quite simply, we are in awe.

The Venzuela PKRA, in the words of Alvaro Onieva:

After the singles on Thursday (April 19th), I was ranked 9th, knocked out by Ruben Lenten. During our heat, he was doing really simple moves but with power. I was more focused on technical moves like I'm used to ... switch stuff, handle passes to blind, etc ... but still it wasn’t enough to beat Ruben. The PKRA came up with a new “Risk Factor,” so the balance was tipping in his favour :), so I had to wait for doubles to come back on stage!

On Friday (April 20th), in the doubles, I was really fired up. I went to ride on my biggest kites to show them POWER! I did exactly three successful heat: the first was with the current South America Champ, Reno Romeu. Later on, I met Cesar Portas the Spanish Champion, and the last heat of the day ... and my best heat of the day ... was versus Sebastien Garat, the current KPWT world champion. Both of us did an awesome job, boosting switch moves and a couple of handle passes to blind, front mobe to blind, back mobe to wrapped, switch slim to blind etc…

Concurrently, the PKRA Press Release, from Day 4 April 20th, states this about his heat with Garat:

"The French rider (Sebastien Garat - RRD, France) finally ran out of fuel and bowed down to World #4 Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain) in the final heat of the day. Onieva gave the spectators the best performance of the day rattling off heaps of tricks, including a regular and switch slim chance, KGB, a huge L3, front mobe to blind, sweet slim chance to blind, double front to blind and blind judge 3."

Alvaro continues ...

The last day of the comp, the 21st, I was already ranked 5th and I felt very happy to have made it into 5th, all the way up from 9th. The wind was about right for my 13m, and I met Youri Zoon, a ripper guy from the Netherlands. I went more for power and technical moves, and he didn’t go that big, so the final decision for the judges was 3-2 for me.

Right after, I found Ruben Lenten in the quarter finals, and I just tried to keep up the rhythm like I was doing in the previous heats. When I made it with a unanimous 5-0 of the judges, it made all the more determined to fight stronger against Kevin in semifinals.

The semifinals came, and my body was really tired but my mind was really fresh and active. I started the heat really safe and then I started pushing the limit more, and in the end I had the best heat that I ever had before, doing: Slim chance, KGB, Front Mobe, Back Mobe, Front mobe to blind, switch slim to blind, back mobe to wrapped, Switch KGB, Front Mobe and slim. I couldn't believe it at the end of the heat ... it was such a good heat for those conditions!

In the finals, the wind dropped too much and we coudn’t stay in the competition area ... it was almost an upwinder final.

From the PKRA Press release, DAY 5 April 19th:

"... Round seven of the men’s doubles followed, thrilling the fans on the beach with a very close fight between #3 Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands) and #4 Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain) who both displayed an arsenal of tricks. Zoon landed more tricks overall but repeated some moves, such as slim chances and front mobes, while trying to go for a double pass. Onieva gave more variety and ample switch moves, including a regular and switch slim chance, a nice mobe 5 and a huge blind judge 3, to secure the win in the quarterfinals. Onieva, who has been on a winning rampage since round four, went head-to-head with Ruben Lenten (Slingshot, Netherlands) in Heat #33. The lighter winds favored Onieva’s “skate” riding style and he was able to thrill the crowds with his excellent kiteboarding skills, superior technical riding and well rounded repertoire of switch moves. He impressed the judges and his fans with an awesome and incredibly smooth front mobe to blind, mobe to wrapped and regular and switched slim chances. Lenten, as always, provided some good show stoppers by riding fast and powered, but lacked some switch moves which proved to be his downfall.

It was obvious that Onieva had his “Wheaties” for breakfast with a side of “fire in the belly” to continue his charge to meet up with Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK) in the finals. In a bid for the right to face the reigning champion for the top podium position, Onieva nailed down a mobe to wrapped, front mobe, regular and switch slim chance, KGB and a slim chance to blind in the dying seconds to beat his competitor Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands) in the semifinals. Langeree went for his big moves but came unstuck on front mobe 5 and mobe 7 attempts. He started with a huge front mobe and late pass mobe but struggled a bit with the failing wind, opening the door for Onieva. Finally, the lighter winds and successive heats made Alvaro’s luck run out against Hadlow. Aaron, determined to start the new year out with a win under his belt, nailed a slim chance 3, regular and switched KGB and slim chance, front mobe to blind and mobe 5. Onieva’s steam had run out though, and although he delivered a nice mobe and front mobe, his kite angle was higher and overall he displayed less speed and power, allowing Aaron to claim the top podium spot and start the 2007 World Cup in the #1 position once again."

Men's Single Elimination Round

1) Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK)

2) Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands)

3) Ruben Lenten (Slingshot, Netherlands)

4) Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands)

Men's Double Elimination Final Results

Men’s Double Elimination Final Results:

1) Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK)

2) Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain)

3) Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands)

4) Ruben Lenten (Slingshot, Netherlands)

Alvaro will now head to Austria, to get ready for the competition May 1-6th.

For previous news on the PKRA Venezuela, right click on the following links, and open in new window:

04/19/07: PKRA Venezuela: the first 2 days ... no wind & no Yargas

04/16/07: PKRA Venezuela: the start of the 2007 PKRA World Tour