Canary Island riders come close to the top of the Big Air Kitesurfing World Cup in Gran Canaria
Representing Spain at the GKA World Championships in the Salinas de Tenefé, Tenerife’s Jeremy Burlando and Lorenzo Casati are in contention for the world title in the class after the show they put on in the heats
The women’s semi-finals will be contested between the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany
With more than 40 knots of wind and very tough conditions, the coast of the Salinas de Tenefé put the best kitesurfers in the world to the test in the first elimination rounds to become the world champions of Big Air Kitesurfing, a modality in which they have to fly high, but with style. After the heats, the names of the Canary Islanders Jeremy Burlando and Lorenzo Casati (of Italian origin), the riders who represent Spain and who make the beach vibrate every time they take to the water, are resounding.
“The conditions are amazing, for this championship I’m focusing on Jamie and Lorenzo, who is a great friend from Tenerife and we train together,” said Burlando, who said he has been training in this spot for a month now and trying new tricks. In his words, “I’ve been very relaxed and now whatever happens, I just want to go out and have fun, I know the spot, it’s what I love, if you train in difficult conditions, then it becomes easy,” said the Tenerife rider.
The fact is that the Dutchman Jamie Overbeek, current leader of the ranking in this discipline, could be crowned in Gran Canaria, followed by Burlando in the general classification, with the Frenchman Edgar Ulrich and Casati in third and fourth place, respectively. It was precisely during the final of the first stop of the world tour in France where Overbeek snatched the first place by a few points from Burlando, so the focus is on the fight for the men’s final.
“The conditions here are amazing, I’ve trained a lot for this event, so I’d like to win, I think I’m pretty prepared mentally, the hardest opponents to beat in this event are going to be Lorenzo and Jeremy, but any other rider could surprise, it’s clear it’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to give it my all,” Overbeek commented before taking to the water.
In addition to the current world leaders, the men’s qualifiers demonstrated the high level of competition on the beach, with several riders scoring more than 20 points between their two best jumps. Among these kitesurfers were the young Leonardo Casati, Lorenzo’s brother, who competes for Italy and is number nine in the international ranking; the Dutchman Giel Vlugt, number seven in the overall ranking; the Brazilian Josué San Ferreira or the Dutchman Cohan Van Dijk, among other riders from more than 20 different countries.
After the men’s heats, the kitesurfers competing for the Big Air crown took to the water, among them the British Francesca Maini, number four in the world ranking, who obtained one of the highest scores of the day, scoring 20.03 points in one of the heats. Joining Maini in the semi-finals were Netherlands’ Zara Hoogenraad (world number three), Italy’s Alice Ruggiu and Germany’s Alessa Sophia Mensch, ranked fifth in the world.
The world champions will be known today
With a high probability that the title in the men’s category will stay in Gran Canaria, this Friday the third elimination round, the semi-finals and the grand final will be held to crown the world champion. The women’s second elimination round, the semi-finals and the final of the women’s category are also scheduled to be completed. “The competition can be followed live on the official GKA website,” said Manuel Martínez, president of the Canakite Experiences Sports Club and organiser of the event together with the Royal Canarian Sailing Federation.
The Qatar Airways GKA Big Air Kite World Championships Gran Canaria 2024, sponsored by the Tourism and Sports Departments of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria with the collaboration of the Santa Lucía de Tirajana Town Hall and the Canary Islands Government, will proclaim the Big Air Kitesurfing World Champions. The event is also supported by Ahembo with its 7up brand and Spar Gran Canaria.
