Mitu Monteiro Wins Single Elimination but Airton Cozzolino storms through the double elimination rounds
Friday 11th October 2019
Location: Dakhla, Morocco
Words: Jim Gaunt
Photos: Ydwer van der Heide
Video: Oliver Umpierre
At the end of an action-packed afternoon, Cape Verdean Mitu Monteiro has claimed top step of the men’s singe elimination podium! Perhaps in a surprise match-up he faced Canadian Reece Myerscough in the final heat who, having reached his first final, has had the best day of his kiteboarding career, knocking out current champion and tour leader Airton Cozzolino on his way through the quarter final and then bang-in-form Brazilian Pedro Matos in the semis.
Reece just looked so in tune with the small but technical conditions of the day, constantly blasting out turn after tight turn, injecting so much power into each hit. His best two wave average heat score remained high in each heat as he successfully worked the waves from the point all the way in, impressing the judges with the fact that his riding speed seemed to barely alter despite these conditions that were very mushy a lot of the time.
In the end it was Mitu WHO earned the highest heat score with a huge 16.84. On both those plus-eight-point rides he punted several good off-the-lip airs and some of the most explosive hits in the critical section. Turn after turn and then an air off-the-lip that he combined into a 360 in the wave on landing, he then managed to continue to smash what remained of the small wave to bits on the inside shorebreak section.
Watch the highlights video:
MEN’S SINGLE ELIMINATION RESULT:
1 Mitu Monteiro (CV)
2 Reece Myerscough (CAN)
3 Pedro Matos (BRA)
4 James Carew (AUS)
MEN’S DOUBLE ELIMINATION (DAY 9)
What a penultimate day it turned out to be here in Dakhla after a very unpromising, mushy start. The race director and head judge decided to change the format from pure wave to a combination of one freestyle trick and two waves counting – which would give riders more chances to increase their scores if they didn’t have many waves in their heat. This is a combination world tour and this format is perfect for these riders to really show how adaptable kite-surfing is to the conditions on the day.
This also played perfectly into Airton’s hands in particular as he loves this combination approach… but could he stay at 110% in back to back heats?
Airton’s fantastic five heat comeback saw the very best of him (yes, including his amazing backside 3s) and has set-up a re-match on the very last day of the GKA Kite World Cup Dakhla with Reece Myerscough in the double elimination semi finals.
In the women’s event, Carla Herrera-Oria made it back from rock bottom to face Kirsty Jones in the final, which was postponed at the very end of the day due to rapidly fading wind and light.
Watch the highlights video
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