KTA Vietnam Half-Way Report
Fantastic start to things here in Mui Ne. The conditions are the best we have seen on the tour so far, consistent 25kt winds that build nicely through the day, a great local organising team from Sankara and C2Sky and 70 riders from 18 different countries taking part in freestyle, course racing and especially for Vietnam – BIG AIR !!
Following the registration morning on day one of the event, the women’s race fleet kicked off the competitions for the day on what proved to be a very challenging and technical course set by the KTA Head judge, with a grand prix style beach start. Due to the area restrictions here in Mui Ne the course was raced over two laps, which by the end stretched the field out a little, however the battle remained tight between the first five women with the lead changing two or three times during the last lap that was to see Germany’s Kathryn Borgwardt take the finish line first.
For the men’s course race the fleet was split into two groups, which gave the day four further races to enjoy with the two heats and the winners and looser finals. Again we were to be treated to some great tactical racing, high speed overtaking and even some excellent comedy moments as riders battled for the best lines at the turning marks. Finally when it was all over, the current KTA course race leader Yo from Thailand was still there holding onto that position, but it’s all still to play for with more racing still to come during the tour stop.
For day two the event moved to freestyle and again the excellent conditions provided both riders and spectators with a top quality day of kiteboarding.
With such a big entry the day was to be packed with heat after heat of head to head competition, with some great rounds put in by Dep Anh Thu Julia (Vietnam), Kathryn Borgwardt, Austrailia’s Ali Dufield and Nuria Goma (Spain).
For the guys the outstanding performances of the day were to be seen once again by the current tour leader Ken Nacor (Philippines), Kin (Vietnam) Sedat Celenk (Turkey), Yo and Camron Bouceta from Morocco.
So with the light fading and the wind finally starting to drop, the competition was halted for the day, with everything hanging for the winners and outcomes of both the women’s and men’s freestyle on the morning of day three of the KTA Vietnam.
