Today Marc Jacobs and Gisela Pulido won the freestyle double elimination at the PKRA Dakhla Kiteboard World Cup. In strong winds reaching more than 30 knots, the double elimination kicked off at 11 am with riders using 6 and 7m kites.
Holding off Alex Neto in his first heat of the day, Jacobs moved on to defeat Christophe Tack in the final. Although Tack landed a solid S-Mobe and Crow Mobe 5 amongst others, he was one trick shy of the five tricks upon which the overall score is calculated. Jacobs landed more tricks including a textbook Front Blind Mobe and Blind Judge 5 giving him the win.
Tack’s first place win in the singles meant that he needed to be beaten twice to be knocked off the top spot. In a masterful display of powerful freestyle kiteboarding, Jacobs did just that, beating out Tack and winning the super final by 4.07 points.
This is Jacobs second top podium spot, having won the PKRA event last year in Germany. When asked about his win, Marc just smiled and said “I’m a happy little dolphin!”
Notable climbs up the ladder came from both Youri Zoon and Carlos Mario. Zoon rode well early on but later became less consistent in his landings. Neto finally put an end to Zoon’s push with his high scoring Crow Mobe 5 continuing on to beat Hadlow as well.
The women’s ladder was equally impressive. Gisela Pulido maintained her position from yesterday by beating out Bruna Kajiya. Finishing fourth in yesterday’s single, Kajiya worked her way up to take out Anabel Van Westrop and Karolina Winkowska. Despite solid riding in her earlier heats, Katjya struggled in the strong wind of the final to lose to Pulido’s impressive high scoring Hinterberger Mobe and Slim Chance.
After two incredible days of competition in the ideal setting of Dakhla Lagoon, riders are celebrating the end of a truly epic event. With night sessions on the new cable park at the Dakhla Attitude Camp, tonight is a night for enjoying the spoils of a wonderful week in Dakhla.
Rapporteer