GKA KSWT Australia is set-up for wave action in this week's World Tour climax
by Matt Pearce 12 Dec 2018 10:03 EST
12-16 December 2018
Foil feels in the morning before the riders warmed up - GKA Kite-Surf World Tour Torquay - Day 1 © Ydwer van der Heide
This morning saw 27 riders register for the event here at Point Danger with its impressive views of some of the seemingly countless breaks that run along Victoria's legendary Surf Coast.
Point Danger will set the stage for the final battle of the Kite-Surf World Tour 2018 between a competitive field that includes numerous tour heavyweights and a host of homegrown talent.
Besides the regular tour riders, this stop will see a sizeable Australian contingent taking part with ten Aussie riders in the mix, including four girls who make up a significant part of the nine-strong women's division at this event.
Many of the Australian riders earned their spot here at the KSWT Torquay via wildcard entry after placing highly at the Australian National Champs which wrapped up here earlier this week.
Overall, the women count for a third of the competitive field here which is a first at a Kite-Surf World Tour event and it's great to such a strong turnout in that division.
The conditions
Looking ahead, this week's forecast is changeable but there's plenty of potential on the horizon. The wind came through late in the afternoon today and built up to steady 10-11 metre kite strength, but high tide had covered the reef causing the waves to back off and they weren't up to competition standard as the first riders hit the water to warm up.
As the aim is for this to be a wave-focused event, the decision was made not to run heats rather than revert to strapless freestyle on the first day of competition.
So, with no day one action to analyse, it's a good time to look at possible routes to the podium for the riders assembled here in Torquay.
Mens' Division
Airton Cozzolino has the 2018 World Title fully sewn up. He's absolutely dominated this year's tour, losing only one event in Portugal to Matchu Lopes, but the lower podium positions are still up for grabs.
Matchu currently holds second but he could yet be unseated by Keahi de Aboitiz if Keahi wins the event here in Torquay. In fact, if Keahi met Matchu in a final and beat him they would finish the tour tied on points BUT Keahi would still take second overall due to having placed higher at the last event in Brazil. It'd be a true nail biter if that one went down!
If Mitu Monteiro wins the event ahead of Keahi then he could push up to third overall but it would be very hard for him to go any higher and Matchu would only need to make the final to retain second place.
Outside the four podium spots, Camille Delannoy is in fifth place right now after a storming event in Brazil where he beat Airton Cozzolino in the single eliminations before coming second to him in the doubles.
Camille can make it to fourth overall if he places higher than Mitu at this event, while Jan Marcos Riveras also has a chance of breaking into the top five if he places higher than Camille.
Women's division
It's a winner-takes-all scenario this week for Carla Herrera Oria and Jalou Langeree. Jalou currently leads so the title's hers to lose, but if Carla beats her in the final she'll take the 2018 overall win.
Charlotte Carpentier is looking solid in third but could push up to second if Carla finishes in sixth place or below and Johanna Catharina Edin has an outside shot at moving up from fourth to third as well.
She'd need to win the event outright with Carla finishing in seventh place or lower for that to happen but anything's possible in competition!
There's also the possibility of local wildcards causing an upset and that could well happen with the current Australian women's top four all in the mix here at the KSWT Torquay.
They've all competed at Point Danger in the last few days so perhaps they'll be able to bring that experience to bear on the international stage!
Could Carew crush the KSWT Torquay?
Speaking of threats from riders outside the top fives, Australian ripper James Carew will be one to watch in the men's division fresh off the back of his win at the Aussie Nationals over the weekend.
This is one of his home breaks, and it's safe to say he knows how to make it work having beaten Keahi in the finals right here a couple of days ago.
James has had an incredible season on the 2018 KSWT, including winning the Big Air event at Sotavento, and has been known to cause problems for many a top flight tour rider at previous events, so he has every chance at making the final here as well.
So no competition in the bag today but Thursday's forecast shows solid wind on the horizon with a building swell. Let's see what the morning brings!
This video from day one will bring you fully up to speed with the comp!