Copa Kitley GKA Kite-Surf & Hydrofoil-Freestyle World Cups Brazil - Day 4
by Jim Gaunt 28 Nov 2022 04:29 NZDT
23-27 November 2022
Capucine - Copa Kitley GKA Kite-Surf & Hydrofoil-Freestyle World Cups Brazil, Day 4 © Svetlana Romantsova
Capucine Delannoy takes the title in the quarters before an all-Brazilian final where Kesiane Rodrigues defeated dynamic cross-over freestyler, Bruna Kajiya! Day four at the Copa Kitley GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Brazil.
After three weeks of pumping winds here in Taiba for both the GKA Kite World Tour Freestyle riders and the GWA Wingfoil World Tour competitors, the day of reckoning for the Kite-Surf women finally came to pass.
This would be a day filled with grit and determination.
All that winners and World Champions can do is turn up and ride what... and who... is in front of them.
These are the days that really test a rider's ambition.
In light winds, the first of the title contenders to fall was Sweden's Johana Catarina Edin, but she wasn't the only rider to submit to intense local pressure from the Brazilian ranks. Serena Luz took a big victory in that round five match up.
After a break in the competition to let the low tide pass, the quarter final stage soon arrived.
As tour leader, Capucine Delannoy only had to reach the semi-finals to get over the line for the title.
Title winning moment
Capucine got the job done by winning her crucial quarter final against number two ranked rider, Frances Kelly.
This is Delannoy's second world title in six months, having won the GKA's Big Air World Championship in June.
The wind was light, but Taiba is always contestable and the French teenager dialled into the task at a break just down the road from where she lives with her family, in Prea.
Compact in the legs, centred over the board and at one with the kite, she repeatedly repositioned it in the sky to stay in close connection with the wave.
Capucine: "I couldn't dream of anything better. I got two world titles this year, my family is all here, I'm so grateful for everything. I've been training every day with my father and brother for this, and I'm so happy."
World Championship in the bag, Capucine, however, couldn't fight the destiny of an all-Brazilian final after so many great performances by local riders in the last weeks.
Beaten by Kesiane Rodriguez' relentless wave attack in the semis, Capucine had to be happy with third position at this event after going on to beat Camille Losserand in the mini-final.
Copa Kitley GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Brazil - Women's Final
Kesiane Rodriguez (BRA) 7.70 V Bruna Kajiya (BRA) 7.64
With over a decade at the top of a technical discipline like Freestyle, Bruna Kajiya called on her world title winning experience to beat tour chargers Marcella Witt and Camille Losserand on her way to the final.
Kajiya was clearly enjoying stepping into the kite-surf discipline and was improving with every heat.
The final brought a big effort from both riders as they chased the best swells to the corner of the competition zone and then powered up their legs for gruelling sprints back upwind.
Mid-heat...Bruna found the heat's best wave and hopped ahead of Kesiane on points.
But the fightback was relentless and Kesiane retook the lead in the final moments.
Rightly crowned as the event champion, Kesiane had shown the most fluid, connected and vertical approach all event.
Kesiane took victory by just 0.06 points in the end and both women were obviously overtaken by the thrill of a home nations final.
While this may not have been an epic final in terms of wave quality, there was no shortage of Brazilian heart and desire.
Final results:
1. Kesiane Rodriguez (BRA)
2. Bruna Kajiya (BRA)
3. Capucine Delannoy (FRA)
4. Camille Losserand (SUI)
Also - special congratulations to Bruna for claiming runner-up spot in both the Freestyle and Kite-Surf disciplines here in Taiba!