Home court advantage
The Netherlands’ Jamie Overbeek, 18, won the first round at Lords of Tram in his first major event victory and is in pole position for the world title in Gran Canaria. Slightly-lighter wind conditions in Barcarรจs played to his single-loop strengths, but he has been training hard in Salinas de Tenefรฉ.
The runner-up in Barcarรจs, Jeremy Burlando (ESP), is in the box seat as he has home court advantage. He calls the Canaries home and has trained at the tricky Salinas de Tenefรฉ spotโwith its left-foot forward launches, and choppy takes-off and landingsโhundreds of times.
Compatriot Lorenzo Casati, another Red Bull Kota winner, also lives and trains in the Canaries. He took fourth in the final at Lords of Tram and is in with a strong shout for the world title in Gran Canaria, where the wind forecast is slightly muted during the five-day competition window.
In the women’s field, the Dutch rider Pippa van Iersel tops the rankings after her victory at Lords of Tram on her return from a two-year injury break. With Nathalie Lambrecht out, that clears the way for Zara Hoogenraad (NED), Francesca Maini (GBR) and Alessa Mensch (GER) to try to knock Van Iersel off top spot.
Join us here on the Livestream to see how the drama plays out.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Samuel Cรกrdenas