Charlotte Carpentier is part of a steadily building group of women who are out to make their mark at the Kite-Surf World Cup events on this year’s GKA Kite World Tour. In 2018 her focus was more on strapless freestyle, but this year in Cape Verde she was absolutely charging in true waves of consequence. Currently ranked fourth on the tour, we caught up with her ahead of GKA Kite-Surf World Cup round two in Sylt, Germany.
How old are you, where are you from and where do you live?
I’m 28 and I come from the north of France, but i’m currently living in the south near Montpellier when I’m not travelling. I also spend as much time as I can in Cape Verde and Brazil!
When did you start kiting?
I started kitesurfing 11 years ago. When I first saw a kite, I just knew that that was what I wanted to do!
Why did you start strapless?
I started riding strapless just after I got into surfing. I really loved the feeling of surfing and I didn’t really like straps. Kiting on a strapless surfboard feels so free in comparison. I can now surf when there’s no wind and do strapless freestyle when there are no waves, so that means I can almost always be training in some way.
What motivated you to compete on the GKA Kite World Tour?
I wanted to represent my country and push the freestyle strapless level in the girls division. One of the best moments of last year for me was when we had the first ever women’s division at the Tarifa Strapless Pro. I think that was a key moment for the tour and I hope it will have helped get more girls interested in strapless freestyle.
What do you prefer – strapless freestyle or wave riding?
Both! At the beginning I preferred freestyle because of the flat conditions we get at home most of the time, but the last competition in Ponta Preta with the amazing conditions we had there made me feel like I really want to focus on waves more and more!
What is your goal for the 2019 season?
To do equally as well in strapless freestyle and in the waves. To really be a good athlete on the tour you need to be solid in both disciplines. I don’t want to just be one-sided in my riding, so I need to practise and train in as wide a range of conditions as possible.