GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Denmark 2021 | Registration Day

Report: Gemma Hamaini / All photos: Lukas Stiller / Video: Mintautas Grigas

Day One at the charming location of Hvide Sande in Denmark saw the top kitesurfers in the world descend upon the sleepy beachside town to register and prepare for the upcoming week of competition. 

Hvide Sande, which translates to White Sands, is a small Danish town located right in the middle of a narrow headland, in western Denmark. It separates the North Sea from the Ringkøbing Fjord, and this week plays host to the much-anticipated GKA Kite-Surf World Cup. This location truly comes to life with north-westerly wind, where the spot showcases the very best conditions it offers. The competition is taking place at the South Pier, a breakwater that produces a legendary wave in the region, with clean waves coming through with a northwest wind. 

Registration

There are 26 Men and 14 Women of 19 different nationalities registered to compete this week at Hvide Sande. After a short break since the previous GKA Kite-Surf World Tour event in Sylt, the riders are feeling refreshed and ready to focus once again on competition.

All of the top competitors are present here in Denmark and ready to defend their positions. The Australians are currently top of the leaderboard, in both the female and male divisions. Peri Roberts and James Carew will be looking to maintain their leads, but it won’t be that simple as they have a troop of riders hot on their heels ready to fight for the top spots. As  the World Titles creep closer with every event, each move counts and there is no room for error.

“I’m nervous and excited coming into this event on top,” explained current female leader Peri Roberts. “However I also feel a bit of pressure. I’m excited to push my level, and try to get my first event win here in Denmark. A win is something I’ve strived for since starting. The surf here can be really good. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for those conditions.”

She will have to contend with Capucine Delannoy, our Sylt event winner, coming into the event with her eye on the prize once again. The talented young french rider looked unstoppable at our last event, and we’re looking forward to seeing a repeat performance. The battle for the top in the female division is still an open race for all top four ranked females, Peri Roberts, Charlotte Carpentier, Johanna-Catharina Edin and Capucine Delannoy.

As for James Carew, he is holding the advantage of having two event wins to his name, but there is still the possibility of Pedro Matos, Airton Cozzolino, Matchu Lopes or Reece Myerscough knocking him from his top spot. With more events still set to take place, there is room for movement in the title race. 

The wind forecast for the week is constantly changing, although it looks as though the competition will take place towards the end of the week where the wind will be stronger. The weather can change extremely fast here at Hvide Sande, so nothing is set in stone just yet.

The Live-Stream

As we wait for the conditions to improve, we will have a live-stream show each morning from 10am to 11am CET to offer a chance to discuss the  event, current rankings, athlete interviews and much more. The live-stream will be on Youtube, Facebook and on the GKA website.

Since the start of the Covid pandemic, it has been more of a challenge to be able to offer a live-stream at our GKA events, due to difficulties with travel restrictions, budget constraints, and general challenges. For this reason we are delighted to be able offer a live-stream at this event in Denmark.

“As we wait for the good forecast to arrive, we’re looking forward to showing the ins and outs of the event on the livestream each morning, with tech-talks, interviews and a catch up with the riders so that the public can feel as though they are here on the beach with us,” explains GKA commentator Jo Ciastula. “It’s great for us to be able to have a live-stream again at this event, so that the fans can really follow all of the action from home. We hope to put together a great show.” 

GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Denmark Schedule

The GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Denmark will be taking place from the 6th -11th of September. 

The skipper’s meeting has been called for 8am tomorrow morning.

We will be LIVE with our event show from tomorrow morning with interviews, tech talks and much more. Tune in to our website to follow all the action!