Starting this week, round three of the GKA Kite-Surf World Tour lands in Portugal at Viana do Castelo, from 07-12th June. The action will be taking place on Cabedelo Beach in front of event host, Feel Viana Hotel.
Viana World Cup – FeelViana Sport Hotel (Praia do Cabedelo-Viana do Castelo) from FeelViana on Vimeo.
At this time of year Viana do Castelo benefits from the reliable El Nortada winds as well as solid Atlantic swells. This will be the third right hand wave for the tour in 2018 and the main wave spot is protected by a sea wall making for ultra-clean, glassy wave riding conditions – a perfect playground for a World Tour event!
Airton Cozzolino – the man to beat / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide
Reigning champ Airton Cozzolino has been steadily building his lead since round one in Cape Verde, but Keahi de Aboitiz has maintained consistent pressure from second place. With the tour about to reach its halfway point, if anyone’s going to unseat Airton, then this event is crucial.
The women’s top four – Jalou Langeree, Moona Whyte, Inês Correia, Carla Herrera Oria / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide
Things are also hotting up in the women’s division with top ranked riders Jalou Langeree and Moona Whyte now level on points, so this is a chance for someone to pull ahead. However, Portuguese rider Inês Correia has been unshakable in third place so far this season and she’s made it clear that her eyes are on the higher podium positions. She’ll be hot on the heels of Moona and Jalou as she competes in front of her native fans!
Powerhouse Paulino is poised for Portugal / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide
There are also sure to be some serious showdowns in the men’s top ten as heavyweights like Mitu Monteiro and Sebastian Ribeiro battle for a place on the podium. Tour legends Matchu Lopes and Paulino Pereira will also no doubt be hoping to rekindle their 2018 title chases after a couple of challenging events for them both in Cape Verde and Dakhla.
So it’s all to play for this week in beautiful Viana do Castelo!
Stay tuned to our social media channels as the event progresses: Facebook / Instagram
See the current Kite-Surf World Tour Championship rankings after two events here.
See the full GKA Kite-Surf World Tour 2018 event schedule here where you can also find out more about each event location.
