Men’s battle for coveted Kite-Surf crown to be decided at season’s fourth and final stop in Brazil
Freestyle titles on the line at tour’s closing call in sumptuous conditions of Taíba lagoon
GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Taíba 2025
6-9 November, 2025 | Taíba
GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup Taíba 2025
12-15 November, 2025 | Taíba
Back-to-back events in Brazil are set to decide three of the four world titles still up for grabs in a thrilling final showdown to the 2025 GKA season in Kite-Surf and Freestyle.
The race for the men’s Kite-Surf crown is set to go down to the wire with four leading contenders neck-and-neck after three stops in a super-charged year. Six-times world champion, the Italian Cape Verdean, Airton Cozzolino, in pole position to reclaim his title.
France’s Capucine Delannoy, a multiple world champion at the age of just 19, already has the 2025 title in the bag after an unbeaten run this year means that she now cannot be caught. But with the closing stop in Taíba near her Preá home, she is up for the fight hoping to close out the year with a perfect record.
A few days later the second and closing stop of the Freestyle year will take-off on the mirror flat waters of Taíba lagoon, shortly after the opening call at Fahid Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
But first up comes the decider in the Kite-Surf discipline, which will be fought out in a mixed format of pure surfing and strapless freestyle. So far this season’s battles involved two pure surfing stops, in Cape Verde and Dakhla, Morocco, and one in the mixed format, in Sylt, Germany.
Cozzolino won the most recent contest in Dakhla and took a second on home waters in Cape Verde to help him climb to the top of the rankings. At both stops he traded the top places with Brazil’s Pedro Matos, who won in Cape Verde and sits second overall.
Reigning world champion, another Brazilian Gabriel Benetton, lies in third place in the rankings and faltered at the last call in Dakhla. But it was Benetton’s consistency across last season that won him the title and he can never be ruled out, especially in his own backyard.
Australia’s James Carew lies fourth in the rankings and is still within touching distance of the top spot, especially since the athletes can discard their worst finishing score after the fourth stop. Carew is hungry to regain the title after being out injured for almost 18 months.
However, the roster of talent in the Kite-Surf division is long and deep, and a clutch of other riders could upset the order. Brazil’s Sebastian Ribeiro skipped Sylt because of the mixed format, but will battle on home waters.
France’s Theo Demanez, who won in Sylt, Switzerland’s Hendrick Witschi, Nicola Abadjiev, of Bulgaria, and the Casati brothers, Lorenzo and Leonardo, are all strong contenders, especially in the mixed format.
In the women’s division, while Capucine Delannoy can bask in the glory of her title, the second and third podium places are to be decided in Brazil. Switzerland’s Camille Losserand sits in second overall, but will be anxious to make amends in Taíba after poor showing in Dakhla.
Last year’s runner-up, Brazil’s Kesiane Rodrigues, sits just a few points off the pace in third. A good finish on home waters could move her up the rankings. Fellow countrywoman Serena Luz missed Germany, but could easily improve from her current seventh in the rankings.
Brazil promises another couple of bangers. Join us here for all the action.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Svetlana Romantsova
Event information
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