Hi guys,

i am currently in on the beautiful island in Sylt at a top kitesurfing event- The Kitesurf World Cup.
There are over 55 male racers in the filed and it is full on, especially at the starting line :)
We had 5 races so far, unfortunately i only competed in one race so far due to my board and kites not getting here in time.
Day one the conditions were tough with very gusty offshore winds- 10-25knts.
Riders were using anything between 9m and 16m kites.

Then yesterday the winds swung around onshore at 5pm and the green flag went up, winds at around 20 knots and waves at 2-3 meters.

All racers in top 20 are on custom boards. Some very nice shapes kicking around. Will take some photos today.

Overall the US team is dominating the races big time showing the Euros and rest of the world how its done.
John Heineken (Ozone)from the United States winning 4 out of 5 races so far. More exciting was the fight for the 2nd place between Julien Kerneur (France) and Adam Koch (USA). The two racers rode side-by-side only meters before the finish. In the end, the French took the win by only a few meters.
In the overall ranking men, the top 3 come from the US-team: John Heineken at first, Adam Koch second and Sky Solbach third place.

I got 15th in my only race so far which i was super stoked about. Today the waves are about 3 meters high, its pretty cold and wind are 20-25knts.

The Brazilian Race head judge announced that a Racing World Championship will be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 with the whole Olympic committee being present in the City during that time, they are intenting to give them the final push and showcase Kite Racing to include Kitesurf racing into the Olympic program.

off to race... photos and more news coming.

All the best mate. Keep the updates coming.

Joe

Great write up, thanks...can't wait to see some pics. Das Wasser is kalt ja.

HI Marvin, saw your were racing over there & good luck. Love to be there on the start line with you ...

That explains why you were a bit quite there for a while

Great effort making it there and doing well, keep the updates coming

good sh1t, glad to see queenslanders doin it.

peter

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JohnnoKeys said...

HI Marvin, saw your were racing over there & good luck. Love to be there on the start line with you ...

i wish you were here too mate, i got no chance without a decent, new board. I am still riding the 2010 north ltd. everybody is on customs with 3 fins, mostly 50cm fins.
i borrowed a new 2011 north raceboard and suddenly placed a lot of positions higher.

its amazing when you see Heineken always finishing way ahead of the rest and Adam Koch finishing a lot quicker than others as well.
A few young riders going quite well..

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INTHELOOP said...


its amazing when you see Heineken always finishing way ahead of the rest and Adam Koch finishing a lot quicker than others as well.
A few young riders going quite well..

Good on you Marvin for getting in amongst it!

Heineken = Ability + an Excellent Ozone Edge, + a top board.

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INTHELOOP said...

Hi guys,

i am currently in on the beautiful island in Sylt at a top kitesurfing event- The Kitesurf World Cup.
There are over 55 male racers in the filed and it is full on, especially at the starting line :)
We had 5 races so far, unfortunately i only competed in one race so far due to my board and kites not getting here in time.
Day one the conditions were tough with very gusty offshore winds- 10-25knts.
Riders were using anything between 9m and 16m kites.

Then yesterday the winds swung around onshore at 5pm and the green flag went up, winds at around 20 knots and waves at 2-3 meters.

All racers in top 20 are on custom boards. Some very nice shapes kicking around. Will take some photos today.

Overall the US team is dominating the races big time showing the Euros and rest of the world how its done.
John Heineken (Ozone)from the United States winning 4 out of 5 races so far. More exciting was the fight for the 2nd place between Julien Kerneur (France) and Adam Koch (USA). The two racers rode side-by-side only meters before the finish. In the end, the French took the win by only a few meters.
In the overall ranking men, the top 3 come from the US-team: John Heineken at first, Adam Koch second and Sky Solbach third place.

I got 15th in my only race so far which i was super stoked about. Today the waves are about 3 meters high, its pretty cold and wind are 20-25knts.

The Brazilian Race head judge announced that a Racing World Championship will be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 with the whole Olympic committee being present in the City during that time, they are intenting to give them the final push and showcase Kite Racing to include Kitesurf racing into the Olympic program.

off to race... photos and more news coming.

... 15th, that amazing, good work dude!

apparently most of the Americans train together and drink piss in the San fran bay..
maybe thats the secret :)
aussie racing camp at secret spot? i bring the beers you the skills!?

I can cook :0)

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INTHELOOP said...

apparently most of the Americans train together and drink piss in the San fran bay..
maybe thats the secret :)
aussie racing camp at secret spot? i bring the beers you the skills!?

... ha, I've been secret training for years!!!!! Infact we got a few of us here who have been seriously training for years and ready right now to take on the world!

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Puetz said...

INTHELOOP said...

apparently most of the Americans train together and drink piss in the San fran bay..
maybe thats the secret :)
aussie racing camp at secret spot? i bring the beers you the skills!?

... ha, I've been secret training for years!!!!! Infact we got a few of us here who have been seriously training for years and ready right now to take on the world!

alright. the force from the north, bring it on buddy as long as the water is warmer than here.
where are the next races in Oz?

the race course is pretty full on with 9 km distance, my legs were killing me. they also changed the course few times throughout the week.

9km course .... I've been smashing 7km and that's a killer. ... And changing tHe course really brings out pure racing skill ... Johnny H is the man

Great experience & work Marvin ... You Being there will get the Aussies racers to the next level. See you at the secret training sessions.

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Puetz said...


... ha, I've been secret training for years!!!!! Infact we got a few of us here who have been seriously training for years and ready right now to take on the world!

I reckon the world will be a better place if youse just continue to keep it a secret, please!

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INTHELOOP said...

Puetz said...

INTHELOOP said...

apparently most of the Americans train together and drink piss in the San fran bay..
maybe thats the secret :)
aussie racing camp at secret spot? i bring the beers you the skills!?

... ha, I've been secret training for years!!!!! Infact we got a few of us here who have been seriously training for years and ready right now to take on the world!

alright. the force from the north, bring it on buddy as long as the water is warmer than here.
where are the next races in Oz?

the race course is pretty full on with 9 km distance, my legs were killing me. they also changed the course few times throughout the week.

... yeah man, we've been doing the good half of the training in secret (well maybe not so not so secret) the USA team do, well just the drinking part anyway, and for years. Occasionally throw in a kite when the winds up! There's something special about a few beers after a nice big session!!!!!

9km, bugga that!! What portion of the course is upwind ie straight upwind? Do they change distances ie triangle course so upwind is the same as the downwind leg? Also, is a race course biased anyway because its kiting, ie are the same as yachting!

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Kitepower Australia said...

Puetz said...


... ha, I've been secret training for years!!!!! Infact we got a few of us here who have been seriously training for years and ready right now to take on the world!

I reckon the world will be a better place if youse just continue to keep it a secret, please!

... ummm, I hope you got my joke, not sure you did, half cut now as we speak so I problely reading you wrong now.

Apparently the USA team are doing well cause they drink togeather, I'm sure I read it somewhere here! I joke and reckon we must be champions up here 'cause we drink (way too much me thinks!) and kite, sometimes at the same time!!. Proberly shouldn't have tried to be funny 'ey!!

cheers,

Robbie

ps no wonder Heiniken is doing well, just look at his name!!

Read me wrong, no stress, it was meant as a joke and I knew what you meant too.
Secret mens business, drinking training....
Listen Heineken, I'll neck ya!

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Kitepower Australia said...

Read me wrong, no stress, it was meant as a joke and I knew what you meant too.
Secret mens business, drinking training....
Listen Heineken, I'll neck ya!

... cool! I was a little uknder the infloonce when I red it!

Breaking some of my own rules here, never buy stuff on eBay or go on a forum when drunk,,,,,,, oh well!!

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Kitepower Australia said...

Read me wrong, no stress, it was meant as a joke and I knew what you meant too.
Secret mens business, drinking training....
Listen Heineken, I'll neck ya!

they were neck'in heaps buddy.
better start training now Steve!

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gruezi said...

Great write up, thanks...can't wait to see some pics. Das Wasser is kalt ja.

water was heaps cold and super rough when wind came onshore with 25knts. 3 meter waves with race board requires tough legs and skills

my gear van :)
its a german clothing brand LOL

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Puetz said...

Kitepower Australia said...

Read me wrong, no stress, it was meant as a joke and I knew what you meant too.
Secret mens business, drinking training....
Listen Heineken, I'll neck ya!

... cool! I was a little uknder the infloonce when I red it!

Breaking some of my own rules here, never buy stuff on eBay or go on a forum when drunk,,,,,,, oh well!!

LOL's mate, done it myself too many times, have a rum n coke in hand now and feel the need to move away from the keyboard!

Hey Loopy, I love your gear van...........and the company motto is that with this brand you can bring Australia home.............so no need to come to Australia at all, just buy the cloths and feel like you are in Australia in Germany...sure hope it works.

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gruezi said...

Hey Loopy, I love your gear van...........and the company motto is that with this brand you can bring Australia home.............so no need to come to Australia at all, just buy the cloths and feel like you are in Australia in Germany...sure hope it works.

thats what the bloody germans do here and that clothing sells like crazy.
some iconic aussie things like road signs printed on shirts and people love it!

they were one of the main sponsors of the event lol

... how'd you end up Marvin? What kites did you use?

Cool looking trailer
I bet they dont realise there is a toll booth on that road though

Cant see that 3m swell in the back ground though

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Puetz said...

... how'd you end up Marvin? What kites did you use?

used 12m kite the first day ( offshore 10-25knts)- as in photo. sucked cuz i had to swim for 40min in cold water with kite cuz a lot of kites dropped 500m ahead of beach.

then then other days only on 9m Core XR2. last two days i was overpowered on 9m.

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INTHELOOP said...

Puetz said...

... how'd you end up Marvin? What kites did you use?

used 12m kite the first day ( offshore 10-25knts)- as in photo. sucked cuz i had to swim for 40min in cold water with kite cuz a lot of kites dropped 500m ahead of beach.

then then other days only on 9m Core XR2. last two days i was overpowered on 9m.

... damn, a far cry from sunny QLD hey!

Still wondering, what portion of the races are straight upwind. I've alway wondered if kite racing is more biased to upwind/downwind rather than reaching or is there alot of crosswind riding since its kiting???

In the old days I did a little windsurf racing and slalom and with the courses racing, it was a triangle course with around 25% of a course straight upwind and 25% straight downwind with 25% broardreaching and 25% cross wind. What I was wondering was, do they emphazise the upwind portion of racing more than reaching?

cheers,

Robbie.

great question Peuetz, yeah marvin how wide was start line, was first mark 2 - 3km up wind? And 2x around?. I read the start line was 1km across and 1st mark directly up wind - 60 kites on line there must have been a wide start line. Did the 6 x Americans stick together on start line and muscle across line as a pack to make room for themselves?

... yeah exacly, are the courses modified to suit kiting at all?