Located at the foot of the Andes Mountains, Bariloche is a small enchanting town surrounded by hills, woods and mountaintops covered with snow. The crystal clear water lake, soaring mountains and stunning glaciers are enough to mesmerize anyone who visits this place.
Kiteboard Racers as well as Freestylers spent most of the first day taking advantage of the beautiful weather and picturesque views while anticipating the wind. The weather forecast was a bit unpredictable in the morning but the wind began to pick up in strength at 4:00pm, so racers prepared for a 4:30pm start. A total of two race heats were completed before the event was called off for the day. All Freestyles competitors were released earlier in the day.
A few course racers struggled in the frigid 8°C water temperature and were not able to finish the first race of the day. However that did not stop Californian sunny boy John Heineken (Ozone, USA) who finished with a huge lead in both races. In a brief interview with Heineken he stated that the choppy water, and overall conditions made him feel “just like home” and effortlessly gained a lengthy distance from the other competitors who seemed to be struggling more so than Heineken. French rider Olivier Dansin (North, FRA) managed to take second place in the first race of the day while Julien Kerneur (Takoon, FRA) came in third. In the second race, Kerneur finished in second place while Dansin followed closely behind in third.
Local Argentine rider and PKRA legend, Martin Vari (Vari Kites, ARG) struggled in the kick-off race. Vari stated; “I crashed then accidentally cut a large whole in my wetsuit with one of my fins so I had to drag myself back to shore”. Vari managed to finish nicely in 6th place in the second race of the day. Most observers stated that the two races were just a little warm up for what is to come in the following days in Bariloche as the forecast is looking more brilliant.
In the women’s division, French rider Caroline Adrien (Cabrinha, FRA) was no stranger to the cold water, finishing first in both races. Brazilian rider Nayara Licarinoo (North, BRA) finished second in both races followed by Kari Schibevaag (Ozone, NOR) who came in third in the first race while Melissa Gil (Cabrinha, CRC) finished in fourth. In the second race of the day, Gil overtook Schibevaag landing in third place while Schibevaag struggled to finish in fourth.
Tomorrow’s mandatory riders meeting is scheduled for 10:00am with a first possible start for Freestyle at 10:30am and Racing at 11:00am. The ExtremeElements TV production crew led by Jeremie and Morten had a wonderful but tiring day filming the first day of event.
Catch more photos and videos of the tour stop at www.extremeelements.tv or on our official Youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/extremeelementstv.
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