THE CHOSEN
When it comes to riding, there are those who like to freeride, and those who like to compete. Although tomorrow’s unofficial kite tow-up ‘show’ at the Mondial du Vent in Leucate holds no tangible prize, there was an increase in the strength that riders found in their ability to squeeze out those extra few metres behind the jet-ski in today’s two hour qualifier that allows them to ride again on Sunday.
It’s a kite loop, but not as we know it / All Photos: Toby Bromwich
Combining the subtle piloting experience they’ve built up in the last few training days, the riders were holding on to the tow line longer today, pinging themselves higher as a result.
Holdiiiiiiing….
The tow-up is a side-line spectacle, a discipline that is strictly a crowd pleaser – led by the riders – to entertain those who turn out to soak up the kiting vibes. However, when the 4 o’clock session opened, the kites were backed up on the beach in a hot launch queue, joined by pilots eager to get a few more pulls.
Carrying a relatively large amount of experience into this, Jesse Richman led the crew at the start of the week with a series of training sessions, and now the seeming expertise and ballsy kite manoeuvres we see at 25 metres up from almost the whole crew is jaw dropping.
Bon vol Paul Serin!
For the worst wind forecast ever in it’s history the Mondial de Vent certainly managed to pack in 5 days of epic action…who needs winds?
Thanks to the guys at: https://www.seabreeze.com.au/ for this article…