GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup France - Finals day brings the action to Dunkerque

by Caroline Morris 2 Sep 11:29 BST 28 August - 1 September 2024

Arthur Guillebert - GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup France finals © Lukas K Stiller

The riders had an early start as a very windy morning set the stage in Dunkerque for the finals of the GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup France 2024. The action did not disappoint as the competition got underway with a continuation of round two of the men's heats, followed by the eliminations.

As the battles played out, things really started to heat up in the last round of the men's quarter-finals as athletes went head-to-head looking to place four high scores out of seven trick attempts.

Podium hunger

Round three saw the first competition upset with Frenchman, Valentin Garat, making a surprise resurgence in the last heat. After lagging behind, he landed an impressive 8.07 score for his slim-7 trick, the highest event score at the time which put him back in the running.

The local crowd were cheering 'allez les bleus' as hungry Garat went on to secure his place in the semi-final along with current world champion, Carlos Mario (BRA). "I'm thirty years old now and have been competing on the tour for quite some time", said Garat. "I think my best position is fifth place, but I really want to make it to a podium, and then I can retire".

Arthur Guillebert - GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup France finals - photo © Lukas K Stiller

Shock exits in the men's semis

Shock results continued in the men's semi-finals with competition at its fiercest between 15-year-old Finn Flügel (GER), Valentin Garat, Maxime Chabloz (SUI) and ranked number two rider, Gianmaria Coccoluto (ITA).

Garat played an intelligent game while Chabloz was nudging ahead, matching his high 8.43 score. Former world champion Coccoluto didn't look as comfortable as usual and gave way to Flügel who slid into first place, followed by Chabloz, and then Garat in third. The scores remained tight, and the action was getting very tense. Each trick attempt left the crowd wondering how the positions might change.

Coccoluto began to step up, and was in a strong position on his fifth and sixth trick attempt, leaving the competition right on the line. Coccoluto was almost ready to claim second place after Chabloz and knock out Flügel, but crashed his last trick attempt, forcing him to exit the competition and shock the crowd.

"I feel good", said Coccoluto after the heat. "Sometimes it happens, you know and the conditions are really hard. I hope I can do better in Brazil with good conditions for sure, so, see you there!".

In heat two of the semis, Arthur Guillebert (FRA) landed a solid heartattack-5 with an 8.77 score, the highest seen in the competition. Meanwhile, Carlos Mario unfortunately suffered an injury that prevented him from challenging his lead and forced him to exit the competition leaving the audience disappointed.

Bruna Kajiya - GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup France finals - photo © Lukas K Stiller

Tense men's finals play out

With Cocoluto and Mario out, it opened doors for the men's final. The action commenced and saw Matteo Dorotini (ITA), who had been training hard in Lake Garda, joining Finn Flügel, Maxime Chabloz and Arthur Guillebert.

Flügel started big and you could see the hunger in his eyes as he landed on the chop and it was a smart move to lock down a toeside trick at the beginning. Meanwhile, Guillebert had some big moves in his pocket and grinned as he landed a nice dum dum with his French fan club going wild. Despite their efforts, Chabloz edged out into the lead leaving the other three riders hungry to catch up.

Halfway through the heat, a crash from Chabloz opened the door for Guillebert to slide into the lead, but Chabloz took it back leaving just 0.4 of a point between them and one trick attempt to go.

Guillebert was last to use his final attempt and needed to score a solid six points or above to take first position which he'd shown he had in his portfolio. Landing a frontside 317, he left the crowd agonising as the judges deliberated the score. It was enough to steal the win, leaving Chabloz disappointed. Chabloz is yet to win an event, often narrowly missing out, but this time he almost had it.

"I'm very gutted, but happy at the same time", said Chabloz. "It was close so I'm looking forward to the next stop".

It was all smiles for the French on the beach at Dunkerque as Arthur Guillebert won on his home soil. Maxime Chabloz took a very close second place with Finn Flügel following in third and Matteo Dorotini securing fourth place.

Landslides in women's semi-finals

In the women's semi-finals, Rita Arnaus (ESP) was yet to put a foot wrong in heat one. Having trained hard after injury, Arnaus didn't miss a trick and was on a winning streak that left her miles in front.

Arnaus won by a landslide advancing to the women's final, together with Kaya Lehmann (GER), who, having competed in the junior world tour, demonstrated a promising future securing a final for her very first competition.

Heat two of the semis saw Bruna Kajiya (BRA) streak ahead from the get-go, but left the door open for anyone to take second place. Italy's Francesca Bagnoli landed a clean 6.23 slim, firmly cementing her position, setting her up to push through to the podium.

Bagnoli robbed

Bagnoli was razor-focused leading up to the women's final, but an unfortunate incident with a hydrofoil left her with a sliced kite, setting her back in her mindset, causing her to lag behind in the heat. Meanwhile, Lehmann showed consistency with her tricks which allowed her an advantage.

Making her impressive comeback, Rita Arnaus showed months of rehabilitation were behind her after a strong performance. However, it wasn't quite enough against defending champion Bruna Kajiya who steamed ahead, landing every trick and placing some high scores including 7.17 points for a clean KGB.

Kajiya wins for a second year

After a solid performance from the women, Kajiya won the final heat, with Arnaus placing second, an incredible achievement as her first event back on tour. Kaya Lehmann secured an impressive third place on the podium, with Bagnoli in fourth.

"I'm super excited to have won here again like last year," said Kajiya. "I came here with quite a lot of confidence as I'd put in the work. I talked to myself, and said, 'you put in the work, everything is there, so go and make it happen'".

Congratulations to all of the winners of the GKA Freestyle World Cup France 2024. Stay tuned as the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour will return to Brazil in November for the second Freestyle World Cup event of the season.