KTA CHINA >> Yo Takes 1st Race & 2nd Freestyle

The time had come for the first round of the KTA (Kiteboard Tour Asia) in Xiamen – China.  After Yo heard the good news from Matt at Ozone regarding his sponsorship and joining the team as a rider Yo trained hard for the upcoming event in his home turf in Thailand.

With the help of the KTA riders grant scheme and Evason Hua Hin resort, Yo’s flights were all in the bag for the entire 5 stop tour around Asia, and of course Killer kites being provided by Ozone.

First Warm up days went well with winds ranging 18 – 25 knots, then the 1st day of the event was a steady 12 – 18 for the duration of the day.

First comp was the Mens Course Racing, wind was around 12 knots at the start, Yo pumped up his new secret light wind weapon THE ZEPHYR! This was the first time it had been seen on Hina’s beaches so a lot of worried looking competitors when they saw the size of the kite compared to its turning speed, power distribution and elegance in the air.  The starting horn went and Yo was off, immediately out in front of the rest at speed he was set from the beginning, Yo gracefully and pretty easily won the Course racing with nearly 3 mins between him and 2nd place, a very chuffed Yo walked off the water grinning ear to ear, the Zephyr rocks!

Day 2 The Mens Freestyle first elimination round got underway and Yo was off to a good start, after the 3rd Heat Yo pulled a mega kiteloop and landed hard on his ribs, this put him off form for the next round, leaving him in 3rd place after the first elimination.

Day 3 was a no wind day, which seen the guys wakeboarding behind a 15hp tiller boat, great fun with makeshift wake rope and bamboo handle….Asian style!  This gave time for Yo to recover from the fall the day before and prepare for the 2nd elimination to be held on the final day.  The wind played ball and came in hard and fast at noon, averaging 25 knots and gusting 35 Yo took out the 7m Sport, the 2nd elimination was really close and all competitors were on top form, Yo progressed right through with 4 heats in a row to the final, this would be the 5th heat on the trot with little breaks between, if he beat Ken from Philippines he was still due one more heat to beat him again, would have meant 6 consecutive heats!!! That’s a task for any man! Yo on the 5th Heat and final round lost by just 1 point with Ken Nacor from Philippines pulling a KGB in the last seconds, this left Yo with 2nd Place on the freestyle.

Not a bad competition under the new wings of Ozone;

1st place – Course Racing
2nd Place – Freestyle

Here is a video of Yo, the new Ozone Asia team rider

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