MANILA, Philippines - Doque delos Santos bested a tough international field to post a victory and two runner-up finishes in the kickoff leg of the 2015 ICTSI Philippine Kiteboarding Tour – Season 2 at Anguib’s white sand beaches in Sta. Ana, Cagayan last Tuesday.
The Boracay-based Delos Santos flashed superb form to edge Reynard Gajisan of F1 Kites and French Pierre Vogel in a fiercely fought duel for the TwinTip Race (men) crown. The ICTSI-backed Delos Santos earlier placed second in Hangtime and Freestyle events of the three-day competition organized by the Philippine Kiteboarding Association.
Swede Atte Kappel put on a scintillating performance to dominate the popular Hangtime event, his 12.67-second jump tipped to eclipse the current Asian record for the longest jump. Delos Santos had a 6.17-second jump for second while Christian Tio, the world junior No. 2, ended up third.
Louisa Johannson completed Sweden’s sweep of Hangtime by ruling the women’s side, beating German Franziska Limmer and Viola Kaukonen of Finland while Boracay-based Liezl Tio topped the TwinTip Race women’s event, humbling Rebecka Maudal and Limmer.
PKA president Jay Ortiz snatched the TwinTip Race Masters crown as Kappel, who dominated the first two races in the opening day, struggled with a kite problem in the final day and dropped to third with Puerto Galera’s Eddie Garcia taking runner-up honors.
The Romblon-born, Boracay-based Gajisan, meanwhile, wowed the big crowd with a showcase of amazing tricks to cop the Freestyle plum in windy condition with Delos Santos and the 13-year-old Tio finishing second and third, respectively, in the event sponsored by top port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
Austrian Julia Tausch topped the Freestyle women’s side with local ace and Asian champion Paula Rosales and Maudal placing second and third, respectively.
The Anguib leg, the first of four stages of the circuit organized by the PKA and backed by Cabrinha Kites and LiP Sunglasses, drew 40 participants from Manila, Davao, Puerto Princesa, Laguna, Puerto Galera, Boracay, Romblon, and Sweden, France, Germany, Norway, Finland, Netherlands, Turkey, Bulgaria and Austria.
Meanwhile, the second leg will be held Feb. 6-8 in Boracay to be followed by the Daet stage on Feb. 13-15. The circuit will wind up in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on March 6-8.
For details, call 632-638-9273 or 0917-4123888 or email PKAtour@yahoo.com or joanne3santos@hotmail.com or facebook at philippinekiteboardingtour.
The other backers of the event are kitesurfing equipment brand Cabrinha, and LiP Sunglasses, Coca-Cola, Powerade, and supported by Cagayan Grand Adventure and Leisure, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), North Cagayan Gaming and Amusement Corp., First Cagayan Leisure and Resorts Corp., Meridian Vista Gaming Corp., Delimondo and Xin Tian Di Resort.