Erika Heineken >> PKRA Mexico
I’m here in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, competing in my first PKRA event. It feels great to finally be here with my brother, Johnny, competing on the international scene. There are about 25 racers from more than 10 countries, including 6 women in the fleet.
In the first 3 days we had 7 races total. I rode on all 3 Ozone Edges I registered for the event, 17m, 13m, & 9m, which shows the variety of wind conditions we’ve seen. With the constantly changing wind conditions, we’ve all seen how important it is to be comfortable racing on a kite that’s not quite ideal for the immediate conditions. For the first race of the event, there were riders on all kites between the sizes of 18m and 9m. I’m learning the importance of kite choice verses my competitors, and feel that had I made better kite choices I would have much more competitive.
One of the best female riders in the world is here, Katja Roose, and it’s been fun battling with her for first. I managed to beat her in 2 of the 7 races, and I’m holding onto second place overall for the women. Nuria Goma (Ozone) has been third in every race. Johnny is in first place overall after winning 4 races, with Bryan Lake in second and Adam Koch (Ozone) in third. Once again my local San Francisco guys are dominating the event, but there’s plenty of international competitors who are in the top of the pack. It’s good to see the Ozone Edge holding down 6 of the top 10 places at a pro tour event….
Today the wind was light and offshore, so we didn’t race. The standings stayed the same with Johnny holding down first place, Bernie in 2nd, and Adam in 3rd. I’m stoked on my 2nd place finish in my first ever PKRA event, and ready for the next one! Thanks for all the help Ozone.
Erika
|
