The strapless trickster and event favourite from Cabo Verde; Mitu Monteiro, has been defeated in the most talked about professional kiteboarding event this year by just a smidge. The finals for the One Eyed Pro were held in perfect conditions over the weekend in Mauritius, proving that the all new competition format could be a winner for both competitors and spectators around the world. 

The Kite Surf Pro is the new professional kitesurfing tour that was designed to showcase the worlds best riders in three of the best locations around the world. Each stop on the tour will have incredible live coverage and news feeds running for the duration of the event, as well as the riders own video's, blogs and updates via social media to keep the kitesurfing community informed. This weeks competition was a huge success for the organisers - so you can expect the next event in Peru to be just as good, if not better. 

In one of the closest finals ever seen in kitesurfing - the event favourite Mitu Monteiro lost to Airton Cozzolino from France. Both riders put on a fantastic show for the judges, with Airton only winning by 0.63 of a point. The judges awarded Airton a higher score due to his versatility and great wave selection, the fact he stayed in the pocket all the time and had a little more power in his tricks kept him on top. Mitu put on a more varied routine, with switch tricks, both front and backside riding - as well as aerials and strapless trickery to woe the crowd. 

So who's this Mitu Monteiro fella'? You may have seen him in any one of the F-One video's they've released over the last 3 years - he's he one doing double backroll kite-loops, strapless on a surfboard. His skills with a surfboard are incredible, and he was the outright favourite to win this event right from the beginning. The final stop of the tour is in his home town of Cabo Verde - so he's the favourite to win the event now, local knowledge plays a massive part in kite surfing, knowing the conditions gives you the edge on your competitors - so watch out for Mitu on the podium later this year. He'll be there for sure.

So why didn't our Aussie riders win the event? Because there were no Aussie riders - read a little more about that here. Our best bet for the win was Keahi De Aboitiz, the 17 year old was a favourite to win after dominating the PKRA wave riding events earlier this year - but never mind - he ended up doing incredibly well over in California on a SUP! 

Stay tuned for the next round of the Kite Surf Pro in Peru - it starts in three weeks on the 19th October.

 

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