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Edge Race Cup Report

The 4th Annual Edge Race Cup ran over the weekend of the 15th and 16th June 2013 and marked the second stop on the British Kitesurfing Association UK kitesurf racing tour.  Held in Exmouth which is  widely regarded as one of the best locations for kitesurfing in England with kiting possible across all wind directions.

Edge Watersports hosted and organised the event fronted by Steph Bridge 4 x Kite race world champion with sponsors Atass providing the richest cash prize package of the tour combined with an excellent evening party at Pebblebed Vineyard. Further support from North Kiteboarding, Xcel wetsuits and Ion added to the prize table for the B fleet with kiteboards, harnesses and wetsuits up for grabs. So as you might imagine the race attracted riders from far and wide with 40 racers registered to compete and close to 80 attending the party event.

Day one began with rider registration and the days briefing at the event site. The morning conditions were incredibly challenging with strong westerly wind gusting up to 35 knots. Race director- Peter ‘Spud’ Rowsell (Steph’s dad) set an upwind/ downwind course with each race lasting approx 15 minutes. The A fleet achieved incredible speeds in Race one with youth World Champion Ollie Bridge getting off to a flying start notching up his first win by a big margin. Denzil Williams recorded his best result of the weekend with a hard fought second place from Lee ‘Pasty’ Harvey. The morning was completed with Race 4 and as the tide turned the afternoon races 5 and 6 were run in flat conditions  and excellent wind. Ollie completed the day with 6 straight wins and was described as being “in a league of his own by the other competitors”.

Day two began with a chilly breeze and light rain, coupled with light winds. The A fleet rigged large kites and saw some incredibly close racing. As the wind picked up throughout the day it went down to the wire for 3rd place with Denzil Williams and Jack Galloway effectively in a shootout in the last race for the final podium spot. On the final downwind leg Jack Galloway was leading to the line only to crash and be overtaken by Denzil Williams just meters from the line. Ollie Bridge showed his world class talents and completed the event undefeated with 10 wins from 10 races followed by Cornishman Waterman Lee “Pasty” Harvey.

The B fleet was also dominated by one rider Eric Diamond, who only slipped up once across 8 rounds with 7 wins and one second. The 2nd and 3rd places were hard fought between Matt Causon and Olly Lawrence. After 8 races they were separated by just one point with Matt Causon eventually securing 2nd place with Olly Lawrence 3rd. Round the world yachtsman Conrad Humphries also competed hard in the B fleet and narrowly missed the podium with a 4th overall.

To sum the event up Richard Gowers chairman of the British Kitesurfing association commented “ Exmouth and Edge Watersports really delivered this weekend, a great event and we look forward to returning next year”

Special thanks to all our sponsors and partners listed below who help make the Edge Race Cup happen.

PARTNERS:

Atass

North kiteboarding

Ion

Pebblebed

Edgewatersports


Xcel


BKSA


For more photos check out the facebook pages

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