Big Air Podium for Women of North at 2024 Lords of Tram | Bacares, France

The third and final day of the GKA World Cup Tour Lords of Tram event dawned to the pulsing Tramontane – a cold wind from the north or northwest - “beyond the mountains”.

The women’s heats threw up some of the greatest riding seen in contest. North Team rider Nathalie Lambrecht (SWE) landed the highest score with a 9.10 for a kite-loop board-off in her Round 2 heat. Nathalie headed to the semi-final in first place, while Zara Hoogenraad (NED) took the second berth, closing out her heat with one of the biggest double kite-loops landed by a woman in competition. Between them, they ended the run of France’s Big Air specialist, Angely Bouillot.

After a shaky start to the semi-finals in the lighter breezes, Nathalie took a big win to go through to the final. Fellow North Team rider Francesca Maini (GBR) also booked her place in the final with solid scores that outpointed Alessa Mensch (DE) in third, whose last-gasp double-kite loop was not quite enough to get her through.

Double podium for North

The women’s final was a tight affair. 25-30 knot breezes blowing over Barcarès lagoon set the stage for the final showdown of the women’s competition, with the lighter wind demanding even greater expertise from the riders.

Britain’s Francesca Maini gave a good account of herself and racked one of the bigger trick scores, 7.70 for a kite-loop front roll, and finished fourth. Zara Hoogenraad opened with another remarkable double kite loop and put some solid numbers on the board but seemed to struggle with kite size in the faltering winds and finished third. Nathalie Lambrecht put on a good performance but could not match the intensity of her earlier heat and ended in second. Pippa van Iersel returned from a two-year injury break to take the win in Barcarès and a third Lords of Tram title.

Watch the replay of the Womens’ Final here:

Earlier in the day, the four-berth mens semi-finals were a mouth-watering match-up of the biggest names in Big Air kiteboarding. North Team rider Josué “Baby Shark” San (BRA) opened the first semi-final with huge intent and put big numbers on the board. One Contra-loop Back-roll Board-off, where he travelled 116 metres downwind, earned 7.07. But Spain’s Jeremy Burlando put together a strong heat to edge out the young Brazilian and go to the final. Local favourite Edgar Ulrich (FRA) went one better and took the heat win with some big tricks that saw him advance to the top spot. But it was the Dutch teenager Jamie Overbeek who would take out the men's finals, building his heat with a huge 9.53 and closing it out with a 9.07 trick that sealed his victory and gave him his first World Cup win.

Join the masters of the skies again for the next round of Lords of Tram in Gran Canaria, Spain, this July. GKA Big Air Kite World Cup Gran Canaria 2024 - GKA Kite World Tour

GKA Big Air Rankings:

Rankings 2024 - GKA Kite World Tour

Spot Info: Barcarès

Wind: The Tramontane blowing northerly, or north-westerly offshore, is best. The spot is non-tidal, with flat waters and temperatures of 10-20C.

The best wind for Big Air is 25-40 knots. (On Windguru the perfect forecast is 25 knots, with gusts of 30-35 knots—with the gusts as a reference point for the true wind.

The wind is usually 5-10 knots in excess of the forecast, especially if the air temperatures are cold.

Specifics of the spot: The wind funnels in the corner of the jump zone, with result that riders can often jump three metres to five metres higher than usual.

The jump area has deep water, which makes it safer in the event of a crash.

The best seasons for the Tramontana run from March to June, and September to December. During summer, southern France’s hot weather can disrupt the pattern.