Álvaro Onieva

After the last event in Chile, the PKRA is over for the year.

The event this year was at the same spot, Roca Cuadrada, Matanzas.

This year we didnt have such a big swell like last year, so it was more suitable for the freestyle, still with some nice kickers to pull some big fs 3 and fs 5.

In the end, i finished 3rd, is sweet to be on the podium one more year :D.

Definitively, for next year is going to be much more harder, a lot of people are rising their levels so much that for sure is going to be more taugh to be there.

Let’s start the training…
Enjoy.

This is my third year competing in Canada, this year we have a different spot, way more warm, seady winds and butter flat water, that is Prince Edward Island.

The first day of freestyle we had a straight offshore wind on the contest side, so we move on to the other side of the island to get one of the best winds of the year, perfect 20 steady knots and the water super flat, a little shallow though, but it wasn’t an impediment to boost our best manouvers.

The singles went really good for me, i had the best heats of the year mixing up strong power moves with technical maneuvers like frontmobe to blind and backmobe wrapped that made me get the 3rd place over Michael Blomvall.

In Doubles, back to the event side, again with a clean offshore wind and flat water, i had to go with Michael again, he was boosting a lot of switch and technical maneuvers but not much power though, so i just went really strong on my eleven meter to boost all my tricks as power as possible, in the end was a really close decision 3-2, one judges they went for him because of the switch maneuvers and some other for me because of my execution and power of the tricks. I was really upset with the final decision, because since the really beginning we were fighting for the risk factor and execution of the tricks, in order to create a solid image for the sport, and on this case they didnt rewarded.

In the end, i got more points ahead to finish this year in 3rd place.

Im looking for rock ‘N roll in Brazil!

Peace.

Its ON!, just finished this short movie from my last trip in the gorge. There are some good slicks and sliders too,  it is definitively a BIG RIVER!.

www.alvaronieva.com /Flash site/Videos/bigRIVER

Rock on!!

The gorge games is a classic contest in Hood River that combines different sports like skateboarding, kite boarding, windsurfing, mountain bike etc…
The event was covered by Fox sports Tv, which will present five, different shows for the next month that will be viewed all across the North America.
There were two days of competition for the kite boarding, which they ran freestyle pro and amateurs, big air best trick and course racing.
The judge criteria it was based on the PKRA tour, so the power and technical difficulty was what the judges were looking for.
I competed all day lead up on 9m, and went all the way to the final, after beating Damien Leroy in the semis on my bindings.
It was super fun combining both my straps and bindings board on the contest, when the wind was super gusty I went with straps and when it looked steady and strong I went with my bindings set up.
The final was versus the Californian guy Jon Malvensen who was riding well, throwing some regular handle passes powered up. I was riding well with my kite low and riding with lots of speed into my moves and that combined with the variety of moves in my heat gave the win to get the first place at the Gorge Games freestyle pro 2008.

Results: Pro Mens Freestyle
1) Alvaro Onieva
2) Jon Van Malsen
3) Damien Leroy
4) Joey Pasquali

Results: Big Air Best Trick

1) Damien Leroy
2) Alvaro Onieva
3) Sander Lenten
4) Madison Van Heurck

I got here two days ago, and all seems to be good, the flat water session that i had down the sand bar was dope, they had a mini flat bar, perfect set up for wakeskate and a massive kicker for goofy side.
Was a lot fun ride with the inept crew and some cool locals riders, is tight to see so many people still pushing into the wakestyle.
Tomorrow starts the Gorge Games Freestyle pro. lets see how it goes!.
Keep rocking!

The last two days of the event was the double elimination, with the finals on the last day of the competition.

Aaron Hadlow fought his way back up the ladder to go against me for second place overall.

I had a really tough heat against him, i was riding on 9m perfectly and then the wind became to strong for it, so i was super overpowered. I knew i had to give it all if i wanted to get through.

Anyway im stoked to get this podium at home, and get some points ahead to finish 3rd in the end of the season.

Ride on!.

One more year the PKRA comes to the great spot of Tarifa, my homespot.

Is always nice to compete at home and hang it out with family and friends, the people that really support you.

Today was such a long day, the run all the single elimination with four man on the water until quarter-finals.

The conditions were really suitable in compare last year, we had such a great 20 knots of Poniente wind and some kickers breaking close to the beach that made to have some good hits off.

Since the first heat i had clear on my mind that all i wanted is just to feel good with my riding and not to be focus on the result, and i think i got it today.

In the way to the finals, I got some tough heats, on the quarter-final versus my Balance team mate Petr Tyushkevich, that was doing some good technical stuff.

For Semi-finals i had my highlight of this contest when i met Mike Blomvall, that just won versus the current champion Hadlow, i felt so good with my riding, kiting as power as i like and landing clean all my mobes , was such a epic heat for me to keep going up.

Once in the finals i met Kevin Langeree, i wanted to give it all, but just when the heat started the wind drop so bad, and i lost my “special bar”, so in the end, I was more focus on go upwind that how i was performing my maneuvers. The final decision by the judges was 4-1 for Kevin.

I stoked with the place, but even more stoked with my riding, i hope in doubles i can keep it up to feel some freedom!.

Peace!.

Finally is on!, this alternative short movie of 3min duration edited by myself, from Red Bull Kite punks, Triple-S, some slicks in Tarifa and skating with my friends in Malaga.

www.alvaronieva.com /Flash site/Videos/Zero Conduct

Enjoy!

Issue 4 of Core online magazine just went live, check out this sequence in Hatteras, during my last day of the Triple-S.

Enjoy!.

www.coreonlinemagazine.com

I had to leave the Triple-S two days earlier in order to attend the Spanish Championship sponsored by Movistar. It was an insane trip all the way from Cape Hatteras NC to Barcelona, spending two days of traveling after taking five planes!.

The wind over here was knocking, gusts over 40 knots, side off wind, pretty much the same than Levante in Tarifa, so i had to use my 7m for all the long way to the top.

I did a sequence of nine heats in a row, non-stopping, couldn’t even breath, boosting in every heat, power blind judge, s-bend passes, fs indy 3 and back mobes.

It was a mission kind of crazy and at the same time exciting, because i was getting more and more tired and

the level of the riding was increasing as well.

Classic!.