For the fourth time in a row, the small village Afiartis on the idyllic island of Karpathos is preparing to play host for the world‘s fastest men and women in the speed windsurfing scene. From July 31st till August 5th all the big names of the sport will compete for points counting towards the 2009 Speed World Tour and, even more important, battle for the one-off Speed Windsurfing World Championship Titles !
In the men’s fleet, all eyes are set to the reigning world champion and 500m world record holder Antoine Albeau from France, who clearly dominated last season.
His strongest opponent is expected to be again European Champion Bjorn Dunkerbeck, living windsurfing legend. He won the 2008 Karpathos Event in the very last heat against Antoine Albeau to become European Champion. But also current tour leader Anders Bringal as well as the 2008 Overall World Cup Winner Cyril Moussilmani are expected to dispute the places on the podium.
Some more world class windsurfers from other disciplines are joining the speed tour this year, like local and Greek record holder Philip Adamidis, and legendary Chris Lockwood from Australia.
Also the women’s fleet is very strong for this major event of the 2009 season, including 2008 world champion and current tour leader Valerie Ghibaudo as well as second ranked Zara Davis.
After the excellent experiences from the past years, Karpathos is expected to show exceptional conditions again. The spot named “Devils Bay” is well known for crazy conditions up to 10 Beaufort side-offshore.
