Friday, 13 February: Without question 2014 was a year to savour for the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship and one that will linger long in everyone’s memories, spectacular competition, intense rivalries, great locations and regularly over-subscribed rider registration, with competitors from 22 countries taking part.
And the release of the registered and provisional rider line up for 2015 for the now customary season-opener in Doha, Qatar is littered with World, European and National Champions as the World’s number one Aquabike tour looks set to scale event greater heights, with a provisional listing of 46 riders from 17 countries set to kick-start their title challenge.
A quartet of French stars boasting World and National titles head-up the challengers in Runabout, with defending World Champion Teddy Pons set to lead out a maximum field of 25 riders in Doha.
Pons will face stiff opposition, not least from Jeremy Perez who narrowly missed out in the title chase last season but rounded out the year in top spot in the prestigious World Rankings. Francois Medori will be hoping the long development programme of his bike is now over as he looks to regain the title he won in 2012, with Cyrille Lemoine looking erase the memory of a year that started with victory but then dominated by mechanical failures and grab back the title he last won in 2010.
Italy’s 2011 World Champion and Lemoine’s teammate last year, Mattia Fracasso, heads-up the European challenge with the likes of Sweden’s Lars Akerblom and Poland’s Andrezj Wisniewski looking to break French dominance. The Middle East assault for honours comes from 2013 World Champion, Kuwaiti Youssef Al Abdulrazzaq and Qatar’s Thamer Al-Darwish. And joining the tour this season is 2014 Karujet winner, Ugo Fidelin from Martinique.
Having seen off the challenge from US rival Chris MacClugage, defending World Champion Jeremy Poret will go in search of a fifth Ski World title, but will have to fend off the likes of Italian veteran Alberto Monti, Spain’s Nacho Armillas and Slovenia’s Tomaz Kete, not to mention his [Poret’s] brothers Mickael and Morgan.
Once again the Ladies will be mixing it with their male peers with last year’s heat winners Jennifer Menard, Estelle Poret and Sandra Fernandez Rodriquez the trio likely to be the front runners in the title race, defending Champion Menard will be the one to unseat!
Who will win in the aerial insanity of Freestyle, anyone’s guess, but what everyone will be watching for is the perfect score from The ‘Rok’ Florjancic as he looks to remain unbeaten on the tour. Last year he carded a 99 out of a possible 100 and promised to try to improve..!!