Christophe Ribot of Miamikiteboarding shares with SouthFloridaAdventures.com his thoughts on the 2009 Miamikiteboarding Masters Race off Key Biscayne May from 16 to 17.

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The 2009 edition of the Miamikiteboarding Masters was one of the best events we ever had in Crandon Park. Blessed with great weather and wind pretty much the whole weekend, kitesurfers, competitors, sponsors and spectators had their share of riding, adrenaline, show, spectacle and good time.

On Saturday, the morning was dedicated to the course racing. Variations in wind, ranging from 10 to 18 knots, were challenging for some of the 37 racers, forcing them to choose the appropriate gear for each of the four races we ran. But after three hours of races, we had winners in all categories.

In the afternoon, after a short rain emptied out the beach, the wind settled for good, averaging 16 knots, which was perfect for the freestyle contest. Nineteen riders, all but one in their 20s, were competing for what has been certainly the best level we have seen in Miami.

Damian Leroy won through technical skills and a variety of moves. But for the judges it was a very tight decision between the second, third and fourth place finishers. Alex Fox, Thibault Michaels (ex-Belgium champion) and Justice Bentz were throwing successions of front and back moves, S-bends-to-blind and more.

After seven heats, Fox took second place for landing a powerful kite loop-handle pass in the last seconds right in front of the judges tower, highly acclaimed by the crowd.

Thre was only one heat for the women’s freestyle but it was a tight call between Stacey Fonas, Melissa Gil, Alizee Brion and Jamie Fields. Eventually Fonas won for her variety of moves but it was quite balanced as far as technical skills level.

The public was in awe and this epic first day of the Masters 09 closed with the traditional award ceremony right on the beach and the after-party at Joe’s Tiki Hut.

Sunday was dedicated to a fun and free expression session riding day for the Local Kitesurfing community: Most of the actors of the southeast Florida kite scene showed up with all sort of riding styles: surfboards, skimboards, wake skate, etc.

To learn see more results and learn about Miamikiteboarding Masters 2010 visit MiamiKitesurfing.com.