Overview
“I’m so happy. I don’t even have words to describe what I’m feeling right now. A four-time world champion, Jesus, that’s so much! I’m just so stoked to have made another double in the event. I think this one was even better than my first one, and I’m really happy that I got to show people what girls are actually made of and what they can do.”
Held from November 11 to 14, 2021, in Cumbuco, Ceará, in northeastern Brazil, the 2021 Cumbuco GKA Freestyle World Cup Brazil (SuperKite Brasil 2021) served as the second and final stop of the condensed 2021 GKA Freestyle season. Deciding the annual World Championship titles, the event delivered historic milestones: France’s Arthur Guillebert clinched his maiden World Title, 15-year-old queen Mikaili Sol landed the first double handle-pass (“Frontside 360”) in women’s competitive history to claim her fourth consecutive crown, and local hero Carlos Mario completed a cinematic “Return of the King” with a perfect 10-point final trick.
Location and the Lost Luggage Broadcast Crisis
The competition unfolded in front of Duro Beach in Cumbuco, the global winter training mecca for freestyle kiteboarding. Blessed with steady trade winds, flat inside water, and natural outside wave kickers, the spot provided an ideal arena for 100% pure new-school freestyle—a stark contrast to the 50-knot Big Air survival battle at the season opener in Tarifa.
Behind the scenes, however, the GKA media crew faced a major logistical crisis when airlines lost their bags containing essential livestream broadcasting equipment during transit from Morocco to Brazil. Forced off the air for the first two days, the crew managed to get the livestream up and running just in time for the quarterfinals on Day 3, albeit without slow-motion gear or beach-mic audio feeds. When commentator Jo Ciastula sprinted down to MC on the beach, former pro rider Julia Castro held down the broadcast booth solo in English and Spanish, improvising commentary over silent beach interviews.
Two-Stop Title Scenarios and Strategy
With the 2021 season decided across just two stops, the men’s title race centered on Tarifa winner Arthur Guillebert and 16-year-old Tarifa runner-up Jeremy Burlando.
Because Tarifa 3rd- and 4th-place finishers Ewan Jaspan and Adeuri Corniel did not travel to Brazil, only Jeremy Burlando, Posito Martinez, and Valentin Garat remained in mathematical contention. For Arthur Guillebert, the equation was simple: finish ahead of Jeremy Burlando, or if Jeremy Burlando fell in the quarterfinals, place 3rd or better in his own quarterfinal heat.
On the women’s side, Tarifa winner Mikaili Sol led the standings ahead of Spain’s Rita Arnaus and the Netherlands’ Pippa van Iersel.
Epic Battles and the Twist of Fate in the Quarterfinals
Men’s Quarterfinal Drama: Jeremy Burlando Falls and Arthur Guillebert Rises from Zero
On Day 3, the men’s quarterfinals brought the World Title race to a dramatic climax.
In Quarterfinal Heat 1, four-time World Champion Carlos Mario returned to competition in front of his home Cumbuco crowd after a long injury and pandemic hiatus. Stomping a massive “Slim 7” on his opening attempt, Carlos Mario advanced alongside Manoel Soares with a 30+ point total, knocking out local young gun Guilherme Costa and Posito Martinez.
The shockwave hit in Quarterfinal Heat 2. Title challenger Jeremy Burlando and 2019 World Champion Valentin Rodríguez were drawn against Brazilian local Carlos Magno and Colombia’s Juan Rodriguez. Struggling with the chop, Jeremy Burlando finished 3rd and Valentin Rodríguez 4th—eliminating both from the tournament.
Jeremy Burlando’s exit meant that when Arthur Guillebert took the water in Quarterfinal Heat 4 against Maxime Chabloz, Matteo Dorotini, and Matheus Mendes, he needed only a top-three finish in the four-man heat to become World Champion; a 4th-place finish, however, would hand the crown to the already-eliminated Jeremy Burlando.
Under immense pressure, Arthur Guillebert crashed his first trick for a 0.00 score. Refusing to panic, he answered on his second attempt by stomping a massive “Frontside 319” for an 8.10, and later recovered from a mid-heat miss with a 7.40-point “Slim 7.” When 4th-placed Matheus Mendes missed the 7.30-point KGB he needed on the final attempt of the heat, Arthur Guillebert officially clinched the 2021 GKA Freestyle World Title right in the middle of the quarterfinals (before landing his final trick to move into 2nd place behind Maxime Chabloz and advance to the semifinals).
“First trick you score a zero, and you must be like, ‘Okay, I’m zen boy, I’m not going to go crazy.’ And he’s scoring an 8.1 in his second trick attempt! … Getting a world champion in quarters, quite unique!”
— Julia Castro
Women’s Semifinals: The 9-Time World Champions Heat and the First Women’s 317
In the women’s division, 15-year-old Mikaili Sol shattered a long-standing barrier in Round 2 by landing a “Frontside 317” (a 720-degree frontside rotation with a double handle-pass)—the first double handle-pass ever landed by a woman in competition.
In Semifinal Heat 1, after Pippa van Iersel crashed a final “Back to Wrapped” attempt, Sweden’s Nathalie Lambrecht advanced alongside Rita Arnaus to reach the first GKA final of her career, breaking into tears of joy on the beach.
Semifinal Heat 2 then assembled an unprecedented “Champions’ Heat” featuring three three-time World Champions holding nine World Titles between them: reigning queen Mikaili Sol, Bruna Kajiya, and Polish legend Karolina Winkowska—making her surprise return to freestyle competition after a five-year hiatus since her 2016 title—alongside Australia’s Katie Potter. Mikaili Sol dominated with a 27.60 total, while Karolina Winkowska threw down her trademark ultra-inverted “Slim Chance” (8.87 points) and “Front to Blind” to eliminate Bruna Kajiya and book a spot in the final in her first contest back since 2016.
Show Detailed Competition Results (Spoiler Alert)
In the Women’s Grand Final (Mikaili Sol, Rita Arnaus, Karolina Winkowska, and Nathalie Lambrecht), Mikaili Sol needed only a top-three finish to secure the annual crown, but held nothing back.
While Rita Arnaus fought to the wire with a 9.0-point “Heart Attack” and Karolina Winkowska charged in wake-style fashion, Mikaili Sol unleashed another flawless “Frontside 360” on her final attempt to earn a perfect 10.00—combining it with a 9.0, 7.1, and 6.8 to claim her fourth consecutive World Title and the Cumbuco victory. Returning veteran Karolina Winkowska claimed 3rd place on the podium.
In Men’s Semifinal Heat 1, Carlos Mario and Erick Anderson defeated newly crowned World Champion Arthur Guillebert (3rd) and Mauritius’s Louka Pitot (4th). After sunset forced a postponement, Semifinal Heat 2 ran the next morning, where Switzerland’s Maxime Chabloz and Brazil’s Manoel Soares edged out Italy’s Gianmaria Coccoluto and Colombia’s Juan Rodriguez by just 0.3 points.
The Men’s Grand Final set up a “3-against-1 Brazilian standoff” as three Brazilians—Carlos Mario, Erick Anderson, and Manoel Soares—surrounded Switzerland’s Maxime Chabloz.
Remarkably, at the previous year’s SuperKite Brazil 2020 final, Maxime Chabloz had faced almost the exact same 1-against-3 South American lineup (Erick Anderson, Manoel Soares, and Colombia’s Juan Rodriguez) and snatched victory on his final attempt with a perfect 10-point “Grabbed Back Mobe 7.” In 2021, however, the local contingent was reinforced by Cumbuco’s returning king, Carlos Mario.
Manoel Soares opened the final with a massive “Heart Attack 7,” while Erick Anderson fired back with a stylish grabbed “KGB 5” and “Slim 7.” Maxime Chabloz answered by landing the only “Back Mobe 7” of the heat, stacking four scores above 7.7 points to take the lead and move within reach of back-to-back Brazilian victories.
With everything on the line on his final attempt, Carlos Mario charged in at full speed and unleashed one of the cleanest “Heart Attack 7s” ever witnessed in competition, earning a unanimous perfect 10.00 from the judges. Flipping the script on the previous year’s finale, Carlos Mario’s perfect 10 overtook Maxime Chabloz (who fell short of the 8.58 he needed on his final run) to complete a legendary “Return of the King” victory in front of his home crowd.
“I’m very happy with the champion title here at SuperKite Brazil. I want to thank God and thank everyone who came to the beach here. I’d like to thank my sponsors for the immense support they’re giving me and that’s it. I’m back, thank God, and next year I’ll be there!”
— Carlos Mario
Following the main event, Maxime Chabloz bounced back in the mixed-gender “Super Trick” (Best Trick) session, stomping a 9.27-point maneuver to take the Super Trick victory.
[Men’s Division]
1st: Carlos Mario (Brazil)
2nd: Maxime Chabloz (Switzerland)
3rd: Erick Anderson (Brazil)
4th: Manoel Soares (Brazil)
*Super Trick (Best Trick) Winner: Maxime Chabloz (9.27 pts)
[Women’s Division]
1st: Mikaili Sol (Brazil) *Crowned 2021 World Champion
2nd: Rita Arnaus (Spain)
3rd: Karolina Winkowska (Poland)
4th: Nathalie Lambrecht (Sweden)
[2021 GKA Freestyle Final Overall Rankings Top 5]
• Men: 1st Arthur Guillebert / 2nd Jeremy Burlando / 3rd Carlos Mario / 4th Posito Martinez / 5th Maxime Chabloz
• Women: 1st Mikaili Sol / 2nd Rita Arnaus / 3rd Pippa van Iersel / 4th Nathalie Lambrecht / 5th Bruna Kajiya
🔗 Related Link: GKA Freestyle World Cup Cumbuco | Super Kite Brazil | The Finals – GKA Kite World Tour
Search Aliases: 2021 Cumbuco GKA Freestyle World Cup Brazil, 2021CumbucoGKAFreestyleWorldCupBrazil