Sharjah: Teenager Emma-Nellie Ortendahl and Kevin Reiterer both signed off on a triumphant note, winning the season finale at the UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro World Championship at Sharjah’s Khalid Lagoon on Wednesday.
After winning the penultimate races in the Ski Ladies and Ski Men’s Divisions on Tuesday, Ortendahl and Reiterer continued with their fine form with outright wins in the tenth and final races of their classes. The 18-year-old Ortendahl was once again uncatchable in the Ski Ladies to end the fifth and final week of the World Championship with a maximum 50 points, while Reiterer bagged the same bragging rights in the men’s division.
It was a classical dream season for the teenager from Sweden after winning nine of the ten races this year. Her lone blemish was a third place in the first heat in Denia, Spain earlier this summer. Ortendahl was followed by Portugal’s Beatriz Curtinhal, whose third successive second place handed her the third and final spot in the overall standings with 156 points.
Having spent a part of the season recovering from an ailment, two-time defending world champion Jennifer Menard of France was pushed into second overall with 171 points.
In the men’s Ski division, it was Reiterer for the second time in as many days as he powered ahead of the pack of 17 riders, never to look back. The Austrian, who had won convincingly on Tuesday, finished nearly 35 seconds clear of Stian Schjetlein of Norway, while the youngest of the three Poret brothers, Morgan, clinched the third spot on the podium.
On Tuesday, Jeremy Poret had done enough to pocket a record fourth world crown despite ending in fifth place. The Frenchman — the oldest of the three Poret brothers — had a fantastic two rounds in Liuzhou giving him an unbeatable lead at the top of the overall standings.
On Wednesday, he was not in too much of a hurry as he came in sixth to add another ten points and sign off with 190, leaving Reiterer in the runners-up spot with 167 points and Spaniard Nacho Armillas in third with 144.
Kuwaiti Yousuf Abdul Razzaq, who had won a third world crown — his second on the trot — then came and cleaned up things with an emphatic outright victory in the Runabout class. Great Britain’s James Bushell, who limped out twice during Tuesday’s penultimate round, made a strong return, ending nearly 38 seconds after Abdul Razzaq. The British rider had to stay content with the runners-up spot, leaving third-placed Lars Akerblom of Sweden in third overall.
Results at the end of the final race of the UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro World Championship that concluded with the Grand Prix of Sharjah on the Khalid Lagoon on Wednesday:
(Ladies Ski) 1. Emma-Nellie Ortendahl (Sweden — 25 pts); 2. Beatriz Curtinhal (Portugal — 20); 3. Jennifer Menard (France — 16); 4. Virginie Morlaes (France — 13); 5. Jonna Borgstrom (Sweden — 11). Overall Standings: 1. Emma-Nellie Ortendahl (238pts); 2. Jennifer Menard (171); 3. Beatriz Curtinhal (156); 4. Estelle Poret (140); 5. Virginie Morlaes (118).
(Ski Men’s) 1. Kevin Reiterer (Austria — 25 pts); 2. Stian Schjetlein (Norway — 20); 3. Morgan Poret (France — 16); 4. Nacho Armillas (Spain — 13); 5. Mickael Poret (France — 11); 6. Jeremy Poret (France — 10); 7. Daviel Svae Andersen (Norway — 9); 8. Alberto Monti (Italy — 8); 9. Axel Courtois (France — 7). Overall Standings: 1. Jeremy Poret (190pts); 2. Kevin Reiterer (167); 3. Nacho Armillas (144); 4. Stian Schjetlein (123); 5. Mickael Poret (111); 6. Alberto Monti (100); 7. Morgan Poret (95); 8. Axel Courtois (71).
(Runabout) 1. Yousuf Abdul Razzaq (Kuwait — 25 pts); 2. James Bushell (Great Britain — 20); 3. Lars Akerblom (Sweden — 16); 4. Jeremy Perez (France — 13); 5. Patrice Pellier (France — 11); 6. Gyorgy Kasza (Hungary — 10); 7. Herve Partouche (France — 9); 8. Marcin Senda (Poland — 8); 9. Lorenzo Benaglia (Italy — 7); 10. Mohammad Al Mansouri (UAE — 6). Overall: 1. Yousuf Abdul Razzaq (206pts); 2. James Bushell (140); 3. Lars Akerblom (109).