Red Bull King Of The Air 2014 – The Riders – Part 2: Online Applications
Steven Akkersdijk
Steven is as stoked as it goes for a professional kitesurfer. If he’s not out flying through the air, he’s running our Freestyle Clinics. Steven has competed in several big air competitions in The Netherlands, as well as on the King Of The Air 2013. He spends his (European) winters in Cape Town and has a pretty good feel for the conditions here. We wish Steven best of luck for the King Of The Air. Our prediction: As they say, there’s no success without belief. Steven will be the King Of The Air. Because Africa Extreme says so!
Jerrie Van De Kop
This guy is on a run! Beware of Jerrie Van De Kop. He has a pretty successful 2013: He’s Dutch Freestyle Champion 2013, won the Red Bull Megaloop Challenge in The Netherlands and just completed a 10K crowd-funding to compete at all stops of the PKRA in 2014. Pretty slick, hey? Jerrie is a top rider, and winning the Megaloop Challenge he already proofed he can go huge. Our prediction: We’ve never met Jerrie. If he’s as amped in real life as he is online, he can give the favorites a run for their money. With the stoke of last years’ achievements he should make the Top10 easy. For more info on Jerrie, check out his website, or follow him on Twitter.
Tom Hebert
The power-house from New Caledonia at the King Of The Air?! Awesome! Tom Hebert is no stranger to big air, and his style knows to impress. Board-off and one-foot combos, multiple rotations and more. Watching Hebert is always a great show. Tom Hebert has been to Cape Town before and knows the conditions well enough. He’s a tough competitor and will surely challenge some of the favourites. Our prediction: Tom Hebert has definitely the potential to make it all the way through to the final. If he has a good day, we’re in for a sick show. Find out more about Tom Hebert, visit his Facebook page.
Johnno Scholte
Another Dutchie in today’s post, but not the last in the King Of The Air 2014 line-up. We get it! Dutch kitesurfer like going big and powerful. Megaloops and the likes are your thing. In season, Johnno competes in every competition he can get to. He too, spends his (European) winters in Cape Town. We’ll see how his powerful riding in combination with his knowledge of the local conditions work out for him. Our prediction: He can cause quite a few upsets along the way. However, it most likely will not be enough to challenge the favourites. Check out Johnno’swebsite for more information.
Keep up-to-date with this blog. Sign in for our mailing list. There’s 4 more posts coming up introducing the other riders. So long, share your thoughts in the comments: Did you think our predictions are rubbish? Did we miss any important information about a rider? Do you or don’t you like our blog? Tell us! That’s what comments are for…
*pictures taken from athletes Facebook pages (Picture of Johnno Scholte by Prolimit)