Morgen gaat het windraam open en er is zelfs al kans dat er een paar rondes gedaan kunnen worden morgen. De windvoorspelling lijkt aardig voor de (na)middag, dus nog even terugkijken op vorig jaar toen Kevin langeree zijn 3de king of the Air titel pakte.
Wie maakt dit jaar de meeste kans?
Redbull King of the Air terugblik:
The very first Red Bull King of The Air ran at the hallowed windsurfing spot, Ho’okipa, on the Hawaiian islands of Maui in 2000. Back then the kites were raw, powerful, and relatively dangerous and the riders were all about throwing the biggest airs. As the equipment developed and became readily available to the public, kiteboarding was excitedly hailed as the ‘fastest growing watersport in the world’.
For five years Red Bull King Of The Air staged the biggest one-off annual event at a phenomenal spot, but in truth in its latter years at Ho'okipa the event had become a little same-old-same-old as kitesurfing went through its growing pains and pro riders moved away from big air.
New equipment made it an easier discipline and the sport's elite focused on the cutting edge of style and technicality, which ironically saw them performing their tricks closer and closer to the water, more like wakeboarders, or unstrapped in waves like surfers...
Around 2007/08, jaded with current kitesurfing competition formats, riders like Ruben Lenten began experimenting by going out in stronger and stronger 'storm force' winds on special equipment and seeing initially how high and how far they could go. As they became more comfortable in previously 'unride-able' winds, they began throwing 'mega loops' (sending the kite on a huge loop - often underneath them in the sky, often 40 feet up - and bringing it back round above their head to hopefully catch them before they land).
And so in 2012 in association with Ruben Lenten the 'Red Bull Len10 Megaloop Challenge' took place at Big Bay with Lewis Crathern from the UK coming out on top.
It paved the way for the return of Red Bull King Of The Air after an eight-year hiatus.
Red Bull King of the Air 2013 saw 24 of the world's best and most extreme big air specialists converge at Big Bay. In front of a thrilled crowd Hawaiian Jesse Richman emerge on top after eight action packed hours of competition.
Kitesurfing had rocked back to its roots and many believed it had rediscovered the essence of what made it so special in the first place.
In 2014 Cape Town’s Big Bay again played host to 24 of the world’s best kiteboarders as they went head-to-head in a unique ‘flag out’ competition format.
Dutchman Kevin Langeree managed to edge out his compatriots Ruben Lenten (second) and Steven Akkersdijk (third) in the final to become Red Bull King of the Air 2014 champion in front of a 12 000-strong crowd.
Red Bull King of the Air 2015 was a tale of three days. After waiting out the traditional two week window period, which saw enough wind to complete rounds 1 through 3, split over two separate days, the official weather window was extended by a day. That day saw the ‘Cape Doctor’ (south-easterly) gust to the required knots and the final saw past champions Jesse Richman (USA) and Kevin Langeree (NED) up against Jerrie van de Kop (NED) and multiple world champ Aaron Hadlow (GBR). Hadlow put together the performance of the day, landing two massive Megaloop KGBs twice during the semis and finals to claim the top spot on the podium.
The epic 2016 event was something of a game of thrones, as the 2015 defending champ, Hadlow out-gunned previous champions, Hawaiian Jesse Richman (2013); Kevin Langeree from the Netherlands (2014) and first-time finalist Reno Remeu to claim back-to-back wins.
2017 saw a new champion, with popular Dane, Nick Jacobsen taking out his first international win. Unfortunately Nick injured (in a very similar manner to Langeree the previous year) and was unable to defend his title in 2018. This left open the door to close friend and 2014 champ, Kevin Langeree to ascend the throne once again.
2018 was not only special in the way that it was only the second time a rider claimed a second title (Aaron Hadlow won back-to-back) but it also saw a move from Big Bay in Blouberg, to Kite Beach. This move was made after Sportive Director Sergio Cantagalli and his team wanted to give riders an even better chance to perform at the highest level in the best conditions. The unprecedented move was a hugely popular decision among the riders and proved a big success. Kite Beach will be the home of Red Bull King of the Air for the foreseeable future.
2019 saw Kevin Langeree becoming the winningest big air rider on African soil when he claimed his third title. Langeree won a closely-contested three-man final battle at Kite Beach. "“To be up here for the third time is amazing," Langeree commented from the podium. "Sharing it with these amazing riders is just something magical, you know!"
