Jesse Richman shows us why the 2018 Red Bull King of The Air was the event of the year.
big air event
Learn more about the ideal conditions needed for Red Bull King of the Air
The South-easterly explained. To get big air, you need big wind. Simple really. “There is not a minimum limit of wind speed needed to give a ‘go’ to the event,” explains Sergio. Rather what the team look for are suitable and sustainable conditions in which to start the event. The call is to be made by the contest director, Olaf van Tol. “Ideally – and unless straggled for unexpected reasons – we will hardly consider any wind below an average of 25 knots (46km/h) to start with, and with a forecast to rise to 35 to 37 knots (65 – 69km/h), if not more,” he says. According to Sergio, the ideal wind direction for Kite Beach is the proverbial ‘Cape Doctor’ south-easterly. “The prevailing weather in summer comprises the South Atlantic High pressure system sitting a lot more south,” explains weather guru, professional surf forecaster and founder of Wavescape.co.za, Steve ‘Spike’ Pike. “Cape Town is situated along the eastern edge of this anti-cyclonic system. Simplistically, the counter-clockwise flow around the High forms the basis for the summer southeast trade wind that blows during summer. The dry, denser air that creates the High pressure also means sunny, dry weather.” To radically …
NK Big Air Kitesurfing 2017
This is Redbull King of the Air!
Red Bull King of the Air ALMOST gets underway
Lack of wind sees round one get underway, but postponed after just a few minutes. Round one of Red Bull King of the Air got underway at Big Bay on Tuesday, 31 January. The first heat of the non-elimination round started at 19:30 when the Southeasterly eventually showed its true colours and gusted to over 25-knots – conditions needed in which to run an extreme big-air contest such as Red Bull King of the Air. Oswald Smith, Gijs Wassenaar and Lewis Crathern played guinea pigs of sorts as they tested the conditions into the Cape Town sunset. The riders managed to make the most of the conditions and dropped a few medium-sized moves over the ramps on offer by the one-metre swell. Some five minutes into the heat however the organisers made the call to nullify the result and call-off the heat as the conditions did not provide enough opportunity in which to perform. “Conditions simply weren’t as epic as we had hoped for on the day,” commented Sportive Director, Sergio Cantagalli afterward. “It’s a big air contest, not a freestyle event, and the wind as it was today just did’t offer the riders the opportunity to put on a …
Who will be crowned Red Bull King of the Air 2017?
These are the world’s 18 best big-air kiteboarders who will compete for the illustrious title. Every year Cape Town and her prolific South-Easter plays host the world’s best kiteboarders. For the past four years, they have competed in what is largely considered to be the pinnacle of big air kiteboarding, Red Bull King of the Air. With the competition – due to take place at Big Bay on the windiest day between the 21st of January and 5th of February – an epic list of riders has been announced to compete for the 2017 title. Back once again and in the hunt for an unprecedented hat trick, will be Aaron Hadlow (GBR). “The crowd and fans makes this event,” said the two-time defending champ. “It feels like the whole kiteboarding community is watching and excited about it.” “So many people are interested and in the past two years I have gained so much following and exposure from the wins, that really showed me just how big the event has become.” Hadlow won’t have it all his own way in 2017 however, with past champs Jesse Richman (USA) and Kevin Langeree (NED), both finalists in 2016, also back once again. The …