Meet Kevin Langeree, Kitesurfing King of the Air

The heat is on

– the world Kitesurfing Elite is gathering up in sunny Cape Town to join one of the most legendary events of the field: The RedBull King of The Air, which starts January 31st and goes until February 14th.

Here is our OceanRadio Interview with Kevin Langeree, winner of last year, who cannot wait to defend his title!

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They call him the Cape Doctor…

The event takes 2 weeks as the organizers wait for the strongest winds of about 30 knots and more to get the Pro Kiters ready to jump as high and far as possible.

The ‘Cape Doctor’ the south-easterly wind that presides over the city in its summer monthsis the best friind of all liters at that time.

22 of the world’s best kiteboarders (out of 24 participants) have already been announced. Cape Town’s Big Bay will once again play host to the competition for the third year running.

It all started in Hawaii…

The first one startet in hawaii 2000 and was basically about flying kites on the water. 2007/8 it got really hectic when riders like Ruben Lenten started to experiment by heading out in ‘storm force’ winds trying out how high and how far they could go. These previously un-ridden winds resulted in the birth of the ‘mega loop’.

2013 the event came to Cape Town South Africa as the winds are constant and strong there and it is one of kiters paradise over European winter.

In 2014 the top 12 riders returned to Big Bay to try their hand at claiming the title. 12 new faces, consisting of 8 riders who had qualified from the online video submissions and 4 wildcard entrants, stepped up to the plate to see if they could rule the sky. The top 24 riders went head-to-head in a unique ‘flag out ‘ competition format where, in front of a crowd of over 12 000 spectators, Dutchman Kevin Langeree edged out Ruben Lenten and Steven Akkersdijk to claim the 2014 Red Bull King of the Air title.

All those Dutchies in South Africa… 😉

Sportive Director for the competition, Sergio Cantagalli explains: “So far 7 out of 24 are Dutch riders, but it’s not surprising since the Netherlands has delivered incredible talents of the discipline in the last few years especially Extreme big air kiters, perhaps linked to the extreme weather condition that their coasts are related to.”

This is , how Kevins prep days look like 😉