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.
Growing up with kiteboarding since
1998, the Red Bull king of the Air has
always been on my radar. I remember
the early days of the king of the Air
on Maui, it was the start of something
great. In 2005 I went to a Redbull King of
the Air qualifier event in Michigan USA,
to try and get a spot in the event. I took
third but only the top spot went on to Maui
for the King of the Air. I’d always wanted
to compete in such an event. It’s really
the pinnacle of the sport. It shows just
how high and extreme we can go with a
kite. I thought 2005 was my last chance;
until Redbull brought the event back in
2013 in Cape Town, South Africa. I had
to be a part of this event. They had a
video submission for spots in the event.
I entered a video of a storm I kited in
during the Triple-S invitational in Cape
Hatteras. I was fortunate enough to
have taken a spot into the event. The
energy on and off the water leaves you
speechless. This year was no different
to prior years leading up to the event.
Everyone arrives in Cape Town a week
or two before the event. You can feel the
energy in the air, and the excitement on
people’s faces. Some of the sessions
prior to the event are almost as
spectacular as the event. Everyone’s
pushing one another on the water and
trying to work out what they are going
to do in their heat. Normally the opening
ceremony for the events is a highlight for
all the riders. Redbull always knows how
to throw a party. This year they took us up
in helicopters for a tour of Cape Town from
above, followed by an open bar party at the
red bull headquarters in down town Cape
Town. By the end if the evening I think you
could say we were all lit - thankfully there
was no wind in the forecast.
Unfortunately, this year Cape Town wasn’t
giving us its normal nuking winds as it had
done for past years. We had a two week
Epic Photography
Capturing those epic moments...