Cape Town’s famous Cape Doctor winds started this weekend making the Red Bull King of Big Air kiteboarding competition a huge success.
Cape Town, South Africa (22 November 2021) – The wind has picked up in Cape Town, and it has arrived just in time for the Red Bull King of the Air competition, which is being hosted in South Africa this year!
The very first Red Bull King of the Air ran at hallowed windsurfing spot Ho’okipa on the Hawaiian islands of Maui in 2000 when the kites that the riders used were raw, powerful and relatively dangerous.
New equipment has since made it easier for athletes to take on stronger winds, jumping higher than ever before. The infamous south-easterly wind, known as the ‘Cape Doctor’, is a massive draw for kiteboarders looking for big air.
The weather window for the 2021 edition of the world’s most breathtaking big-air kiteboarding contest opened on November 18, with the ‘Cape Doctor’ instantly delivering the big wind needed on the water. The competition will run from the 18th of November to the 3rd of December 2021.
The winds are currently above 25 knots (46kph), and ideal conditions of 35 to 37 knots (65 to 69kph), along with choppy seas, will mean some promising performances from the athletes.
“The winds blowing across the beach – not onshore or offshore – mean that the kiteboarders can tap the wind back and forth parallel to the shore, riding across the nearshore surf line to power up along the wave face for long periods of time, creating epic wave-riding opportunities.” – Red Bull
Eighteen kite surfers will be taking part in the week’s events.
- The stacked field of 18 includes three-time champion Kevin Langeree, two-time winner Aaron Hadlow and 2017 victor Nick Jacobsen with all three stars under pressure from a trio of talented young riders.
- Italian Airton Cozzolino, 27, will make his second appearance with the ‘strapless king’ breaking out in 2011 after a wave riding world title followed by GKA Kite World Tour titles in recent years.
- Dutchman Lasse Walker, 26, triumphed at the 2015 Red Bull Megaloop Challenge, Netherland’s own kiteboarding competition, in brutal conditions against a very strong field of competitors to alert the world to his talents and should feature throughout.
- Finally, Briton Tom Bridge, 20, graduated from a kitesurfing family to rack up multiple world junior titles before landing kitesurfing’s first-ever Triple Half Cab in 2017 as well as prestigious senior competition wins.
“Whoever comes out on top this weekend, Red Bull King of the Air 2021 promises to be a carnival of big-air kiteboarding thrills and spills down in South Africa to end the year on an extreme high.”
You can watch the event via Redbull TV here.
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