September 13, 2017, One Eye, Maruitius – After a hiatus from completion, Naish’s Jalou Langeree returned in impressive form with a third place finish at the final stop of the 2017 GKA Wave World Tour.
After a rough go in the single elimination round, the fire was lit as Jalou put the hammer down and grinded her way through each heat. Fortunately she had a great support team with her brother Kevin, who kept energized and powered through.
“I was lucky to have Kevin as a great caddy, he stayed upwind of the contest area with an extra kite, a bottle of water and some banana’s to keep me sharp as I kited 5 heats in a row and only had little time to kite back to the beach,” responded Jalou to Naish.
It was no mistake that the GKA chose One Eye as the final stop for the 2017 World Tour. As mesmerizingly beautiful of a location that it is, it’s a siren of a wave that can turn the best session of your life into the worst in the blink of an eye. Luckily this was not Jalou’s first time at there and prior knowledge played a big role.
“One Eye always takes a couple sessions to get used to and once it gets bigger it’s important to pick the right spot to drop in otherwise you might hit the closeout section. It’s really quick and heavy wave but that makes it fun, you create so much speed after your first top turn, that’s when the racetrack opens up,” said Jalou.
Not to be out shown by his little sister, Kevin Langeree also made a tremendous effort as the former Red Bull King of the Air champion showed that he is much more than a big air specialist.
Grinding his way though the contest heat by heat, Kevin won the men’s trials and eventually ended his run in the Quarter Finals in a close match against Airton Cozzolino.
Throughout the contest both Kevin and Jalou rode the new Naish Slash dedicated wave kite, which received some refinements for 2018. Jalou was stoked with the smooth and intuitive response of the kite, which allowed her to stay focused on each wave. “The feel of the kite was smooth it never dragged me out of the wave it stayed and drifted with me all the way,” chimed Jalou. Kevin has also been extremely stoked on the new Slash. “Riding the new slash I didn’t have to get used to it, it just does what you want it to do. In a couple of heats the wind kind of dropped but luckily the low end on the new slash is amazing. Some guys where riding there 11 and I was still able to go on a 9!”
Both Kevin and Jalou rode the 2018 Global, which is the perfect shape for the down-the-line racetrack that One Eye creates. “The board felt good under my feet especially when hitting critical sections on high speed. It’s definitely a great set-up for One Eye,” said Jalou.
It was a great showing for both Langeree’s who have each had a roller coaster of a year in 2017. Kevin, who was a serious threat to reclaim the King of the Air title, suffered a broken ankle while training early in the year. After a long recovery it was great to see him return to form and riding to at the level we know he can. For Jalou, this contest has reignited a passion to compete. Hopefully the GKA takes notice of the great turnout and adds more accessible wave stops to the 2018 schedule. We know Jalou is keen for more. “It’s great being back in the game! I noticed that I really missed that competitive side of the sport. The women’s level is really increasing and that’s great to see. It really has an motivating effect on me and I’m looking forward to the 2018 GKA Season,” exclaimed Jalou. Until then be sure to follow the Langerees on their adventures via Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.
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Photo Credit: David Varekamp
Photo Credit: Ydwer van der Heide
