Naish’s Kevin Langeree crowned 2014 Red Bull King of the Air

The world’s kiteboarding elite and spectators alike gathered at Cape Town’s Big Bay where Naish’s Kevin Langeree kited his heart out to take the title of 2014 Red Bull King of the Air.

For the second year in a row, Cape Town’s Big Bay played host to 24 of the world’s best kiteboarders as they went head-to-head in a unique ‘flag out’ competition format in front of a crowd reaching well over 12,000 heads.

Judged on height, creativity and style, the final was set with three Dutchmen and a South African. From the start, Kevin and his Naish Torch were in a class of their own with jumps consistently over double-kite high all while busting out board offs and plenty of spins mid-air. On some airs he was travelling 200m down the beach and seemed to hang in the air forever!

In the end, the judges went with Kevin’s immense jumps and massive hang time, which he backed up with a couple of powerful, jaw dropping mega loops.

“The conditions picked up during the day and I couldn’t have hoped for anything better! The final was definitely tough and everyone of us was so close to winning. I definitely had my best heat of the day in the final. This is the 3rd Red Bull King of the Air I’ve competed in and it was a title I didn’t have yet, so I was hungry for it. I’m so stoked!” –K. Langeree

Head judge Alex Vliege was pleased about how the event played out in the end:

“What an epic day! We had the best riders in the world here today with Cape Town and mother nature delivering great conditions. We finally got what we were waiting for. Kevin was completely deserving of the title – he did the same moves as the others plus more, with variation and went higher than the others.”

A HUGE congrats out to Kevin for this phenomenal achievement! We’re stoked for you!

Team Naish was also well-represented by two additional riders at this insane event: Shawn Richman (Naish Draft) who absolutely killed it during his heats all the way through the quarter-finals; and his brother Jesse Richman (Naish Torch) for his serious effort during the semi-finals where he took a hard crash and caused some serious damage to his leg. Not a great way to end the competition for him, but a huge testament to the risk factor of the moves these guys were pulling for the potential glory of being crowned the King. Awesome job to Shawn Richman as well!

Final Results:

1. Kevin Langeree (NED)

2. Ruben Lenten (NED)

3. Steven Akkersdijk (NED)

4. Andries Fourie (RSA)

5. Aaron Hadlow (GBR)

5. Jesse Richman (USA)

More details on the event can be found at www.redbullkingoftheair.com

Photos © Craig Kolesky / Nick Muzik / Nikon / Red Bull Content Pool