2016 Red Bull King Of The Air Riders Announced
Tue 22nd Dec, 2015 @ 6:00 pm
The cast of characters has been announced for the highly anticipated 2016 Red Bull King of the Air. The invited riders list consists of former champions Aaron Hadlow, Jesse Richman, and Kevin Langeree. Top finishers from last year and video contest winners fill the remaining spots. The contest will be held in Cape Town, South Africa on the windiest day during the holding period from January 30 through February 14. To learn more about the upcoming event, continue reading the announcement from Red Bull, below.
Aaron Hadlow will be back in Cape Town to see if he can hold down his title.
A who’s who of international kiteboarding make the lineup for the premier big air kiteboarding competition in Cape Town. Every year Cape Town and her prolific South-Easter plays host to the world’s best kiteboarders. For the past three years, they have competed in what is largely considered to be the pinnacle of big air kiteboarding, Red Bull King of the Air. With the competition – due to take place at Big Bay on the windiest day between the 30th of January and 14 February – an epic list of riders has been announced to compete for the 2016 title, including defending champion, Aaron Hadlow (GBR).
Legends will take to the sky again, in 2016.
“For the last 15 years I’ve spent my ‘winters’ in Cape Town so it felt really special to win an event here, in front of so many friends,” said the five-time world champion. “It was also the first time in many years that my parents got to see me live on a podium.”
“I’ve been in Cape Town for the last couple of days and have started preparing for the competition. I use the extremely windy days to test equipment and get back into the swing of things. Then, once January comes around, I focus on it a bit more in the weeks leading up to the event. It’s all about time on the water and confidence in the strong winds.”
Who will stand on the podium at the Red Bull King of the Air in 2016?
Hadlow landed two massive megaloop KGBs in the 2015 final to snatch the title from previous winners, Jesse Richman (USA) and Kevin Langeree (NED). All three are set to return to see if they’re able to claim the title a second time.
“I find choosing a winner of the comp unpredictable – you can always look at previous champs like Jesse and Kevin but there’s a long list of names that can put on a performance at the event. Despite there being some favourites I really feel the field is wide open for anyone to win,” Hadlow said.
The rest of top 12 from Red Bull King of the Air 2015 return with the exception of crowd-favourite Ruben Lenten, due to illness. The remainder of the field is then made up from video contest entries (selected by the judging panel) and two wildcards. Two-time World Kiteboarding Champion Youri Zoon (NED) and South Africans Oswald Smith and Andries Fourie are amongst those who will compete.
Red Bull King of the Air is always a crowd favorite.
Full lineup for the Red Bull King of the Air 2016:
Aaron Hadlow (GBR); Kevin Langeree (NED); Jerrie van de Kop (NED); Jesse Richman (USA); Nick Jacobsen (DEN); Steven Akkersdijk (NED); Sam Light (GBR); Billy Parker (USA); Lewis Crathern (GBR); Tom Hebert (FRA); Antonin Rangin (FRA), Andries Fourie (RSA); Marc Jacobs (NZL); Lasse Walker (NED); Reno Romeu (BRA); Willem van de Meij (NED); Ariel Corniel (DOM); Oswald Smith (RSA); Gijs Wassenaar (NED); Sam Medysky (CAN); Youri Zoon (NED), Alex Pastor (ESP); Antoine Clerc (FRA); Graham Howes (RSA).
For more information head to: http://www.redbullkingoftheair.com
