King of the Air 2022 Riders List Announced!
Features / Fri 14th Oct, 2022 @ 2:36 pm
It’s the news Big Air fans around the world have been waiting for… the list of riders who will compete in the upcoming 2022 Red Bull King of the Air! This edition will be the 10th anniversary of the event, and the window period will kick off in a little over a month! The names on this list may come as a surprise to a few of our readers, but we couldn’t be more excited to see some fresh faces fighting it out for the podium on Cape Town’s Kite Beach.
An all-star list of riders has been announced for Red Bull King of the Air 2022
Press Release by Red Bull
(Cape Town, 14 October 2022)
The 2022 Red Bull King of the Air is the event’s 10th anniversary in South Africa and is scheduled to take place at Kite Beach in Cape Town on the windiest day between 24 November and 9 December. The 2022 fleet is composed of the top three finishers from 2021; winners from the Fly-To Red Bull King of the Air satellite events, a host of video entrants as well as the winner of the newly introduced Porsche Golden Ticket making for an exciting blend of past champions, well-known big air riders as well as some fresh new faces.
The 2021 event saw Kiwi Marc Jacobs celebrate his 32nd birthday in fine style when he beat three-time champion Kevin Langeree and rookie Stig Hoefnagel in an action-packed final. All three will be back once again to claim a stake at the throne. Also joining them will be the likes of two-time champ Aaron Hadlow, strapless king Airton Cozzolino and South African local hero, Joshua Emanuel.
Joining them will be various new names thanks to the resounding success of the video entry process as well as a rookie from the newly introduced Porsche Golden Ticket entry process. Three riders were selected via the video entry process that was open to entrants between the ages of 16 and 25 who had never competed in the contest before. The three riders, Jamie Overbeek (Ned), Cohan van Dijk (Ned) and Even Kiln (Ned) will each receive an all-expenses paid trip to South Africa and will compete in a special pre-event qualification round on the first day of the competition, the winner of which will be seeded into the main event.
RIDER LIST (in alphabetical order)
- Aaron HADLOW GBR
- Airton COZZOLINO ITA
- Andrea PRINCIPI ITA
- Beto GOMEZ COL
- Edgar ULRICH FRA
- Giel VLUGT NED
- Jason VAN DER SPUY RSA
- Jeremy BURLANDO ITA
- Joshua EMANUEL RSA
- Kevin LANGEREE NED
- Liam WHALEY SPN
- Lorenzo CASATI ITA
- Luca CERUTI RSA
- Marc JACOBS NZL
- Stig HOEFNAGEL NED
- Timo BOERSEMA NED
- Red Bull MEGALOOP winner (or first reserve, Lasse WALKER NED)
PORSCHE GOLDEN TICKET (qualification heat contestants)
- Jamie OVERBEEK NED
- Cohan VAN DIJK NED
- Evan KLIJN NED
The panel of judges selected the top video entries by judging the riders on the same criteria they would if they were performing live during the event.
“It was a challenge for the panel”, – Cantagalli added. “The judging process featured three stages before reaching the final verdict, with many interesting new names, new moves and combinations, pushing the boundaries of the sport.”
“Considering that most of the fleet is under the age of 25, we are definitely entering a new era in extreme big air kiteboarding, and we are super excited to be part of this continued evolution,” he concluded.
Learn more and watch the teaser video on the Red Bull website!
By Crystal Veness
Editor at IKSURFMAG, Crystal Veness hails from Canada but is based in South Africa. When she isn't busy kitesurfing or reporting on the latest industry news for the mag, she is kicking back somewhere at a windy kite beach or working on creative media projects.
