King of the Air 2021 - all info here (Marc Jacobs wins!)

[Blackened]

This! Janek's loops seem to be pretty lame often, maybe it's that kite. Would also like to see more extremity and power. However, that trick was pretty dope and his style to pull those out is smooth and steezy. It's good that they now award new tricks and also can give those high scores, which we haven't seen in previous years.

Also didn't quite understands that variety score, it was almost the same as Marc's who was definitely throwing more and different stuff in...

Btw, despite big marketing claims, it seemed after all that Aluula didn't fly any higher than traditional dacron.

The XR definitely doesn't yank like a GTS or other hybrid. It still produces a decent amount of power due to the size of the loop, but it's more gradual and controlled.

No one understands the variety score. Seems more a popularity contest score than what actually happened in the heat half the time.

As for Aluula, it's a new kite with a new design with a new rider. I'm not saying it's a good kite, just that I don't think we have enough information or comparisons to judge it just yet.

[alricrahl]

I saw that the Aluula kite didn't loop very very fast in general either, but in Giel's last crash, post-crash, there was a very fast movement of the kite, it can be accessed from redbull's site:

https://www.redbull.com/au-en/live/king ... 4_m:168096

Maybe it needs more wind? Giel's 92 kg which is also a factor I guess. He maybe dropped to 87kg before competition because he was listed as such in the info.

Marc Jacobs was boosting very aggresively though and that new Aluula kite didn't look much different in boosting height. And Marc is also 87kg.

Looking forward to see more of that kite in the next days.

[Toby]

Hello from Cape Town!

On the 3rd day in the Red Bull King of the Air window period, we were about to see some action!

Saturday 20 November saw near ideal conditions for Round 1 of Red Bull King of the Air 2021. The 25-30 knot south-easterly wind and 2-4foot (1m waves) off Kite Beach in Blouberg, Cape Town gave the world’s best big-air kiteboarders the opportunity to showcase their skills. Streamed to fans around the world, those watching were duly rewarded with a non-elimination round one filled with epic action.

These were just some of the highlights:
Polish young gun Janek Grzegorzewski was the standout of the round, pulling the first ever Frontroll Contraloop Board Off (which included four rotations) which earned him a score of 9.4, the single highest move ever.
A very focussed Marc Jacobs rode a calculated heat, producing a massive boogie loop and a Boardoff Contraloop.
Previous two-time champion, Aaron Hadlow won his heat in business-like fashion, doing enough to secure a heat win but not show all his cards. 


The forecast looks very promising to crown a king today, (Sunday) with the first possible start being 13:00.
Stay tuned to www.redbullkingoftheair.com for updates.

[Havre]

Even if the Aluula-kite ends up being proven "better" in the end - I think it can be said it won't be a revolution - at least not yet. It isn't like it looks like Giel can do things with that kite the others can't.

I'm really not knowledgeable to have much of an opinion, but based on what I saw yesterday I think the Orbit looked the best kite for riders at that skill level. It seems to have the right combination of power and speed.

[Toby]

You can watch the livestream from round 1 at the livestream page, you can select the menu and also see which guests were going on.
Pretty cool feature

https://www.redbull.com/za-en/live/king-of-the-air-2021

[Toby]

Round two live now!


https://www.redbull.com/za-en/live/king ... 2021-day-2

[Havre]

Giel looking a lot better today.

[Toby]

[Toby]

[Toby]

Heat 9:
Lasse Walker vs Michael MacDonald injured!

So Lasse Walker advances.