{"id":52552,"date":"2022-12-01T10:56:11","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T08:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/teenager-from-italy-stuns-judges-to-be-crowned-the-king-of-the-air-at-bloubergstrand-20221130\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T21:01:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T19:01:33","slug":"teenager-from-italy-stuns-judges-to-be-crowned-the-king-of-the-air-at-bloubergstrand-20221130","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/teenager-from-italy-stuns-judges-to-be-crowned-the-king-of-the-air-at-bloubergstrand-20221130\/","title":{"rendered":"Teenager from Italy stuns judges to be crowned the King of the Air at Bloubergstrand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With nail-biting jumps and strong winds that didn\u2019t disappoint at Kite Beach in Bloubergstrand on Saturday, the Red Bull King of the Air was crowned \u2013 a 17-year-old teenager from Italy who stunned the judges and audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kite Beach was packed with thousands of people from all over the world who came to witness kite surfers taking the waves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Italian teenager Lorenzo Casati overcame fellow countryman Andrea Principi and Dutchman Jamie Overbeek to hail in a new era in the most extreme Big Air kiteboarding contest in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust to be here and compete at Red Bull King of the Air was a dream come true for me already, but to win was a bonus,\u201d said the ecstatic 17-year-old, who ascended the throne (a traditional African mask) after 22 heats and over seven hours of intense competition. There were some really tough heats so I\u2019m just super happy, thank you to my sponsors and my dad who has believed in me since I started kitesurfing,\u201d Casati told TygerBurger<\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riders judged<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red Bull King of the Air has served as the single biggest driver of progression in the sport of Big Air kiteboarding and the 10th anniversary in South Africa was a celebration of how far the discipline has come over the past decade. The final was one for the record books with winds over 40 knots making it one of the windiest ever and, with the highest single move and heat scores being set and broken various times throughout the early rounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riders were judged on the amplitude, variety, execution, and difficulty grade of their tricks as well as given an \u201coverall impression\u201d score by the panel of independent and highly experienced judges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe judging criteria and system are unique to Red Bull King of The Air and don\u2019t conform to any other kitesurfing or kiteboarding leagues or organisations,\u201d commented sportive director Sergio Cantagalli at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that the system and criteria have been specifically developed over the years in keeping with the evolution of the sport and the event\u2019s needs and will continue to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Golden Ticket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping with the event\u2019s philosophy of progression, the 10th year saw the addition of the Porsche Golden Ticket. The new entry category was open to video entrants between the ages of 16 and 25 who had never competed in the contest before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This exciting opportunity saw three rookies, eventual finalist Jamie Overbeek, Cohan van Dijk (who went all the way to the semi-finals), and Evan Kiljn selected from the Red Bull King of the Air video entry portal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the three received an all-expenses paid trip to South Africa to compete in a special pre-event qualification round. Van Dijk won the round and qualified for the main event, but due to the last-minute withdrawal of Airton Cozzolino (who suffered an injury in training the previous day), Overbeek also got his chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kite Beach at Bloubergstrand was jam packed with thousands of visitors from all around the world for the biggest kitesurfing event, Red Bull King of the Air.PHOTO: Kailin Daniels<\/div>\n
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The Dutch teenager grabbed the opportunity and showed his class, convincingly beating world champs and previous event champions on his way to the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is an exciting time for the sport,\u201d Cantagalli said, referring to how the new generation is pushing the limits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mystic Move of the day went to Liam Whaley for a Double Kite Loop Back Roll Board Off that scored a massive 9.94.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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