Red Bulls latest attempt to put kitesurfing on the map

Since when do guys do handlepasses on a surfboard? Without footstraps?

Apparently since now, the Red Bull Unfastened competition in Sardinia hosted by Airton Cozzolino which went down yesterday.

It’s rare to see strapless freestyle done well, and even then, it’s almost never done unhooked.

So when Airton busted out an unhooked backside 180 with a pass in his finals, the judges were left with no choice but to award the host the prize for the competition.

Think about everything involved in such a trick for a second… You fly the kite, ride the board, do the backside 180 while holding (with your feet) the board on just the right angle, land backwards keeping the fins out of the water. Find the bar, grab it, wave your hand in the air and them finish the rotation.

Proud of their efforts in the completion were Reo Stevens from the north shore of Oahu. This was his first ever competition, despite being a professional rider for the past 3 years at least. His mate Patri McLaughlin had a great time also, but touched on one very important aspect of this type of riding…

“It’s pretty tough to judge this kind of stuff, I mean it’s so subjective. Some people are doing really big rotations, and other people look really smooth doing it. So it’s gonna be tough to say who’s going to win.”

Not much video is available yet, but there is an interveriew with Airton online.

If you want to see some amazing strapless airs, you can't go past Australian Keahi De Aboitiz .. amazing skills...