Cohan takes 2nd place and secures king of the air ticket at Tarifa qualifier

It was time for the first Red Bull King of the Air Qualifier of the year and the stage was set in Europe’s wind capital: Tarifa. Originally planned for Sardinia, the season opener moved to Spain due to a lack of wind, raising the stakes even higher. The prize on the line was very clear: a ticket to the prestigious Red Bull King of the Air in Cape Town at the end of the year.

The venue for this big show was Balneario, one of the most famous kite spots in the world. Why is this spot so iconic and loved by pro riders?

1. When the Levante wind blows, it really pumps.
2. It has a unique position with the offshore wind crossing the direction of the swell at a perfect angle, creating unreal line tension and monster boost potential.

All 18 athletes were ready, the wind was filling in, and the stage was set. Throughout the day, the wind averaged between thirty and forty knots, with occasional good kickers rolling in. Most riders pulled out their 8m or 9m kites and went big, really big. We're talking 18 to 25-meter-high single-loop tricks and some of the wildest action seen in European skies this season.

Representing the North team were Josué San Ferreira and Cohan van Dijk and North’s Next Gen rider, Hamza Ismail, who delivered a stylish warm-up show for the crowd just before the final.

Cohan started strong in round one, full of confidence and clearly hungry for more. He powered through his first heat with the second-highest score of the round, jumping straight into round three.

Meanwhile, Josué faced a tougher start to the day, competing while battling food poisoning. Despite not feeling 100%, he showed serious resilience, securing second place in his first heat and advancing to round two. In a tight matchup against his close friend Zac Adams, Josué gave it everything he had, but missed progressing further. Respect to Josué for showing up and putting on a fight despite the circumstances.

In round three, Cohan went head-to-head with Parker Sage and delivered a flawless heat. No crashes. Just clean, technical execution. “That’s my definition of a perfect heat!” he shouted as he stepped off the water. His highest-scoring trick in that heat was a massive kite loop backroll board-off with multiple extra rotations: powerful, stylish, and seriously technical especially at that height with that much power.

The semi-final was another clean heat from Cohan as he was up against the current world record holder for highest jump, Hugo Wigglesworth. Cohan nailed all eight tricks, going full power with zero hesitation and advancing confidently into the final.

The final saw Cohan line up against Stijn Mul and Lorenzo Casati. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. But right from the start, he brought the fire, dropping two tricks that both scored over 7 out of 10. Lorenzo matched that consistency, slowly building a lead and forming a gap between him and the two Dutchmen.

While Cohan was sitting comfortably in second place, just minutes before the buzzer, Stijn landed a massive kite loop with an inverted front roll board-off, scoring a 7.7 and pushing Cohan down to third.

This forced Cohan to dig deep and he went for some of his biggest tricks of the day, that he sadly couldn’t quite stick the landings": “There were a few tricks I really wanted to land, but I just crashed them. I went full on, but full on was just a bit too much to land them. I’m going to train those and land them in the next competition!” But, seconds before the buzzer, Cohan managed to land one last big trick, just enough to push past Stijn and reclaim second place.

Lorenzo Casati took the win of the event, but already holds his King of the Air ticket, meaning the golden invite now belongs to Cohan. “I’m super happy with today, and this promises a lot for next King Of The Air. I’ll see you there!” - Cohan van Dijk