Eurochallenge

I had a great time in Spain racing the Eurochallenge 2010 http://www.eurochallenge.es together with the Nelo team. I arrived wednesday and got three sessions before raceday Saturday. No reason to train in the morning because the wind didn’t come before noon each day, and training on flatwater I can do at home. The best day for waves was friday and it was hard to not paddle longer than planned because it was so fun to finally paddle in perfect conditions. The race was 25k and we started on the beach running to the surfskis. Jumping into my surfski was a disaster and I really made a mess out of it and since I was so far behind in the start I got involved in a big crash after 800m turning the first buoy. I had respect for the distance and I knew I would be tired in the end, therefor I didn’t try to close the gap to the lead but rather focused on my own pace and having some power left in the last half of the race. The First 15k was more or less headwind, while the last 10k was supposed to be downwind and surf. The wind died during the race and the downwind wasn’t as good you thought when the race started. Half way into the race I was #11 and at the finish I came #4. I’m now ranked #3 in the ICF World Ocean Series, since Manuel Busto who placed third didn’t paddel a surfski but the Nelo Sea Vanquish Kayak. The next race in the ICF World Ocean Series are on the 30th of July in Vesterålen, Norway. You’ll find pictures and video from the race at http://www.surfski.info