Day 3, 11 City Tour

The third day of the first 11-SUP stedentocht was the most exciting up till now. Soon after the start, a leading group was formed, consisting of Mark Raaphorst, Bart de Zwart, Byron Kurt, Eric Terrien, Erwin Janssen and Xavier Terrien Masdevall Garcon. With an average speed of 9 km per hour they paddled in to the direction of Harlingen. In Harlingen they turned onto the Van Harinxmakanaal. This was the toughest part of the race due to choppy water and gusts of wind. Several paddlers hit the water. Nevertheless the lead group reached the finish line one hour before schedule. Xavier crossed the line first. Xavier: “I have paddled as hard as I could. During the race it is important to stay as close as you can to the leading man. Once you distance becomes more than 10 meters, you’re done.”

For the ladies – Anne-Marie Reichman and Donna Badome-Raaphorst – Anne-Marie finished 40 seconds ahead of Donna. Since Anne-Marie finished first at the previous days, she decided share her price with Donna. A sportive gesture since Donna and Anne-Marie have teamed up with each other during the previous days.

Top 3 man – Stage 3: Workum – Franeker (45km)

Top 2 man – Stage 3: Workum – Franeker (45km)

Syp van der Ploeg and Bibian Mentel have participated from Harlingen to Franeker. It was their first experience with SUP. Both did very well and were very enthusiastic at arrival in Franeker. Syb: “It was a great experience. Stabilizing the board comes down to you legs. I think this sprt is a good workout. Next year I will definitely foin a whole stage.”

Tomorrow celebrity participants Stephan van den Berg (Olympic windsurfing gold) will start in Franeker. He will participate all day. In Dokkum TV presenter Odettle Simons is present at the clinics at 20:00 ha.

September 2.
Winner of the first stage, Byron Kurt, continued his supremacy in the second stage from sloten to Workum. He took the lead directly at the start. Followed by a small group of competitors. Eric Terrien, Xavier Masdeval Garcon en Bart de Zwart followed the winner of the catalina Challenge with a small difference. It was immediately clear that Byron followed his tactics of yesterday and created a gap to make sure he also finished this stage in first place. He finished one hour before schedule in Workum.

The battle for second place of today was a fierce one. Bart tells: ” We were following Byron the whole day. We tried to help each other the whole time, but tat is not so easy as it is with cycling”. On the sporttrack on our site (link: Follow the tour live) it looked like Bart would finish second. But 10 meters before the finish he felt during a turn. Bart: “I had to steer a lot and loosed balance, these things can happen.” Bart de Zwart lives on Maui but only after sailing the world with his family for three years he felt in love with SUP-boarding. With success as he finished fourth today.

The Start September 1.
The conceal of Sports Leuwarden fired the start shot for the first SUP 11 city tour. 25 Competitors from all over the world was gathered yesterday morning. The event organizer and competitor Anne Marie Reichman’s dream came true. Last year she proved that the ultimate challenge is doable so this year she invited professional athletes from all over the world to join the 5-day race around the eleven cities in the north part of Holland.

The paddlers started well, but with the tough southwest wind ahead the whole fleet got behind schedule. De fastest competitor Byron Kurt come into Sneek for a lunchbreak around twelve o’clock. There he had to take an official break of an half an hour for some food and drinks. Not unnecessary because you cannot eat that much when you’re paddling. After the break in Sneek the contender waited the greatest challenge near the finish in Sloten. They had to cross lake Sloten. That is tough with a full force wind ahead. Around 3pm Byron Kurt was the first to arrive in Sloten. We had a little chat with Byron just after his massage.

“I was preparedfor the worst but I enjoyed it. Everything went according plan and now I have gained some time on Xavier. It was a constant battle with the chop and the wind. This is by far the biggest challenge I ever did. And we have 4 more days left. But the support of the spectators keeps you going.”

Top 3: Etappe 1: Leeuwarden-Sloten
1. Byron Kurt (USA) 6:54:22
2. Xavier Masdevall Gar?on (Spain) 7:3:43
3. Eric Terrien (France) 7:4:29

The race finished nine and a half hours later. It was a long day on the water for everyone. Some competitors had to struggle a little harder, Donna Badone Raaphorsts board filled up with water in the strong wind and had to seek help from the support boats. Kevin Langeree was also supported by the boats but will continue to paddle tomorrow.

The competitors are facing a tough challenge over the next few days with the 200 kilometers left to paddle.

Stay tuned for more up-dates.

Before Start
September 1st is the kick-off for the 220 kilometer 11-city tour. Competitors from all over the world will paddle against each other for 5-days through the idyllic setting of a course weaving it’s way through the Dutch canals in the North of Holland.

We have caught up with the national representative and event organizer Anne Marie Reichman to find out more about the preparations and personal training for such a monster paddle.

What drives you to organize an event like the 11 city tour?
I started stand up paddling in Maui and also teaching some lessons here in. I saw how quickly ‘one’ picks up this sport and how stoked people are. Sports like surfing and windsurfing takes a whole lot more lessons (on average scale) to be fairly ‘good’ at it. Especially on flat water I saw more and more people going for ‘a walk on water’ and I thought there’s a whole lot of water in Holland you can do the same. So I felt driven to do something with SUP in Holland. The 11-City Tour (a 100 year old phenomena) is a tour that offers the Ultimate Challenge. Personally I am connected to this tour that almost starts in my back yard. And… I am drawn to a challenge. After paddling the 220 km myself last year I already had in the back of my mind to turn it in an event. Through the event I like to show the people from outside holland my culture, the beauty of Friesland, the Frieland ‘stoke’ (people here LOVE water sports and 11-City Tour events) while showing my ‘homies in Holland’ a fairly new sport that they can have fun with!

What has been the biggest challenge with the organization?
SUP is so new here, and when they google it it’s been associated with Hawaii, waves, exotic places. Everything that’s new sounds a little scary, so people like to be convinced that I am really on to something! haha
So the start was the biggest challenge; to start from nothing to something. Now, there’s more to show; a website, athletes that WILL be here. Sponsors that are already involved. Before there was ME with a story/ my idea and a lot of energy and ‘stoke’ behind it.

Who is coming to the event? How did they get interested in the event?
check out the athletes on the site! www.supfryslan.nl

I am super exited to have a special mix of athletes at the start! From 14 years old to …. older (haha).

This event is some what unusual and there is an instant draw to the enormous physical and mental challenge.

Some athletes knew about the 11-City Tour and they feel this is THEIR chance to achieve this tour since ice skating might not happen any time soon.

Other athletes are drawn to the adventure and being part of something new. Some athletes have never been to Holland and are excited to get to know the country from the water.

What will be the potential difficulties for the competitors?
The wind direction will be a huge factor on all competitors. Besides that how to ‘manage’ your energy / your body and mind.

How have you trained for the race?
I have paddled a lot in Hawaii before I came over here. I can feel that my base- condition is good. Other than that I have paddled a lot in Friesland. It is light until 9 pm in Holland, so I can work in the day; meet people, do my appointments and then… it’s MY time, me and my board; me and my paddle… This is the time when I become ‘whole’ again after a day of organizing. This is the time where I put my paddle to the metal and prepare physically.

Who do you think is going to win?
Good question. I don’t know, but I know there are some great athletes there. Byron Kurt seems like a ‘tough cookie’ to beat. I know Mark Raaphorst is fit and fast as well. Then there’s Jan Fokke Oosterhof, who has done extreme physical challenges in his life. Also Eric Terrien from France seems ready for action… It is a race we can all follow on line: “follow the tour live”. All athletes have a GPS chip on them, so you can check where they are, how fast they paddle etc.

There’s day – winners each day. And then there’s the overall champ!

We wish you Best of Luck Anne-Marie. Stay tuned for a daily up-date on www.star-board-sup.com