Watch action from the final day of competition!
Watch action from the final day of competition!
Watch action from the final day of competition!
Watch action from the final day of competition!
Watch the action from Day 4 . . .
Watch the action from Day 4 . . .
Kento paddled the final day – he had also paddled on Day 2 and together with the efforts of each and everyone of the students they took a proud 1st…
Kento paddled the final day – he had also paddled on Day 2 and together with the efforts of each and everyone of the students they took a proud 1st place in the Mixed Team Division in an overall time of 26:07:58.
Kento, Tubasa, Mikido and Chika
Their enthusiasm and courage in taking on such a huge event should be applauded, as this was way beyond anything they had tried before. For Mistral, we are extremely proud and honoured to have them as part of our Mistral family of paddlers. To their Coach, Akira, I am sure all the Team thank you for your support and to Toshi our importer for making bringing everything together and a special mention to ‘Yuki’ for covering the event for the people of Japan watching.
Petronella remained as consistent as ever in making it to the podium once again, against the toughest competition she has had so far in being up against 2 of the…
Petronella remained as consistent as ever in making it to the podium once again, against the toughest competition she has had so far in being up against 2 of the top 5 women paddlers in the world. In close contention on some days, she always remained a core element of the top 3 women and we salute you for your professionalism and composure during the 5 days. Tatum Prins (South Africa) battled on after backing up from the non-stop edition and courageously pushed on to an 11th place finish. Congratulations to all other competitors.
Petronella 3rd
Tatum Prins 9th
3rd Petronella – completing the 220km over the 5 days in 24:32:35.
9th Tatum Prins – 27:57:57 (also completed the non stop)
Congratulations to our male team riders; James Van Drunen, Ricardo Haverschmidt, Edonays Caballero (Panama) and Akira (Japan). It was a tough five days, which included all the usual highs and…
Congratulations to our male team riders; James Van Drunen, Ricardo Haverschmidt, Edonays Caballero (Panama) and Akira (Japan). It was a tough five days, which included all the usual highs and lows and a variation of weather as always during the start of autumn in Europe.
Ricardo Haverschmidt 6th
James Van Drunen 7th
Akira 11th
Edonays Cabellero 15th
On the final day, which was a time trial; paddlers leaving one at a time in slowest to fastest paddlers, Akira paddled the 27km in 3:13:07, James 3:20:36 and Ricardo 3:12:27 and the final results for the 220km –
6th Ricardo 22:32:28
7th James 22:33:03
11th Akira 22:57:00
15th Edonay 24:54:55
Be sure to view the Gallery of images which have been posted daily over the course of the event. Please feel free to share https://www.mistral.com/11cities/gallery
Be sure to view the Gallery of images which have been posted daily over the course of the event. Please feel free to share https://www.mistral.com/11cities/gallery
To see the full results after 4 days of racing you can link through to the official page. Note the times shown are not cumulative – though they should be…
To see the full results after 4 days of racing you can link through to the official page. Note the times shown are not cumulative – though they should be to understand the splits between paddler and teams. Also note they are not in order so – take note of the side numbers for ranking. Final day of racing today.
The Elite Women’s division has become a three horse race, but indeed 3rd position is more or less assured to Petronella who has paddled exceptionally well to stay with the…
The Elite Women’s division has become a three horse race, but indeed 3rd position is more or less assured to Petronella who has paddled exceptionally well to stay with the world number 3, Tuka from Japan and Seychelle from the USA, a two time previous winner (paddling for Mistral).
Today started well for Petronella with an impressive start and early lead. It was not long before the usual procession was formed with Tuka leading, followed by Seychelle then Petronella. Coming into the Weir, all three were in close formation, but Seychelle managed to make the fastest transition, followed by Tuka then Petronella. This led to a big split between the three that was to last up until the rest point and from here to the finish.
Below at race finish in Dokum
Petronella’s Mother with her at the finish.
Seychelle pulled away from Tuka and Tuka from Petronella, which will make for an interesting race for 1st and 2nd between Tuka and Seychelle on the final day. Petronella just has to be consistent tomorrow and her third place is guaranteed.
Meanwhile Tatum, having been sick the day before, bravely pushed on to complete the day.
On day 4 of the event, is was the turn of Chika to paddle the 40km + distance and she would be confronted with high winds and a real test….
Chika gets off to a great start.
On day 4 of the event, is was the turn of Chika to paddle the 40km + distance and she would be confronted with high winds and a real test. She is however very competitive and a skilled paddler. At the start of the race she very quickly took the lead in her Mixed Team division ahead of the male paddler from Holland’s SUP School Team.
Having never paddled such a distance before this was to be a big challenge. Unique on this day is the ‘Weir’ where paddlers must dismount and endure a short portage of their boards between waters. The hard part is in lifting the board from the water and running the 100m to the next section of water. This she did very well, taking her time and not panicking.
Portage at the Wier
At this point of the race she had established a good lead in her division and from here she paddled on to the rest point where she arrived in good spirits to the support of her team mates. Back on the water after a short rest it was a challenging paddle to the finish line in high winds and the cool whether.
Support at the rest point and Chika in good spirits.
Setting off after the rest stop.
Good skills during sharp turns!
At days end she finished triumphantly having paddled exceptionally well in the conditions and made Mistral and the team very proud. Tomorrow on the final day over the shorter 27km, it will be the turn once again of Kento to finish their race.
As with every day of racing, there’s always a sense of optimism of ‘doing better’ the next day, but not all plans go that way. The race for Ricardo got…
The Men’s Elite gets underway.
As with every day of racing, there’s always a sense of optimism of ‘doing better’ the next day, but not all plans go that way. The race for Ricardo got off to a bad start when he fell putting him some way back in 12th position, wet and cold. Meanwhile James’ start was not the greatest and he was well back in the pack. It was going to be a long tough day.
As the race settled after quite some distance, Ricardo pushed exceptionally hard and at one point found himself up with the front runners. James had also been pushing hard to make up the distance and was leading a train for some time, but paid the price in burning himself out. Meanwhile Ricardo was able to conserve some energy in trading drafting positions.
Ricardo put in a huge effort to catch the pack after falling at the start. Approaching the Weir.
Unique on this day is the ‘Weir’ where paddlers must dismount and endure a short portage of their boards between waters. The hard part is in lifting the board from the water and running the 100m to the next section of water. Ricardo came in here very strong, James just a bit behind. Later at the rest point, James was visibly exhausted, Ricardo was still in good shape.
With the last leg to go it was time to put the hammer down. Ricardo went off strong, but James who left a little after, seemed distracted and uncomfortable. It was a long windy section and at final finish line in Dokum, Ricardo finished well ahead of James seemingly in good shape, but well behind the front runners.
Having been rammed from behind, James struck his head and was clearly under some pain and stress following this.
It was not to be James’ day as it ended with a visit to the hospital, as a result of being rammed from behind and striking his head. He finished bloodied, bleeding and daze, so much so that a trip to the hospital was required. He had given his all on this day, but maybe a little too much, but we salute him for his huge courage in rising to the challenge.
Japan’s Akira paddled out of his skin in keeping up the lead pack for quite some time. At race finish, well behind Ricardo he was clearly battered by the days racing, but had given a tremendous effort. Edonays continued to be upbeat and finished again in great spirits looking forward to the last day. Each day he has been learning more and going faster.
Akira showing great skills.
At the finish!
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