December 6, 2015
by Christopher Parker (@wheresbossman)

Titouan Puyo Outlasts Casper Steinfath to Win the 500-Strong ‘Paris Crossing’ (Full Results)


Paris-Crossing-SUP-race-2015

500 paddlers on the River Seine at dawn… (photo credit: SUP Racer)

Titouan Puyo has outlasted Casper Steinfath to claim back-to-back Paris Crossing titles, as 500 paddlers hit the River Seine today for the largest SUP race in the world.

Titou and Casper broke away early after a hectic start, taking advantage of the choppy conditions thrown up by the lead boats to gap their fellow contenders. The pair worked together and continually extended their lead over the entire 13km (8 mile) course, before Titou finally pulled clear in the final few hundred metres to win by 11 seconds.

The one-two result mirrors what happened here 12 months ago, and gives Titou back-to-back Paris Crossing titles. It caps off a fine year for the pair, who will finish the season ranked 5th and 6th in the world respectively.

Coming home third today was Arthur Arutkin, who worked hard all day alongside his chase group compatriots Gaetan Sene and young Martin Vitry, another young gun Frenchman that seems to be a real talent for the future. Behind them it was another group of three, with Paolo Marconi outlasting Vinnicius Martins and Greg Closier at the line.

Paris Crossing

500 paddlers hit the River Seine at dawn (photo credit: Raoul Dobremel)

Former event champ Eric Terrien was up there in the top 10 early but ended up as a DNF. Meanwhile, one of the pre-race contenders, Steeve Teihotaata, ended up way back in 20th getting knocked off his board early (and falling in a few more times) to finish with borderline hypothermia.

In the women’s it was former French champion Olivia Piana with a strong return to form, defeating pre-race favourite Celine Guesdon and Spain’s Susak Molinero. Olivia’s victory made it a double win for Team Starboard.

The 2015 Paris Crossing was an absolutely amazing spectacle, with 500 paddlers hitting the River Seine at dawn and paddling past some of the world’s most iconic landmarks. Although I was chasing the lead pack along the banks, the true spirit of this race was happening back in the amateur divisions.

Out of the 500 paddlers on the start line, over 400 were in the open class. And that’s what’s so great about this race. It’s a race, but it’s not too serious. Oh and you also get to paddle past the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral and a dozen other iconic landmarks. Now I can see why this race sold out in 26 minutes when entries opened several months ago.

Paris-Crossing-stand-up-paddle

The Paris Crossing has grown to become the world’s largest SUP race (photo credit: Raoul Dobremel)

The spirit and atmosphere at the finish line reminds us why we love this sport so much. Everyone was stoked just to be part of it, while Titou and Casper got more “Can I please take a photo with you?” requests than I’ve ever seen any paddler at any race receive. It was inspiring to see.

There was also one minute silence before the race in memory of the November 13 Paris attack victims.

I can’t recommend highly enough that you add the Paris Crossing to your SUP bucket list. You’ve gotta get over here and do this race next year. It’s an amazing thing to witness, while I can only imagine it’s even better when you’re out there on the water.

Here’s a quick edit of the action (special mention goes to the Storm Troopers that completed the race in full battle gear), while we should have more pics (and updated World Rankings) in the morning.

2015 Paris Crossing Results (Pro Division)

(click here for the “leisure division” results)
Course: 13.8km (8.5 miles)
Conditions: Cold
Men’s Race Index: 19.0%
Titou: Superstar

#NameTimeNationWorld Rankings
1Titouan Puyo1:17:40New Caledonia19.00
2Casper Steinfath1:17:51Denmark14.25
3Arthur Arutkin1:19:13France11.40
4Gaetan Sene1:19:15France9.50
5Martin Vitry1:19:17France8.08
6Paolo Marconi1:20:28Italy6.65
7Vinnicius Martins1:20:29Brazil5.70
8Greg Closier1:20:35France4.75
9Yanis Maire1:21:47France4.28
10Tom Auber1:21:49France3.80
11Peter Bartl1:21:50Austria3.42
12Jean Letourneur1:21:51France3.04
13Joseph Gueguen1:21:51France2.85
14Ole Schwarz1:21:53Germany2.66
15Stephane Martin1:23:01France2.47
16Romuald Mamadou1:23:21Guadeloupe2.28
17Peter Weidert1:23:22Germany2.09
18Boris Jinvresse1:23:24France1.90
19George Fragos1:23:33Greece1.71
20Steeve Teihotaata1:23:34Tahiti1.52
21Ludovic Teulade1:23:43France1.43
22Paul Conrad Delaere1:23:51France1.33
23David Gandon1:23:53France1.24
24Filipe Meira1:24:28Portugal1.14
25Amaury Dormet1:25:09France1.05
26Martino Rogai1:25:29Italy0.99
27Jeremy Teulade1:25:35France0.93
28Giorgos Konstantis1:25:38Greece0.87
29Guillaume Lenclen1:25:51France0.82
30Stephane Guiomar1:25:20France0.76
32Normen Weber1:26:41Germany0.72
33Aaron Rowe1:26:42Jersey0.68
34Leonardo Toso1:27:22Italy0.65
35Hakim Dridah1:27:25Switzerland0.61
36Franck Le Ven1:27:27France0.57
37Dimitris Apalagakis1:27:33Greece0.53
38Daniele Frattese1:27:38Italy0.49
39Leandro Cruz1:27:42France0.46
40Damien Troouenet1:29:01France0.42
41Alan Fernandes1:29:33Jersey0.38
42Benjamin Vaurs1:30:09France0.36
43Yoann Monsigny1:30:39France0.34
44Vincent Sultana1:31:41France0.32
45Lucas Le Bayon1:31:52France0.30
46David Mangan1:32:01Ireland0.29
47Carl Thomas1:32:37UK0.27
48David Raas1:32:59Czech Republic0.25
49Rafael Sirvent Salazar1:33:08France0.23
50Thomas Letourneur1:33:23France0.21
51Tim Tredant1:33:45Jersey0.19
52Paolo Lampariello1:33:49Italy-
53Pascal Pouget1:33:50France-
54Fred Bonnef1:33:50France-
55Jonathan Sanborn1:33:53France-
56Wolfgang Leeb1:34:01Austria-
57Mickael Gilles1:34:13France-
58Arthur Avranches1:34:22France-
59Edouard Chata1:34:29France-
60Keith McGuirk1:34:33Ireland-
61Sebastien Pichon1:35:03France-
62Jermone Vici1:35:06France-
63Herve Molinero1:36:09France-
64Mathieu Ackermann1:36:38France-
65Chris Bates1:36:45Jersey-
66Olaf Schwarz1:37:09Germany-
67Tim Rowe1:38:12Jersey-
68Leo Verheyde1:38:22France-
69Herve Lecardez1:38:25France-
70Antony Locteau1:38:26France-
71Frederic Bouelle1:38:56France-
72Ondrej Zummer1:39:04Czech Republic-
73Bertrand Pinon1:39:06France-
74Michael Stoner1:39:07Germany-
75Pascal Jaloux1:40:09France-
76Damien Garreau1:42:04France-
77Jean Marc Frequelin1:42:54France-
78David Laugier1:43:36France-
79Amo Dekker1:44:52Netherlands-
80Gabrielle Galeazzi1:50:20Italy-
81Sebastien le Meaux1:52:54France-

#NameTimeNation
1Olivia Piana1:28:09France
2Celine Guesdon1:29:31France
3Susak Molinero1:30:15Spain
4Amandine Chazot1:31:08France
5Sophie Montagnon1:34:57France
6Carol Scheunemann1:35:19Germany
7Emma Reijmerink1:35:48Netherlands
8Carolina Seth-Smith1:38:28Spain
9Valerie Vitry1:39:00France
10Virginie Samson1:39:14France
11Erika Barausse1:39:21Italy
12Anne Crozet1:41:48France
13Michaela Yiasoumi1:44:55Greece
14Cecile Reliquet1:48:08France
15Virginie Louppe1:58:21France
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