This page is a summary of our most recent posts about SUP 11 City Tour

The SUP 11 City Tour (or simply the “11 Cities”) is a five-day stage race held annually in the Netherlands. Covering more than 200km, the SUP 11 City Tour is one of the longest and toughest stand up paddle board races in the world…

The Ultras: When, where and how to follow the SUP 11 City Tour

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

The most prestigious “ultra” in the world is happening this week: The SUP 11-City Tour.

This 200km adventure is celebrating its 11th anniversary this year. After the wild and windy non-stop 11 Cities last weekend, the traditional stage race all happening from Wednesday to Sunday in the Dutch province of Friesland.

You can follow the live GPS tracking map each day from around 9am til 3pm.

It’s also worth following the official Facebook and Instagram for more coverage.

And if you want an extra daily dose of 11 Cities, I’ll be hosting “The Evening Stage” daily recap show. Watch it live on The Paddle League Facebook.

11 Cities: Stage 3 highlights

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Video not loading? Watch directly on Facebook

Bruno Hasulyo has tightened his grip on a third SUP 11 City Tour title after once again breaking the field on the canals of Friesland. Bruno won today’s third stage by almost 10 minutes to extend his lead over the chase pack. The difference now stands at nearly half an hour–the rest of the boys are fighting for second place.

Conditions were near perfect on Friday for the “split-stage” — the day started with a 12km time trial (staggered starts, no drafting) and finished with a 30km group stage.

Lena Ribeiro from Brazil finally turned the arm-wrestle with Petronella van Malsen to her favour by gaining a minute in the TT, but the Mistral duo once again crossed the line together. It’ll all come down to Sunday’s 27km time trial.

Before then, we’ve got a 42km stage from Franeker to Dokkum on Saturday morning. Follow the race with the live GPS tracking map and regular updates on @sup11citytour Instagram.

“The wind was speaking to me.” How I paddled 38 hours non-stop and set a bizarre new record

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man


My hands were actually OK this time. They’re usually the first thing to go. The blisters, the swelling, the cramps. But this year they escaped relatively unscathed even with a pair of cheap gloves that seemed to do more harm than good when wet.

My feet weren’t so lucky.

It was about 20 hours into the race when I realised an uncomfortable fact: I couldn’t stand up anymore. That’s a problem when you’re a stand up paddler.   → READ MORE

Welcome to “Brekkie Bites” — your bite-sized breakfast briefing with daily news from the SUP world.

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man


 
Good morning and welcome to “Brekkie Bites” #001.

The SUP world moves fast, but SUP Racer has been slower than ever lately. Partly because I invested my energy in The Paddle League, partly because my posts are just way too long (and time consuming).

It’s been a little frustrating.

SUP Racer’s mission has always been to keep a finger on the pulse and share the news fast, so instead of waiting til I’ve written the perfect post, now I’m simply going to post a daily briefing around breakfast time (“brekkie” in Aussie slang).   → READ MORE

Seychelle has claimed her third SUP 11 City Tour title after a roller-coaster battle with Japan’s Yuka Sato.

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Seychelle has taken out the 10th anniversary edition of the classic SUP 11 City Tour, putting in a superhuman performance on the final time trial to claim her third title after a roller-coaster battle with Japan’s Yuka Sato.

The Floridian won the first stage and looked on track for the title early, before Yuka blasted a big win on day two and then extended her lead on day three’s 12km time trial. The pendulum swung back to Seychelle on Saturday, day 4, when Yuka’s overall lead was cut down to 2 minutes 30 seconds after the Japanese dark horse was unable to keep touch in the second half of the day’s 43km stage.   → READ MORE

The ‘SUP 11 City Tour’ begins Wednesday: Here’s when, where and “why” to follow this classic race.

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

It’s arguably the most epic race in the world of paddleboarding: Five days, five stages and more than 200 kilometres of fun, horrible, grueling and rewarding paddling through the Dutch countryside.

Welcome to the 10th anniversary edition of the SUP 11 City Tour, a race that holds a special place in the hearts of the many paddlers from around the world who make an annual pilgrimage to the province of Friesland for a week-long event that’s best described as “school camp for adults.”

Every edition of this unique race is a week to remember, but with 10th birthday celebrations this year’s SUP 11 City Tour is set to be an instant classic. The event is also part of The Paddle League, with the 11 Cities earning a 6-star “Specialty Major” status on the new world tour.   → READ MORE

You’ll Love It, You’ll Hate It, and You’ll Come Back For More Next Year: Inside the Epic 11 City Tour

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

11 City Tour

It was around the 44km mark that I looked up and realised, to my horror, I was quite literally paddling backwards.

After more than six hours on the water, and wearing a t-shirt comically ill-suited for such extreme conditions, my body and mind were both screaming out for me to stop whatever I was doing and immediately seek shelter from this nightmarish headwind, piercing rain and bitter cold. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Just get the bloody hell off this lake and into some dry warm clothes, you idiot.

Unfortunately for my body, mind, and self in general, that lake was in the middle of nowhere in one of the Netherlands’ most remote provinces. And I was in the middle of a race.   → READ MORE

Daniel Hasulyo Takes 11 City Tour Title from Brother Bruno; Brazil’s Lena Ribeiro Hangs on to Claim Women’s Crown (UPDATED)

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Daniel Hasulyo
Daniel Hasulyo has shown that both of the Hasulyo Brothers are world beaters, matching brother Bruno’s heroics in Denmark by destroying the individual time trial on the final day of the 2017 SUP 11 City Tour presented by Mistral to claim victory in one of the toughest races on the planet, and in doing so give Team Starboard back-to-back 1-2 finishes in what was a grueling race even by 11 Cities standards.

Italy’s rising dark horse Martino Rogai was third, while Tahitian va’a superstar Rete Ebb finished the week strong for Team Mistral by picking up a third in the time trial that saw him take fourth overall.

Brazil’s Lena Ribeiro came home third in today’s 27km race against the clock, however the Brazilian had done enough hard work early in the week to maintain her lead all the way to the finish. Lena edged out her Mistral team mate Petronella van Malsen, with the home nation hero accepting the runner-up spot for the second year in a row.   → READ MORE

11 Cities: Lena Ribeiro, the Hasulyo Brothers Extend Leads on Mercifully Calm Second Stage

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

The @sup11citytour from above by @georgiasphoto for @starboardsup. Today's second stage was the complete opposite of yesterday: In place of piercing rain we enjoyed glorious blue skies, and instead of hellish headwinds it was a mixture of sheet glass and even some merciful little downwind stretches. After establishing a mammoth lead of 17 minutes on that brutal 50km opening stage, the Hasulyo Brothers @brunohasulyo and @danielhasulyo played defense and sat alongside a strong lead pack for the first 41 of 42km. Showing frightening levels of fitness, the dynamic duo still managed to sprint away at the end to narrowly capture yet another stage win, but @martinorogai (3rd overall), @reteebb, @bruno_tauhiro, @rafaelalexandre1 and @ricardohaverschmidt were all looking good today as well. The brothers now have a gap of about 18 minutes and seem virtually unstoppable in their quest for back-to-back 1-2 finishes. Once again, the top placings in seemingly every division were dominated by the Starboard and @mistral_int teams, with Mistral's Brazilian sensation @lenagribeiro extending her lead over talented teammate @petronella_van_malsen to a total of about 20 minutes and cementing her dark horse status in the process. The former king of the 11 Cities @bartdezwart, who opted to join the amateur "competition" division this year after draining himself in the 24hr non-stop tour earlier in the week, paddled virtually the whole day on his own to handily win his class and beat most of the elite guys in the process. The competition division is by far the biggest, with about 60 guys battling for bragging rights and personal victories in this mind-boggling four day test of physical and mental strength. Battling harder than most is SUP Racer's honourary team mate @caiogebaravaz, with the 2x SUP surfing world champ showing that he's pretty handy on a race board as well after leading the division's main pack for the first 30km today before crossing in a more than respectable 5th place. There have been plenty of commendable performances all the way through the field the past two days, while everyone the simply finishes this epic odyssey thoroughly deserves a medal…

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Full recap coming soon. Follow the SUP 11 City Tour on Facebook for more.

CLICK HERE for Friday’s stage results.

Hasulyo Brothers, Lena Ribeiro Establish Big Leads on Day 1 of Wet and Wild 11 City Tour

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Congrats to the Hasulyo Brothers for smashing out a big win for Team @starboardsup in today's 50km opening stage of the @sup11citytour, and very well done to Brazil's @lenagribeiro from Team @mistral_int for claiming a massive early advantage on the women's leaderboard. Though really, anyone and everyone that simply finished today's race deserves a medal: Those were some of the toughest paddling conditions I've ever seen. The 11 City Tour has experienced more than its fair share of gnarly weather over the past nine years, but I can't imagine anything being much tougher than that. The event is billed as "The Ultimate Challenge" and today it certainly lived up to that title. The second half of today's 50km (31 mile) stage featured a seemingly-endless string of lakes that were getting battered by merciless 25 knot headwinds and stinging rains that soaked us to the bone and shattered whatever was left of the draft trains. At one point I'm pretty sure I was going backwards, and at several points my body and mind were screaming out for me to quit. Everyone I spoke to after the race seemed to have a similar experience, and most of us limped over the finish line more than seven hours after we started. Actually, I'm a little surprised I finished at all… It was a bloody nightmare out on those lakes, but it was also extremely satisfying (or at least it was at the finish). And in a weird and twisted way, I think I actually had fun out there today… I hope so anyway, because we've got three more days of this great big adventure still to come!! #sup11citytour #headwindsfromhell #cloudywithachanceofbiblicalfloods photo: @georgiasphoto ⛈️💥😳

A post shared by SUP Racer (Christopher Parker) (@supracer) on

Full recap coming soon. Follow the SUP 11 City Tour on Facebook for more.

CLICK HERE for Thursday’s stage results.

11 Cities Update: Non-Stoppers Complete 24 Hour Epic; Gnarly Winds Cancel First 5-Day Stage

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

11-City-Tour-Friesland
Nine brave paddlers have survived gale force winds and extreme exhaustion to complete the epic, 200+ kilometre “Non-Stop” 11 City Tour around the Dutch province of Friesland this week, as finishing times ranged from 24 to 32 hours while several others were forced to abandon their quests.

Dutchman Niek van der Linde won in a remarkable time of 23 hours 59 minutes and 48 seconds, coming home almost an hour ahead of 11 Cities veteran and pre-race favourite Bart de Zwart, while Frenchman Olivier Darrieumerlou finished runner-up for the second time after completing his odyssey in 24 hours 14 minutes.

Former champion of the five-day race Janneke Smits was the sole woman to finish the non-stop challenge this year, crossing the line after 31 cold and grueling hours out on the water.    → READ MORE

Next Stop… The Netherlands for the Epic “11 City Tour” Five Day Stage Race (UPDATED)

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

SUP 11 City Tour

We’re currently on the road from Denmark to the rural Dutch province of Friesland for one of the most epic and challenging events of the year: the five day, five stage, 200km SUP 11 City Tour.

To long-time readers of SUP Racer, the 11 Cities needs no introduction. It’s one of the classics on the calendar, offering bold competitors a challenge that is as much a mental test as it is a physical one.

Now in its 9th year, that mental test gets even tougher with the introduction of individual time trials, which will cement this race’s reputation as the “Tour de France of SUP.”   → READ MORE

Countdown: The 11 City Tour Is Only 100 Days Away (Time to Start Training…)

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

SUP 11 City Tour

The countdown to “The Ultimate Challenge” in the world of stand up paddling is officially on: we’re just 100 days away from the 9th Annual SUP 11 City Tour, the adventure race that pushes paddlers to the limit both physically and mentally through five long stages across five very long days.

Covering 220km, the 11 Cities has become an iconic part of the racing calendar by offering a unique event that is as much a personal challenge as it is a race. From September 13th-17th, paddlers from across Europe and all around the world are going to wind their way through the rural Dutch province of Friesland while experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions: you will love and hate the 11 Cities at the same time.   → READ MORE

Next Stop… Ibiza for the ‘Vuelta’ (Or: “Why Did I Just Sign up to Paddle 345km?”)

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Es Vedra, IbizaThe European Summer of SUP has been a blast so far, but most of my time has been spent on the media boat following the action rather than being part of it. It’s been a hell of a lotta fun, but I’ve also been itching to get out from behind the live stream camera and onto the water.

That all changes next week, because I just signed up for the Vuelta Ibiza – the five day, 125km stage race that’s basically a smaller, warmer version of the famed 11 City Tour.   → READ MORE