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…
“Chris, do you want a beer?”
“Yeah, why not. It’s bloody hot out here.”
I was holding onto a rope and surfing behind the media boat when the race organiser threw me a beer. That’s an instant DQ in just about any other event (for so many reasons), yet it seemed oddly appropriate here. Because while I was technically in the middle of a “race,” the ‘SUP 11 Islands Tour’ is so much more than just a race that the term hardly applies. → READ MORE
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In brief: Bruno Hasuluyo has claimed his third SUP 11-City Tour title and Lena Ribeiro her second after an epic week of paddling around the Dutch province of Friesland. → READ MORE
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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.
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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
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
Full recap coming soon. For now, here are the top finishers from an extraordinary week of paddling in the Netherlands. Click here for the full results.
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
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
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 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
Full recap coming soon. Follow the SUP 11 City Tour on Facebook for more.
CLICK HERE for Friday’s stage results.
Full recap coming soon. Follow the SUP 11 City Tour on Facebook for more.
CLICK HERE for Thursday’s stage results.
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
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
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
