There was quite a bit of expectation to return to Germany, and stop #6 in Nordhausen and 5th Grand Slam of the season didn’t disappoint. This sleepy small town in Central Germany really came alive today for the Nordhausen SUP Race and we saw the biggest participation so far this season, with 12 nations ( 🇸🇪 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 🇷🇺 🇮🇹 🇸🇰 🇹🇭 🇩🇰 🇨🇿 🇳🇱 🇨🇭 🇩🇪 ) and the largest kids/Junior turnout of 2021 EuroTour.
The Nordhausen SUP Race is a 11km flat water race that takes place on a small lake just outside the city of Nordhausen and comprises of a 3 lap course with the exciting ‘superlap’ format. Although flatwater, this race tested riders abilities with sidewind, headwind and also a little bit of downwind between the bouys.
In the hotly contested women’s race, it was yet again Starboard’s Esperanza Barreras from Spain that took her third win for the season and is clearly showing her intentions for the overall this season.
“My race was with a fast start getting the lead in the first buoy turn. I was followed by strong French rider Anais Guyomaais & then Petronella Van Malsen who drafted me until the 2km mark. Taking advantage of the sidewind, I made a move and managed to gap the riders behind me. From there until the end I focus on reading the wind and paddle gliding as much as I could in this kind of condition.
I was riding my magic 2021 Allstar 14×22.5 that fly in any conditions!”
~ Espe
In second place, it was rising Russian paddler Natalia Novitskaia who was the only one that came close to the champion and showed that in flat water she’s a serious contender for the win. Fresh of her National crown last weekend was talent Petronella Van Malsen that always looked solid on 3rd. Behind her youngster, Anais Guyomarch came in 4th place followed closely in 5th by Tanja Ecker Special mention to the local hero Susanne Lier that came in 6th after playing the organizer/racer role all week in her hometown event.
On the men’s side, the race had one name the whole way, and it was Normen Weber, who had the best use of the super lap option, and in lap#1 when the Top 8 competitors were all together in a group and two of them broke off; he sprinted quietly on the right side and left everyone behind to make a gap all the way to the finish line.
The Russian duo formed by Joep Van Bakel & Donato Freens made the best out of their break and finished 2nd & 3rd respectively, in a tactically well-played race. Behind them the chase group formed by Italian powerhouse Claudio Nika (Starboard) & French rising star Ethan Bry (Starboard) went 4th & 5th; with an impressive Martin Teichmann only seconds behind in 6th. Rounding out the top 10 was Starboard Germany’s national team rider Ole Schwarz.
Top 10 Women at Nordhausen SUP Race:
- Esperanza Barreras 🇪🇸 Starboard
- Natalia Novitskaia 🇷🇺 Sunova
- Petronella Van Malsen 🇳🇱 Mistral
- Anais Guyomarch 🇫🇷 3-Bay
- Tanja Ecker 🇩🇪 404
- Susanne Lier 🇩🇪 Sunova
- Iva Dundova 🇨🇿 NSP
- Susanne Meyer 🇩🇪 Lightcorp
- Anne de Boer 🇩🇪 SIC
- Michala hendrichova 🇨🇿 Sunova
Top 10 Men at Nordhausen SUP Race:
- Normen Weber 🇩🇪 Lightcorp
- Joep Van Bakel 🇳🇱 Fanatic
- Donato Freens 🇳🇱 Lightcorp
- Claudio Nika 🇮🇹 Starboard
- Ethan Bry 🇫🇷 Starboard
- Peter Weidert 🇩🇪 Lightcorp
- Martin Teichmann 🇩🇪 Sunova
- Maui Sach 🇩🇪 NSP
- Ondras Petrak 🇨🇿 SIC
- Ole Schwarz 🇩🇪 Starboard
