This past weekend saw Italy’s SUP racers’ getting together in the Gulf of Ostia, Rome, for the Mediterranean Sea Cup and the host event of the 2021 Italian SUP Championship. On 29th, 30th, and 31st of October, this was the last event for the season and consisted of three disciplines; Sprints, Technical and Long-distance races.
Italian Dream Team rider Caterina Stenta had a great race in the long-distance event. After paddling away from the field in the 12km course, she had fun in the wind and waves on her Starboard All Star 14 x 22.5 paired with the Lima M in Prepreg Carbon – an excellent combo for these conditions.
Here is the daily recap of the 2021 Italian SUP Championships from Cateria:
Day One: Technical Beach Race
Caterina placed second after a very competitive dual with rival women’s paddler but is happy with the increased competitiveness; “The first day in the technical, I placed second, the women’s level is going up in Italy, and that’s great to see.”
Day Two: Sprint Race
Sadly Caterina was DQ’ed for a false start after taking the win; “The second day I took first in the final heat of the Sprints, but for a strange “Italian” reason they disqualified me. So I got disqualified for a false start, rather of redoing the heat, but it was anyway a nice battle in the water and good feeling with the Sprint 2021 19’75”.
Day Three: Long Distance Course Race
In the end, it was a successful weekend of racing for the Italian Starboard Dream Team rider; “The long-distance was an excellent 12km course with ocean conditions. The south wind picked up, and there were some nice bumps. I did the race by myself and finished with a 5 minute advantage to the second and won, therefore, the Italian Champion Long Distance title for the fourth year in a row.
Enjoy this photo reel courtesy of the 2021 Mediterranean Sea Cup
