Sunshine & warm weather greeted paddlers for the 2022 Madeira SUP Race Open. This was a lovely weekend spent on the beautiful beaches of Peniche with 2 days of competition, the first day was a 6km technical race with the second day seeing an exciting sprint race take place. The event was hosted by Ludens Clube Machico and supported by Visit Madeira and Associação de Surf da Madeira. Dream Team rider Leo Nika took top podium honors, and recaps below.
“The technical race is my favorite one and that I like to focus my training on. I managed to make an early lead in the tech race which I managed to keep until the finish line to take the win. The conditions were a bit windy with 5 buoys turns per lap, with 2 laps and 2 short runs on the beach. I used the 2022 All Star 14×21.75 as it handles the chop well, is stable and easy to turn. Once the board started glides it keeps the speed. For the paddle, I use Lima Prepreg Carbon.
I didn’t have the cleanest race in the Sprint event, but fortunately, it did not count for the overall. The sprint format race consisted of two separated circuits with a 180 turn – where I made a small mistake and lost the lead to finish 2nd.
There war 25 participants and the Portuguese race champion, Tomas Lacerda, was also in attendance.
After all the racing action was done, I did a fun clinic for the kids who they enjoyed a lot.”
