The 2013 SUP Race Cup is going to be BIG: One of Europe’s favourite SUP races is stepping it up this year, with $15,000 in prize money and a whole stack of elite talent. Word has it Connor Baxter will be in town for the race, though the young Maui gun will be just one of several international stars paddling it up on the French Riviera.

Travis Grant, Georges Cronsteadt, Jim Terrell, Paul & Angie Jackson, Beau O’Brian and Jake Jensen are just some of the international paddlers confirmed for the event. They’ll all be battling it out against defending champ Eric Terrien, who would no doubt love to beat the world’s best in his home country.

Throw in a dozen or two other world class paddlers from Europe (Casper Steinfath, Greg Closier, Yoann Cornelis, Gaetene Sene, Olivia Piana, etc) and you can expect to see a red hot race on the beaches of St. Maxime.

The 2013 SUP Race Cup will also be the first event of the completely unofficial but totally awesome European SUP Racing Tour, which sees six straight weeks of big SUP races across the continent. Following the $15,000 SUP Race Cup is the Lost Mills race in Germany and then a string of Stand Up World Series events.

All up there will be over $100,000 on offer across six weeks of racing. Not bad.

Though it all begins on the weekend of May 25th & 26th in St. Maxime, France (just around the corner from the glitzy St. Tropez). So start looking for plane tickets to Europe, it’s going to be a big Summer…

>>> More info on the official Facebook page