[RESULTS] French SUP Race Championships (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Check out the awesome photos from the French SUP Racing Championship.
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The 2012 “Championnat de France SUP Race” (aka the French National SUP Race Championships) took place this weekend in Crozon-Morgat on France’s West coast. The event was part of the Presqu’île (“Peninsula”) Paddle Race and will help decide the line-up of Team France for the 2013 ISA World SUP Championships in Peru.
There were four championship titles on offer this weekend…
– Beach Race (think Battle of the Paddle) Champion
– 12’6″ Long Distance (15km or less) Champion
– 14′ Long Distance (15km or more) Champion
– Downwind Champion (based on the 4 best results throughout the year, including the National Champs)
The French National Team selection for Peru is based on the 12’6″ races (for the entire season, including the National Champs) so a few of the top paddlers were missing from the 14′ race in order to focus on the all important 12’6″ event.
Here are the main results…
12’6″ Distance Race – Open Men’s
1st: Eric Terrien
2nd: Yoann Cornelis
3rd: Greg Closier
12’6″ Distance Race – Open Women’s
1st: Faustine Meret
2nd: Olivia Piana
3rd: Céline Guesdon
12’6″ Distance Race – Juniors
1st: Arthur Daniel
2nd: Arthur Arutkin
3rd: Julien Boyer
Beach Race – Open Men’s
1st: Didier Leneil (23:30)
2nd: Yoann Cornelis (24:24)
3rd: Greg Closier (24:39)
4th: Arthur Arutkin (24:54)
5th: Eric Terrien (24:59)
Beach Race – Open Women
1st: Olivia Piana (23 minutes 22 seconds)
2nd: Caroline Angibaud (24:18)
3rd: Faustine Merret (28:14)
Beach Race – Juniors
1st: Arthur Daniel (17:33)
2nd: Benoit Carpentier (18:30)
3rd: Arthur Arutkin (18:31)
14′ Distance Race
1st: Eric Terrien
2nd: Thomas Goyard
3rd: Olivier Garet
Downwind Champions
1st: Eric Terrien
2nd: Greg Closier
3rd: Yoann Cornelis
(full results from the Beach Race available over @ GetUpSUP Mag)
Olivia Piana, the 2012 French Beach Race Champion (pic © Olivia Piana)
Eric Terrien’s medal haul: 3x golds (and a 5th place in the Beach Race after copping a few sets on the head coming in…) // pic © Eric Terrien
Yoann Cornelis, runner-up in the Beach Race // pic © Sylvie Beekandt
France’s new Distance Race Champion (in both 12’6″ and 14′, just to make sure of it) Eric Terrien // pic © Loic
French Distance Race Champions, Eric Terrien (1st), Thomas Goyard (2nd), Olivier Garet (3rd) // photo © Loïc Olivier
France has got the biggest and best SUP race scene in Europe, and it’s not all that far behind the powerhouses of California, Hawaii and Australia. If you want to keep up with the French SUP racing scene, a few good sites to check out are SUP France, GetUpSUP Mag and SUP Journal (though you might need this as well).
MORE >>> PHOTOS OF THE FRENCH SUP CHAMPS
