05/04/2012 (FR) Eric Terrien and Olivia Piana win long distance race @ La Torche

Yesterday the long distance race of the Stand Up World series in La Torche took place. Athletes from 16 countries were competing in a 20km race down the river, a beautiful course from Quimper to Ste Marine. Here are some (unconfirmed) first results….

Eric Terrien won the race, once more proving he is in excellent form. He was strategically biding his time through the first 2/3 of the race, then turned up the pace and took the lead, beating Kai Lenny.

Strategically drafting from the start in Quimper, Gaeten Sene (Starboard) navigated his way down the course to finish just meters behind fellow Frenchman Eric Terrien. The two Frenchman found their window to break away from the pack, reading the currents to their advantage, building on experience from last year,  to finish the 20km course in record time.

It would appear that fellow Frenchman Creg Closier was disqualified due to missing a bouy.

Casper Steinfath (Naish) from Denmark (3rd in the 220km Eleven City tour 2011, also on rivers) did his country proud in the long distance,  he was able to take advantage of the everchanging currents in the River and finished 3rd.

Kai Lenny (Naish) accelerated off the start in Quimper to take the lead for much of the race, followed by a close pack of elite athletes consisting of Eric Terrien, Gaeten Sene (Starboard) and Casper Steinfath (Naish), all battling for position and advantage through the bends and curves of the river. On finishing, Kai compared the reading of the river’s currents to the Ocean, but explained the difficulty and importance of reading them right, as one wrong move can set you back quickly, as he discovered slipping back into 4th in the last section of the race.

Here the first unconfirmed results, congratlations to all winners and we are looking forward to today’s beach race!

• 1) Eric Terrien (France, BIC)
• 2) Gaetan Sene (France, Starboard)