Casper Steinfath & Celine Guesdon secure victory in the long distance race on Day 1 in Finland
Casper Steinfath (Naish) puts on a dominant performance in the Long Distance Race today on Day 1 of the 2015 Sieravuori Masters, Stop #2 of the European Cup. The morning dawned with blue skies and a strengthening side shore wind providing epic conditions for today’s Long Distance race.
The 9.5km course consisted of two 4.75km laps, allowing the athletes to take in the breathtaking scenery, and take advantage of a longer downwind section allowing them to ride bump and surf here in the lakes of Finland.
The Dane had a great start here in the long distance, allowing him to take the lead coming up to the first buoy, and build on it through the 1st upwind leg and through the islands, before turning to the downwind section to capitalize on his lead and get distance between him and second place athlete and 2014 Finland Event Champion, Zane Schweitzer (Starboard).
The two lap course allowed him to further consolidate on his lead, with the only threat being a late charge by the Frenchman Eric Terrien (Bic SUP), something that he held off, and then turned on the gas once again, to earn a convincing win in today’s race.
Make sure to check out the highlights, photos and much more on the World Series Facebook page and www.watermanleague.com
Eric Terrien (Bic SUP) put together a stellar race in today’s long distance, staying with the leading pack through the first two thirds of the race, sitting in 4th or 5th place consistently. However, coming down the downwind stretch, Eric saw his opportunity to make headway on those in front of him by taking an inside line – a completely different direction from the others.
While it could have been deemed a risky decision, it paid off in a big way, as when the pack reconnected, Eric had gained so much distance that he was now lying in 2nd place and had even gained a fair distance on the race leader Casper Steinfath (Naish).
This impressive strategy secured Eric’s well deserved 2nd place, much to the dismay of Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) and Leonard Nika (Starboard), who were unable to catch the Frenchman down the final two legs of the course.
Make sure to watch the highlights, view photos and keep up on the latest from this second stop of the European Cup at www.watermanleague.com and on Facebook
Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) puts on another solid performance here in Finland, looking to reclaim his event title here, but also the European Cup Title he won in 2014. The race started of well for the young Hawaiian, as he maintained a solid 2nd place through much of the course, trading off with team mate and fierce competitor Leonard Nika (Starboard) throughout the back end of the 1st lap and early part of the 2nd.
However, Eric Terrien’s (Bic SUP) strategic move through the second lap forced Zane to have to settle with 3rd place, and the determination to make it back on the 2nd day of competition, the sprint racing, to kick off tomorrow at 12pm Finland time (11am CET).
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Celine Guesdon (Bic SUP) has been training hard this winter, and it shows. After a solid 4th place finish at the World Series and European Cup Opener in Barcelona, she had an impressive start and quickly took the lead, a lead that she was able to maintain throughout the race to take the well deserved win in today’s Long Distance race.
Celine will take an enormous amount of confidence from today’s victory as she looks ahead to tomorrow’s sprint racing, coming off a strong finish in Barcelona in this discipline too.
Make sure to stay tuned for today’s highlights at www.watermanleague.com as well as live updates from tomorrow’s sprint racing on the World Series Facebook
It was certainly not a one horse race today in Finland, as Celine Guesdon (Bic SUP) was not without fierce compeition. In particular the Spanish standout Ane Zulaika Aranburu (Bic SUP) put on another impressive performance here at the Siervavuori Masters, building off her strong finish in Barcelona last weekend (5th) and clearly a star to watch out for here on the Stand Up World Series.
Ane, navigated the course well and will set herself up for tomorrow’s sprints well, hoping to take down the impressive French talent Celine, not to mention the remainder of the women’s fleet to have a chance at the event victory here in Finland.
Make sure to stay tuned for live updates on Facebook and for highlights and much more at www.watermanleague.com
What an amazing first day of racing here in SIeravuori, Finland, as standout performances rose to the top and the race for the European Cup and Title intensifies. Make sure to join us for full recap, highlights & updates from this second stop of the 2015 European Cup at watermanleague.com
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