Donato Freens and Back-to-Back Champion Alba Alonso Frey Claim 2026 European SUP League Titles

The European SUP League concluded its 2026 season in Sesimbra, Portugal, for the second year in a row, with a spectacular final event that decided the circuit titles. After six stops across five European countries, the Giant from the Netherlands, Donato Freens, sponsored by Infinity and Black Project, conquered the 2026 European SUP League title, while  Starboard Dream Team racer Alba Alonso Frey made history once again. The very first ESL champion in 2025, Alba successfully defended her crown in Sesimbra to become the first two-time European SUP League champion.

Both arrived in Sesimbra as the leaders of the European SUP League standings, but neither title was guaranteed. In the men’s division especially, the championship came down to a single final showdown: one race, one last chance, and everything on the line in the Technical Race.

Held at Praia do Ouro from 11 to 13 September, the Sesimbra SUP Festival brought together nearly 200 participants and once again transformed the Portuguese town into the backdrop for a tense and intense finale to the European SUP League season.

Organised by Surf Clube de Sesimbra together with the European SUP League and the European Surfing Federation, the event welcomed athletes from across Europe and served up the full European SUP League menu of Sprint, Long Distance and Technical Race, with all three disciplines packed into one action-filled weekend.

TotalSUP was there once again as the official media partner of the event, filming all the races, which can be watched again on Facebook and Instagram.

Aarón Sánchez and Alba Alonso Frey open the final event with Sprint victories

The Sprint races opened the weekend with the fast and unforgiving format that has become a hallmark of the European SUP League, with only one paddler advancing from each heat and round into the next main round in the men’s field, while two advanced in the women’s category due to the smaller number of entries, leaving virtually no room for error.

In the men’s final, Aarón Sánchez produced one of the most spectacular comebacks of the weekend to take victory ahead of Sergio Cantoral Quirant, with League leader Donato Freens completing the podium.

Sánchez appeared to be out of contention late in the race. He rounded the 100-metre buoy in second place behind Cantoral and was still third with around 100 metres remaining. But the 2025 Technical Race Sprint World Champion found another gear, powering back into the fight and eventually outsprinting both Freens and Cantoral down the central axis. Sánchez hit the beach around five metres ahead of his two rivals to claim his first victory of the weekend.

The result was particularly significant for the overall standings. After underperforming at the previous stop in Isla Cristina, Donato Freens had missed the opportunity to further strengthen his position at the top of the ESL rankings and put the title further out of reach of his rivals. Sánchez, meanwhile, had arrived in Sesimbra with a realistic path to the championship after finishing second in the previous week’s Sprint before being relegated to fourth by the jury following a penalty.

In the women’s category, Alba Alonso Frey once again demonstrated her strength over the short distance, taking victory ahead of 17-year-old Nuria Chiquero García, with Esperanza Barreras in third. The 2024 ISA Sprint World Champion managed to keep the young Alicante phenomenon behind her, while Chiquero added another impressive international podium to her rapidly growing résumé.

It was also good to see Barreras back on the podium after a disappointing result at her previous European SUP League appearance in Zurich.

Aarón Sánchez Does It Again as Duna Gordillo Takes Long Distance Win

The Long Distance race took place over a demanding 3.3 km course repeated three times, for a total of around 10 km—significantly longer than last year’s 7 km race.

In the men’s race, a group of 13 paddlers remained together deep into the race, with the field only breaking apart around the 8th kilometre at the far-end buoy. The final kilometres became a battle between Aarón Sánchez, Lluís Perotti, Donato Freens and Antonio Morillo, with Sánchez ultimately securing his second victory of the weekend.

A discreet but increasingly prominent presence on the European scene, Mallorca’s Lluís Perotti crossed the line in second, while Donato Freens took third.

The women’s race developed into a battle between three Spanish powerhouses and World Champions: Duna Gordillo Rodríguez, Alba Alonso Frey and Esperanza Barreras.The trio stayed at the front throughout the race, progressively distancing the rest of the field. Youngsters Nuria Chiquero and Bianca Toncelli were among those challenging them early, but the gap grew with each lap.

It all came down to the final buoy, positioned just 50 metres from the finish. Gordillo and Alonso Frey arrived virtually together, with Barreras just behind. Gordillo ultimately took the victory, Alba finished second and Espe completed the podium.

Donato Freens wins the race that mattered most

The Technical Race provided the dramatic climax the men’s championship had been building towards.

Coming into the weekend, Donato Freens was the overall leader, but his underperformance at Isla Cristina the previous week had prevented him from wrapping up the title early.

Behind him, Aarón Sánchez was the clear threat. The Starboard paddler had finished second in the Sprint at Isla Cristina before being relegated to fourth following a jury penalty, but he had then won the Technical Race. In Sesimbra, he immediately put himself back into the title fight by winning both the Sprint and Long Distance.

The equation was brutally simple: if Sánchez could win the final Technical Race and Freens failed to deliver, the title could change hands. Sergio Cantoral, meanwhile, was also mathematically in contention, although with a considerably smaller statistical chance of taking the overall crown.

So everything came down to one final race. And in the perfect ending for the championship, Donato Freens won it.

The Dutchman delivered when it mattered most, taking the Technical Race victory ahead of Lluís Perotti and Antonio Morillo. After narrowly surviving the pressure of a season-long title battle, Freens finished the final race with the strongest possible statement: the overall leader won the race that would decide the championship.

Donato Freens and Alba Alonso Frey crowned 2026 ESL champions

Following the final calculation of the season’s results, in the women’s standings, Alba Alonso Frey claimed the title with 3,328 points, completing a season defined by consistency and numerous victories.

Behind her, the next generation of Spanish SUP continued to make its mark. U18 paddler Nuria Chiquero García finished second overall with 2,574 points, while Bianca Toncelli from Fuerteventura like Alba, took third with 2,289 points.

It is worth noting that neither of the two young overall podium finishers is officially sponsored by a brand, making their results all the more remarkable as they establish themselves on the international scene.

In the men’s Donato Freens was crowned the 2026 European SUP League men’s champion with 3,007 points.

Aarón Sánchez Quetglas, who won two of the three races in Sesimbra, secured the runner-up position with 2,881 points, while Sergio Cantoral Quirant completed the podium with 2,693 points.

The men’s title therefore came down to the final race exactly as the championship had promised—and Freens delivered when the pressure was at its highest.

Sesimbra provides the perfect conclusion to a season of growth

With its sheltered waters, close connection to the ocean and spectators positioned close to the racing, Sesimbra once again provided an outstanding setting in which to decide the season titles.

The support of the Portuguese institutions, Surf Clube de Sesimbra, the organising team, judges, volunteers, sponsors and collaborating organisations was fundamental to the successful delivery of the event and to welcoming athletes and their teams throughout the weekend.

The Sesimbra SUP Festival concluded a six-stop season in which the European SUP League visited Santa Pola, Taranto, Zurich, Rybnik, Isla Cristina and Sesimbra, consolidating a shared structure for athletes, clubs, federations and event organisers.

After two seasons, the European SUP League is establishing itself as an increasingly important platform for European SUP Racing. The 2026 finale demonstrated exactly what a circuit championship should deliver: a season-long battle, titles decided on the water, and a final race in which the leaders had to prove themselves under pressure.

In Sesimbra, both champions did just that. Donato Freens won the race that decided the men’s title. Alba Alonso Frey won the race that closed hers.

To find out more about European SUP League (ESL), visit europeansupleague.com

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Follow Surf Clube de Sesimbra on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube

Follow Bianca Toncelli on Instagram

*Images courtesy of European SUP  League (ESL)