La Misteriosa SUP Race: No Excuse Not To Go!

1 Mar 2019

SUP Race

Tagged: Spain, Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, La Misteriora SUP Race

30th March 2019 will see the 2nd edition of La Misteriosa SUP Race on the volcanic island of Gran Canaria. The race is designed to open the race season for elite athletes in the gentle climate of Gran Canaria, whilst finishing off the winter season training with a competitive race before returning to mainland Europe. The organisers have taken advantage of last year’s success and have seen it be included in the 2019 Euro Tour as a regional race, a European SUP circuit that includes a sizeable prize purse. Organiser and SUP addict Stano Hubacek from La Misteriosa SUP club introduces the race to TotalSUP.

Hi Stano, can you introduce yourself and La Misteriosa SUP Club?

I am president of La Misteriosa Club. I was born in the Czech Republic but I have lived in the Canary Islands for over 20 years. My SUP journey started from a beach boy, to wakeboarding, then tokitesurfing and then eventually I discovered SUP.

I essentially started with SUP as an alternative sport when there was no wind, I then later created the SUP school. Flash forward 3 years and I founded La Misteriosa SUP Club. The club is a group of crazy SUP enthusiasts who all share the same passion for the sport. I found that there was a real need to establish a regular training schedule for SUPrs in the area. Since then we have won two Canarian championships within the club. Last year we decided we wanted to share the love for the place where we train, so the idea of La Misteriosa SUP Race was born.

Can you present Gran Canaria and the paddle conditions?

The event is located in the Gran Canaria in the south part of the island, it is about 40 minutes from the international airport. The conditions in Gran Canaria are perfect for all year round SUP training. Gran Canaria has a stable temperature of 25 degrees centigrade all year round. The water temperature is a constant 20 degrees centigrade. In the morning the sea conditions tend to be almost flat and there is often no wind, but in the afternoon there is often a slight breeze.

Can you introduce the race?

This location is ideal for SUP racing because within an a short distance we have a choice of many downwind runs, ranging from 10 KM to 30 KM. We are offering the storage for the boards to all the competitors for two weeks before the race free of charge. Also upon request we can plan some epic downwind runs or training session to get familiar with the area or train for the main Europe season!

In the elite category the Misteriosa SUP race will be a distance of 16 KM, paddlers will do 4 circuits of 4 KM, paddling past the beautiful coast of the Mogan municipality. The race start will be at Marañuelas beach, Arguieneguin, it will then go along the coast to to Barranco de la Verga and return back. The amateur category will be doing the same route, but only 8 KM. The leisure paddler category will cover 3 KM. Also the conditions for our race are perfectly suitable for inflatable boards there is no excuse not to come!

This year the race will be a stop of the EuroTour. We have a prize purse for the race at an incredible 3700€! This will be split equally between both male and female athletes, exactly the same as we did last year. In SUP we are strong believers in gender equality and this should be supported. In our opinion women paddle just as hard as the men, furthermore the preparation and equipment costs within the elite category are exactly the same so women deserve the same award. This ethos will hopefully motivate more women to compete professionally, and thus serve as an example to other women who want to follow their dreams.

We have been thinking how to make the after party really special! We decided that we should “go big or go home”. So our after party will be in the famous Carnival that will be celebrated in Arguineguin, coincidentally hosted on the evening of the event. The carnival theme is Africa, so take your board, paddle do the race and in the evening put your fancy costume on and go party!!

How do we get to Gran Canaria from mainland Europe?

All the European countries have a couple of flights a week directly to Gran Canaria. It has great connections with almost all the European international airports. the cost is quite reasonable, especially during the spring season. The accommodation and rental car cost is very affordable as the local VAT for all services is just 7%!

If you are looking for somewhere to stay the best places are in Arguineguin, Patalavaca, Puerto Rico, Maspaloma or Playa del Ingles. All these places are max 15 minutes drive from the event. We will have reserved parking spaces for the competitors during the event so the site is easily accessible for riders! Before and after the event the athletes can really relax. Gran Canaria is an amazing place for cycling, hiking and all kind of water sports. That is why they call Gran Canaria a small continent. You can literally go from the sea level to 2000 meters above the sea in 2 hours!

Any last words?

We would not be able to organise the event without our club members, but also without the support of our partners. We would like to thank to Mogan Council, Mapfre, Cardenas Real Estate, Ferreteria Tomas, Gloria Thalasso Hotels and our friends from In Your Face designs. We have received great support from our local council, the Mogan Municipality. This support really helped us with the first edition of the La Misteriosa race last March.