Madeira Island Sup Challenge 2023: Tomás Lacerda invites you to his home turf

Madeira Island Sup Challenge (MISC), the next stop of the EuroTour is fast approaching and the line-up of elite athletes is heating up. Taking place on 27-28 May, in Madeira, considered as one of the world’s most stunning islands situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, the event is set to bring a compelling mix of SUP racing action, dramatic backdrops and lots of after-race activities for all to enjoy.

Ahead of the Portugal’s premier racing event, TotalSUP caught up with Tomás Lacerda, NSP Team Rider, National SUP Champion, big wave surfer and a born & bred Madeiran, heavily involved in promoting his home turf as the ultimate SUP playground.

Photo Credit: Georgia Schofield / EuroTour

Hi Tomas, welcome to TotalSUP! Let’s dig right into… We’re only a couple of days before Madeira Island Sup Challenge kicks off!

Hi, thank you so much for this opportunity! I’m really excited to compete again in my favourite event of the year. Having a EuroTour event at home is something very special and highly motivating for me!

Photo Credit: Georgia Schofield / EuroTour

Could you tell us more about your watersport background and your transition from big wave surf to SUP racing?

Being in the ocean is essential for me. I started surfing when I was 6 years old because my dad was part of the first Portuguese surf generation. Since I was a kid, I have competed a lot in the nationals and European pro-juniors events. Big wave surfing started when one of the best big wave surfers in Portugal, Lourenço Katzenstein, met Francisco Roque Pinho, who invited me to join their own big wave team, Team Red Herrings.

Since then, I’ve been working a lot with Lourenço, Francisco Roque Pinho and Haroldo Ambrosio in Nazaré, Praia do Norte. At the moment I’m more focused on SUP racing because it’s Summer and we don’t have big forecasts, but the moment Winter arrives my focus completely changes and it’s all about surfing. When I don’t have big waves, I paddle and try to do some other watersports too.

Photo Credit: Alex Lang / EuroTour

What’s your favourite racing format and what’s your board set up for the event?

For sure, Madeira SUP Challenge is one of the most important events of the year for me! Competing at the place where I started paddling and having the support of my family and friends is something very special. Personally, sprints and beach races with waves are my favourite. For the Madeira SUP challenge, we can expect some ocean conditions, wind, bumps and a bit of backwash so I decided to use the NSP Puma 14 x 22’ and the Ninja 14 x 20’ if the conditions are a bit calmer than I expect.

Madeira Island Sup Challenge (MISC) since 2017 has been setting the pace for the international SUP racing scene and its competitive marathon format is its unique signature. What are the key drivers attracting world-class athletes and SUP enthusiasts alike?

Yes, definitely MISC has been pushing the event scale here in Portugal a lot! Personally, this is one of the biggest and best-organized events we have. The organization, the board transport, the warm welcome from the locals and for sure the beautiful course are some of the key features of travelling to the event but Madeira Island has many other things to offer and that attracts a lot of paddlers. It looks like Hawaii with beautiful mountains, crystal warm water and incredible weather. These are all the conditions that a paddler wants!

What can participants expect in terms of weather conditions and the race course?

For me it’s one of the most beautiful courses of the season! In the past two years we had quite calm conditions, but we can all expect some ocean conditions with wind, bumps and definitely some backwash!

Photo credit: Madeira Island Sup Challenge

Madeira Island Sup Challenge (MISC) is also an EUROTOUR GRAND SLAM EVENT – what does that mean for the participants and as an added value to the event?

Being a 4th Grand Slam even  definitely gives a value boost. The event also has a 4500€ prize pot for the top 5 riders (men and women).

Photo credit: Madeira Island Sup Challenge

Could you tell us more about the social aspect of the event? What participants can expect outside of the competitive side?

Madeira Island SUP Challenge will also have some activities and fun races on the day after the race. There will be a Team Race Sprint. It means that all the Teams will have 1 or 2 top riders and all the rest will be kids. We will also have a SUP Clinic with Leonard Nika. If you are not interested in stand-up paddleboarding you can book one of the many other activities that Madeira has to offer: mountain biking, coasting, boat trips, scuba diving and more.

Do you know who’ll be in the line-up with you?

This year we will have more international riders with names on the start such as Duna Gordillo, Christian Andersen “Polar Bear”; Leonard Nika; Ollie Houghton; Clement Colmas and Anna Tschirky.

Thank you for your time Tomás. Good luck with the event and the rest of the season!

Photo Credit: Georgia Schofield / EuroTour

To find out more about Madeira Island Sup Challenge and REGISTER, visit www.madeirasupchallenge.pt

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To find out more about NSP, visit nspsurfboards.com and follow the brand on Instagram and Facebook

Follow Tomás Lacerda on Instagram

*Images courtesy of Tomás Lacerda and Madeira Island Sup Challenge