En Belgique, le printemps a commencé le 30 avril, lors de la première manche du Belgian SUP Tour : le Paddle of the Kempen. Cette compétition, co-organisée par Kempen SUP, le plus gros club de paddle belge, donne le coup d’envoi pour une saison de paddle bien chargée : 12 compétitions aux formats variés, allant de la Longue Distance classique à l’Ultra Longue Distance en passant par des Championnats de Belgique Sprint et Technical Race.
Une centaine de compétiteurs étaient dans les starting blocks. Certains participants des Pays-Bas, de France et d’Allemagne, sont venus rejoindre notre élite belge pour se jauger en ce début de saison.
3 parcours étaient proposés :
– 12,4km pour les élites
– 8km pour les amateurs
et
– un parcours adapté aux kids, de plus en plus nombreux !
Chez les élites, notre compétiteur australo-belge Kaelan Lockhart a pu éviter un podium entièrement batave avec :
1) Joep van Bakel (Champion des Pays Bas)
2) Kaelan Lockhart (Belgique)
3) Ricardo Haverschmidt (Pays Bas)
Kjell De Bruyn, le Champion de Belgique en titre, blessé, s’est vu réduit au rôle de spectateur.
Chez les femmes, en l’absence d’Ella Oesterholt, le podium était ouvert:
1) Annelies Loots
2) Deborah Wouters
3) Lesly Adriaensen
Les amateurs et les kids aussi, sont venus nombreux et tous ont apprécié les nouvelles formules adaptées à ces compétiteurs en devenir !
The Lake Rocks Festival makes a powerful return to Faaker See in Carinthia, Austria on 29 May – 1 June! As a key stop on the prestigious SUP Alps Trophy racing series and part of the ICF World Ranking Series, this event has quickly become a must-attend for the global SUP community. With the world’s […]
In recent years, the Belgian SUP Tour (BST) has become a key player in the European stand-up paddleboarding scene, offering a dynamic mix of events that cater to elite athletes, amateurs, and young paddlers alike. For its founder, Vincent Claeskens, 2024 marked a year of transition and growth, with a streamlined calendar, expanded inclusivity, and […]
Peter Weidert’s, German & ICF World SUP Champion and Light Board Corp Team Rider, unprecedented achievement of three gold medals in the Masters 50+ category at the 2024 ICF Worlds has captured widespread attention. This ties into a recurring debate on social media about SUP inclusivity and the greater recognition of this age group. It […]
When grassroots rider passion sparks a thriving SUP community, backed by watersport organisations with a shared vision for growth, good things can happen. As we approach the annual charity-driven, SUP4Life event (12km canal race) and the Belgian SUP racing season finale, held on 15 December in Ghent, TotalSUP sat down with Vincent Claeskens, Founder and […]
Dirk de Beuf‘s SUP comeback might be one of the most compelling stories of our sport, shining a spotlight on the unsung Champion. How can you do justice to the story of an athlete who endured a heart attack while competing in one of the most iconic SUP races on the planet, only to make […]
The next-to-last race of the 2024 Belgian SUP Tour (BST) took place recently at the Brugges Classic in Bruges, hosting the Belgian Open Long Distance SUP Championships. Originally scheduled a month earlier, the event was postponed due to the presence of blue algae, but athletes arrived in peak form, four of them fresh from competing […]
Loranne Vlemincx, a 14-year-old rising star from Mol, Belgium, is quickly becoming a name to watch on the international SUP scene. With a knack for long-distance racing she’s already proven her versatility bagging three gold medals (Tech, Sprint & LD) in the Open Class Junior Girls at the SUPNL’s NK SUP Tour 2024 in the […]
Fresh off the success of the 8th Bohinj SUP Challenge in Slovenia – which saw a record number of international participants and young talents and the respective victories of local champion Maja Dolžan and Dutch powerhouse Joep Van Bakel – Damjan Mozina, founder of SUP Klub, shares insights into the event’s highlights, results and challenges. […]
The beach in Kołobrzeg transformed into one of the hottest SUP hubs of the season as it hosted the 7th edition of the Planet Baltic SUP Race, Poland’s longest-running ocean race. The event has firmly established itself as a key stop on the international SUP racing circuit, welcoming over 80 athletes from 11 countries this […]