I raced on an Sup for the first time during a PWA in Sylt when there was no wind for windsurfing and the PWA organized some fun races with the SUP. I felt I liked it a lot, and I started doing it a bit more everytime there was no wind.
Then I partecipated thanks to RRD to a race in Italy in Lignano and I got to know a bit better the SUP world and ahtletes, in particular my RRD team mates Susak Molinero and Paolo Marconi.
Cause I like to compete and to train while being in the water, I decided to try more competitions, thanks to RRD international who decided to push me a bit in the Sup. This year I’ve joined the RRD Sup team and I started competing in the Eurotour, the international European Sup tour.
Last week I was in Crete, at the first Eurotour competition and saw myself competing for the first time with international athletes in a long 16km race.
The race was insane for me, wind was blowing up to 25 knots and there was a long part with side wind where I was struggling trying to control my 14′ board.
The wind and waves were pushing me downwind and it was so hard to keep paddling in a straight direction, I lost many meters from the first buoy and missed my third position. When I finally managed to turn that buoy, the hardest part was still to come: 5 hard  km upwind, my camelback was in the wrong position, as always, so I couldn’t drink, and sometimes I was feeling I was paddling backwards! It was hard, in some moments I was thinking why wasn’t I windsurfing instead of suffering on a race board, but at the same time I liked to feel the force of the ocean, and to keep paddling till the end.
I ended the race on 4th position, after Penelope Strickland, Susak Molinero and Susanne Lier.
You can see all the results here.
The race was hard, I really hated it during the sidewind part, but it gave me pleasure and andrenaline as well. I like to compete, and I think I will do other races and keep competing in SUP race. I like the competive part, but I like the adventures much more, the new friends, the stories behind each athlete and the friends I am making in the Sup competitions, specially Susak Molinero, Paolo Marconi and all the italians on tour and Susanne Lier, with whom I’ve trained in Fuerteventura.

After the race I stayed in Chania, training and giving a clinic at Chania surf club together with Paolo, Susak and Martino Rogai.
Now I am back in Barcelona, I will train as much as I can, combining the trainings with my job, before heading to the third event of the Eurotour, so stay tuned!
Thanks to RRD and see you all soon in the water!

With Susak Molinero

Women podium

Men and women podium
Photos: Gwen Marche/Eurotour