Last weekend’s Carolina Cup Elite Graveyard SUP race threatened to live up to its name. The 13-mile burner was bedeviled by fierce currents, howling wind and ripping bumps.
The conditions brought out the best in Team Hobie and the rest of the field. Team rider April Zilg finished a personal best fourth place.
“I had a perfect start to my race, and for the first hour and a half everything was going exactly how I had planned it. Overall I’m happy with a top five finish, but the conditions and some unforeseen circumstances made the last hour of my race one of the most challenging of my life,” she said.
April wasn’t satisfied. “I fell short of my goals again this year. I was unable to keep my pace where I wanted it due to cramping and having to constantly stop and stretch. The last hour where I had planned to push harder, I ended up just hoping to finish,” she said.
Teammate Lexi Alston cruised into the finish line in tenth place.
On the men’s side, Hobie team riders Martin Letourneur, Bullet Obra and Jorge Quintana finished 11th, 17th and 36th respectively.
Letourneur, who’d set his sights on finishing in the top 15, was happy with his race. “The conditions were fun with two downwind legs at the start and the finish, and one super long flatwater / upwind / upcurrent leg in the middle. My strategy was to go the fastest possible on the first ocean leg to be paddling in a fast group for the entire flatwater part, and then break away on the last ocean leg until the finish line,” he said.
He stuck to his plan. It worked well except for one disappointment. “I got a very bad arm cramp two miles before the end which cost me some precious seconds to recover from, and probably cost me a chance to end up in the top10. Anyway I’m still really stoked about my 11th place, I felt strong during the whole race and my new raceboard (Hobie Raw 14’ x 23.5) was super fast and comfortable all along the 13 miles. I’m now super excited about heading back home in France for a few weeks of rest and training before the start of my Euro Tour campaign!” he said.
