Sam Ross in the mix – 11 Cities tour

SUP instructor trainer, top coach and top UK racer Sam Ross is currently knocking on the door of the top 10 in the grueling 11 cities tour in Holland, in which he has chosen to
compete on his Red Paddle Co 14’0” Elite race board.

With the ability to jump on the plane with his board without any excess baggage charges meant that it was the obvious choice for Sam while others battled there way via ferries and motorways with their 14’0” hard boards.

Here is Sam’s Day 1 account which appears to have been challenging due to hydration issues but some very promising signs for the rest of the race:

“Day 1: Got a good start and was well up there in the top ten, I then realised that my hydration pack wasn’t working properly so I couldn’t get any water on board for the first 26 km. I dropped off a train trying to sort it out and then had to paddle 10 km on my own when the next group caught my up at the lunch stop.

At this point I was in a pretty bad way, struggling to talk, see, keep anything down however I did manage to drink some water. After a bit of a man up chat from Ryan James I got myself together and after lunch was able to work with Marie Buchanan for the second half of the day but was still not able to drink anything!

We managed to close right in on the group ahead and almost caught the guys in front of us with Marie only a few board lengths behind me at the end.

I think I am currently sitting around 12th in the solo competition with a couple of the guys in front of me beatable if I can get my hydration sorted as they are under a minute ahead of me. I am first inflatable but everyone thinks I am nuts, line of the day was “this guys on a pretend board!” however I think my performance so far is testament itself!”

You can follow everyones progress live via the 11 City Tour website: sup11citytour.com and watch out for updates from Sam on Red Paddle Co Facebook page.