Fiona Wylde wins SUP Euro Tour

This year, I went into the Euro Tour eager to do my best, but also to enjoy every aspect of the competition. There were new locations and everybody on the Euro Tour was so much fun to travel with. I remember waking up the morning of the first race, Azur Paddle Days in Ville Franche, France, feeling nervous. No matter how much I race, the butterflies are there. I went out that day and won the first Euro Tour Race of the season. It took me by surprise, but I was so happy to start my season off that way. It showed me that my training was good enough to put me in a position to win and got my head in the game.

The following race was the Vendee Gliss event on the Atlantic side of France. This race was a downwinder and the wind gods were in our favor — 20 knots and brilliant sunshine greeted us on race morning. All the athletes piled into inflatable James Bond-style ribs and drove 20km out to sea where the race started, so we could get the best downwind line back into the beach. If anybody knows me, then you could probably guess that this is practically my dream race. Big bumps, lots of wind and boats: What could be much better? I was absolutely loving it. I won Vendee and thought, “Okay, this is a little nut, what’s next?” Out of two Euro Tour races, I had two wins.

From there, I skipped a week of racing on the Euro Tour to race in London on the Association of Paddlesurf Professionals tour. I had a solid distance race where I came in third, but I slipped up in the sprints and came up fifth, so I finished the race fifth overall. I wasn’t too stoked about that and was ready for a little break to return home. I had been on the road since the first week of April competing in both races and surf events in South America before heading to Europe.

Three weeks turned into two and flew by. My original plan was to race in Azur Paddle Days, Vendee, come home, then race in two events in Greece. However, with two wins, I was in a position to be on top of the rankings and for that, I needed five events, not the four I had planned. So, I flew back to Spain and raced in Bilbao.

At the Bilbao SUP Challenge, I had troubles getting my blood sugar high enough. I was going low most of the race and did my best to hang in there. The front pack were competing for first through third and I was in a pack sprinting for fourth. I was able to get fourth by just two seconds, but that race hurt mentally. I am normally so good with managing my Type 1 Diabetes on race days, but that day it got the best of me and it affected my overall result. There were moments when my vision was really blurry and it was difficult to see where I was going; forget about focusing, that went out the window.

The events are categorized by stars, with four stars being the smaller events and six stars being the biggest, most competitive events. A win at a four-star event would be about equal to a fourth at a six-star event. So, now I had a first place finish at a four-star event, a first place finish at a five-star event and a fourth place finish at a six-star event.

I had three results with two more races in Greece to go. Greece felt like a surf trip; I went into the first event with no real plans, no travel partners and just wanting to see where I’d go and where I’d end up. I wanted a little adventure. Talking with Caterina Stetna, Chris Parker and Trevor Tunnington on Friday before Bilbao, they also didn’t have any plans for Greece yet but wanted to go. We decided to travel together and booked tickets to leave on Sunday. That’s how our trip started and that’s how it continued to be. We stayed in a gorgeous apartment in Corfu overlooking picturesque teal water with grapevines hanging around our balcony and drove scooters through the countryside. I had also been studying during the whole spring as I’m taking college courses through Oregon State University online and at the beginning of the week I took all of my finals exams so it really felt like a true vacation.

We had heard that it was supposed to be windy at the races in Greece, so everybody sent their downwind and all-water boards without even looking at a wind forecast — big mistake. It was about the glassiest race I have ever paddled in and there wasn’t a breath of wind. Luckily my Allstar still goes well in really flat conditions. I got a gap off of the start and was able to hold it for the remainder of the race. I knew that if I let up any amount other competitors would catch me. The race was about an hour and forty minutes long in 38 degrees Celsius during the middle of the day. I looked like a giant tomato when I crossed the finish line but I had a grin ear to ear — that was my third Euro Tour win.

We spent the following week in Agios Nikolaos on Crete. That was amazing. Yet again, we had a gorgeous place right near the sea and we spent our days running, paddling or hanging out in the sea. This race was really cool. It was a 16km point-to-point race that started in the corner of a bay, entered the bay, then funneled us through a canal into a bigger bay, then rounded a headland and zig-zagged down the coast to finish in the heart of Agios Nikolaos. It was a long-distance race with downwind at the beginning, a massive upwind and side wind section and then a little more downwind to the finish.

I was excited for this race, really hoping that there was going to be a good downwind section. The only problem with there being a good downwind section means that there is an equally hard upwind/sidewind section that follows. The night before the race, rumor had it that Sonni Hönscheid was coming. We are really good friends and teammates and have travelled together for many events, so I was happy that she was making a big effort to come to this race and enjoy Greece. However, long-distance difficult races are her forte.

We started the race late in the afternoon so the wind built. I got an early lead as soon as we hit the bumps, but the ‘downwind’ was really a side wind and you’d have to catch the bumps at an angle and surf the throughs quartering the wind. I was still in the lead going into the upwind section but Sonni and another competitor were closing in quickly. If I made it to the next downwind section before they caught me, I knew I would be set, but that was four kilometers away. I dug so hard in that upwind leg and I held my gap and finished the race with about a minute lead. This race was the most exciting and most satisfying Euro Tour win I had this year, because it was the most challenging, not just physically, but mentally as well. Now I had four Euro Tour wins and a fourth place finish and I was leading the Euro Tour.

After an amazing summer at home, I was about to head out to New York to compete in the APP World Tour SUP Surfing and Racing. My focus was on that, but I had an intense two weeks ahead of me. There was one last Euro Tour event of the season: The finals. The finals were in Germany on Sept. 7 and the APP races concluded in New York on Sept. 6. Originally, I didn’t think it was possible to make both, but then looking into flights, I had just enough time to race on Saturday, go straight to the airport, fly and land in time to race in Germany on Sunday. As the standings were, I was in first but second was only five points behind. If she got a third in Germany, I would win regardless if I was there or not, but anything better would have her as the Euro Tour Champ.

I finished ninth in the SUP Surf and third overall in the races at the APP. It wasn’t my best result ever, but I learned so much, both from my mistakes and fellow competitors.

Micheal Booth and Arthur Arutkin were in similar situation points wise on the Euro Tour and were also flying from New York to Germany. We wrapped up the awards in New York, drove straight to the airport and made it in time for our flights. We arrived in Germany about three and a half hours before the race started. I didn’t have time to worry about the race or get nervous. It was going to be what it was, I was either going to have a great race or feel extremely tired.

It was a five-lap course race and every lap somebody else was leading. The lead constantly changed between me, Susak, Sonni and Olivia, but heading into the last lap I was sitting in second. Sonni was right in front of me and Olivia behind. Halfway through the lap, with three buoy turns to go, Sonni went wide on a turn and Olivia was behind me. I saw this golden opening and started sprinting as hard as I could. I came out of the turn with a 10-meter gap. I knew that I couldn’t let up otherwise both of them would be on me in a second. I rounded the next buoy still in the lead, two buoys to go. I rounded the last one and push as hard as I could all the way to the beach. I ripped off my leash and sprinted across the finish line, 3 seconds ahead of Sonni in second and Olivia in third. I had just won my fifth Euro Tour win and the overall Euro Tour! I was shocked, amazed, and more-over, happy.

I had no idea how I would do coming into this last race, let alone the entire season, but I love racing and as a competitor, I always want to do my best. This year, I pushed myself harder than I’ve ever gone before and tested my limits. I don’t think I’ve found my breaking point, but I have found that when you put your mind to something, there is nothing that you can’t do. Winning the Euro Tour with five first place results is a complete dream.

Thank you to everybody who has helped me through this process, on and off the water, and to my close friends family for the constant support.