Connor Baxter Dominating Paddle Titles in Europe

All Photography by Michel Terrien

EUROPE - The six week European Sup Racing Tour is well under way and Connor Baxter is on fire!

Last week the first of numerous races began in what is being called the "European SUP Racing Tour".  The first races took place on May 25th and 26th in Maxime, France and were followed by races this weekend, May 29th - June 1st in Brombachsee, Germany. 

During the first day of the competition in France at the SUP Race Cup (May 25th) Connor Baxter started off strong and just beat out another incredible paddler, Travis Grant, to the finish line. This was a 7 kilometer race and Connor stated, "On the finally lap we were still neck and neck, until the last buoy. Going into this buoy turn I knew it was going to have to be the best turn ever if I wanted to win this. So bam, I whipped my board around and put my head down until I saw sand and jumped off my board and ran up in first. I was super stoked to beat such a fast paddler, but I knew the next day was going to be a grind with the long distance race."

Just as Connor thought, the second day of competition, did turn into a really grueling race. The eilte paddlers covered an 18 kilometer course where Connor once again battled and left nothing on the water.  This time, however, he took 2nd to Travis Grant!

The third race in the tour happened on Thursday of this week and Connor regained the number one spot. This time the event was a unique 200 meter sprint against the clock and Connor was named the "Fastest Paddler on Earth" with a time of 53.17 seconds.  The next fastest man was Eric Terrien who paddled it in 55.94 seconds.

The most recent race Connor paddled was the Jamie Mitchell Survivor Race, which just took place a day ago.  It should be no surprise that once again Connor won and Travis Grant took second.  Very soon we should also know if Connor won the Saturday main event, the Lost Mills International SUP Race. Anyone want to start placing bets?

Keep an eye on Connor as he continues on in the tour. Week three will take the paddlers to Oleron Island, France, on June 8th and 9th.  There will be some races in week 4 but the the big competition heats up again in Bilbao, Spain on the 21st and 23rd.  Week six will conclude the marathon of events with Marseille, France as the target destination for the final paddle wars to take place. 

A huge congratulations to Connor and all the incredible paddling so far this summer!

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