GoPro Mountain Games SUP Races In Vail, Colorado

VAIL, Colorado - The 2014 Go Pro Mountain Games was a huge success this past weekend, once again hosting the biggest and best outdoor living festival in the USA. Supconnect's community assistant, Alex Mauer, was at the event all weekend, competing and recording videos for everyone who couldn't be there. This includes video footage from the SUP Cross event, SUP sprints and athlete interviews with Dan Gavere, Kai Lenny, Gillian Gibree, Mike Tavares, Nikki Gregg and more. Keep reading to see Alex's round-up, plus all the videos and SUP results. 

Slater Trout Interview

Mike T. Interview

Official GoPro Mountain Games, SUP Events Results

Class : SUP - Surf Sprint Female

1. 614 Gillian GIBREE 29 san diego, CA 19:49.92 
2. 606 Natali ZOLLINGER 30 Moab, UT 19:53.20 3.28 
3. 617 Jenny MACARTHUR 50 Snowmass Village, CO 20:18.65 28.73 
4. 623 Haley MILLS 28 Elizabethtown, KY 20:24.34 34.42 
5. 631 Gentian NUZZO 35 Avon, CO 20:55.43 1:05.51 
6. 645 Nikki GREGG 39 Hood River, OR 20:56.85 1:06.93 
7. 622 Brittany PARKER 24 Rifle, CO 21:07.09 1:17.17 
8. 638 Katie CRITES 33 Denver, CO 21:13.41 1:23.49 
9. 634 Yodi BORG 42 Edwards, CO 21:13.66 1:23.74 
10. 647 Ashley BEAN 29 Frisco, CO 21:18.08 1:28.16 
11. 646 Emily ST RUTH 36 Gypsum, CO 21:56.54 2:06.62 
12. 642 Kalee BARRANTES 31 Vail, CO 22:16.40 2:26.48 
13. 632 Nadia KALISZEWSKI 34 Laramie, WY 22:29.44 2:39.52 
14. 627 Sabrina DERMODY 21 Highlands Ranch, CO 23:17.15 3:27.23 
15. 648 Lindsay GONZALEZ 30 Golden, CO 23:22.63 3:32.71  

Dan Gavere Interview

Class : SUP - Surf Sprint Male

1. 619 Kai LENNY 21 paia, HI 18:24.83 
2. 602 Michael TAVARES 31 Apex, NC 18:25.16 0.33 
3. 608 Masayuki TAKAHATA 40 Fujisawa Kanagawa, JPN 18:27.94 3.11 
4. 618 Slater TROUT 19 Manhattan, CA 18:31.76 6.93 
5. 630 Spencer LACY 22 Boulder, CO 18:35.72 10.89 
6. 650 Charlie MACARTHUR 54 Snowmass village, CO 18:39.38 14.55 
7. 616 Benjamin SARRAZIN 40 Petaluma, CA 18:44.91 20.08 
8. 613 Bradley HILTON 23 Grand Lake, CO 18:46.38 21.55 
9. 621 Matt PAULA 35 Eagle, CO 19:26.01 1:01.18 
10. 629 Jeremiah WILLIAMS 29 minturn, CO 19:28.34 1:03.51 
11. 611 Mike HARVEY 39 Salida, CO 19:30.76 1:05.93 
12. 615 Tsuyoshi MIYAKE 40 Amagasaki, JP 19:31.76 1:06.93 
13. 644 Ken HOEVE 42 Vail, CO 19:37.18 1:12.35 
14. 607 Alex MAUER 27 littleton, CO 19:42.38 1:17.55 
15. 2015 Steven NYMAN 32 Provo, UT 19:46.92 1:22.09 
16. 604 Peter HALL 31 Steamboat Springs, CO 20:05.31 1:40.48 
17. 626 Kyle ANSEL 31 Avon, CO 20:12.04 1:47.21 
18. 620 John BLACKSHIRE 32 Denver, CO 20:16.04 1:51.21 
19. 636 Eliah NORMAN 22 steamboat springs, CO 20:19.15 1:54.32 
20. 651 Sean VIERLING 41 San Diego, CA 20:22.19 1:57.36 
21. 635 Joey SAPUTO 33 Vail, CO 20:27.34 2:02.51 
22. 639 Matthew BUCKLEY 37 Dillon, CO 20:28.36 2:03.53 
23. 609 Andy OBRIEN 33 denver, CO 20:29.88 2:05.05 24. 649 Morgan MASON 32 Golden, CO 20:53.59 2:28.76 
25. 633 Scott POWERS 52 Golden, CO 21:04.07 2:39.24 
26. 637 Jason BARBER 33 Vail, CO 21:34.36 3:09.53 
27. 612 Miles HARVEY 12 Salida, CO 21:35.07 3:10.24 
28. 640 Craig BIRK 42 vail, CO 21:41.17 3:16.34 
29. 610 Gabriel GRAY 34 panama city beach, FL 22:15.22 3:50.39 
30. 641 Sameer GUPTA 31 Avon, CO 23:04.75 4:39.92 
31. 643 Sean MCCOY 38 Denver, CO 25:15.01 6:50.18 
32. 625 Michael NEUSTEDTER 28 Crested Butte, CO 30:18.58 11:53.75

Gillian Gibree Interview

Men SUP Cross Results

1 Spencer Lacy
2 Michael Tavares 
3 Masayuki Takahata

Ladies SUP Cross

1. Haley Mills 
2. Louise Jull 
3. Jenny MacArthur

Day 2 Action

This past weekend I had a chance to compete at the 2014 GoPro Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado, with some of the best whitewater stand up paddle athletes in the world. The sheer number of people at this outdoor living festival, plus the venue and scenery, sets it apart from other SUP events. 

Words by Alex Mauer

This year, the Mountain Games drew an inspiring mix of the best whitewater paddle, ocean racers and surfers in the world, growing the field of competitors considerably and bringing a new mix of talent to the ranks. The heavy hitters included Kai Lenny, Michael Tavares, Dan Gavere, Nikki Gregg, Bittany Parker, Haley Mills, Spencer Lacy, Masayuki Takahata and Slater Trout among others. With the Payette River Games only a few weeks away, the GoPro Mountain Games offered a fun but highly competitive warm-up for athletes looking to get their share of the largest cash purse for any SUP event of the year. 

Kai Lenny Interview

It was so humbling to see the likes of Slater Trout and Kai Lenny take to the whitewater with ease. Kai won the 4 mile downriver SUP sprint event, showing the level of skill that paddlers of his calibre have. They are true watermen, at home in any conditions on any board.

Last year I competed in the SUP cross events and advanced to the semi final rounds. Paddling through town I was impressed by how many spectators lined-up along the river banks to watch us compete - and then shocked after catching my fin on a rock and supermanning into the shallow creek bed. At the end of the day it was awesome to be there in the middle of this incredible event, which brought together a crazy mix of SUP talent from so many different areas. Look for more exclusive footage of the Payette river fest brought to you by SUPconnect later on this month! 

Nikki Gregg Interview 

Brittany Parker Interview

Day 1 Intro

Scott Interview (Stand Up Paddle Colorado)

Miles Harvey Interview

Event Preview:

This weekend (June 5-8) the Go Pro Mountain Games will rock Vail off its tent pegs, bringing 53, 000 spectators and roughly 3,000 athletes to Colorado for the biggest and best mountain sport and lifestyle celebration in the USA. With the SUP river surfing scene growing exponentially every year, it's no wonder that SUP Surf Cross and Surf Sprints are on the roster, drawing athletes like Boardworks team manager, Mike Tavares, Naish's Kai Lenny, Boardworks and FCS's Slater Trout and more. Also joining the action is Glide athlete and Supconnect Community Assistant, Alex Mauer, who got hold of Mike T for a chat about the event, the conditions and the weekend that lies ahead. It is with more than a mild serving of envy that we wish them all well for the Games. He has also posted some great videos from Day 1 and will be keeping up coverage as the weekend progresses. The Surf Cross and Sprints will take place tomorrow (Saturday, 7 June) - check out the Go Pro Mountain Games website for more information.