Ollie Shilston wins Bray Lake Ultra Distance race
Posted on June 24, 2014 - Filed Under Stand Up Paddling, Surftech Boards, Vestpac | By admin
Race report
This Saturday was the Bray Lake Ultra Distance race and stage 6 of the UK Stand up Paddle Series.
Conditions were light winds and very hot, making the 26km flat water race pretty brutal!
The race started in Hurley and wiggled its way down towards the amazing finish at Windsor Castle. During the race we had to negotiate 6 different locks making it a little interesting.
At the start I settled in behind Pete Kosinski to the first lock 1km down the river and unlike other races this season I wasnt keen to lead the whole way in order to save some energy. Getting out at the first lock Aaron Rowe from Jersey and myself had a good clean transition and got a little gap on the field. We worked hard together to increase the gap towards the next lock a few kilometres down the river but Pete was able to close the gap again.
Onto the next lock I led going in and again had a good transition to break clear. Even though this was still very early stages of the race I sensed this was a good time to put the pressure on and get away.
Though the river was pretty flat the large amount of boats going passed was making the water choppy in places. I put my head down and concentrated on my stroke rate, working hard to extend the gap. I was also trying to keep well hydrated during the race using my new Vestpac hydration backpack.
During the race I was catching the 14ft racers who had started 5 minutes before us so this kept me motivated to keep paddling hard.
I was so tired at the finish after breaking clear and paddling 13 miles solo and with no aid of drafting but I had opened up a good distance between myself and second. I finished with a time of about 2hours 31minutes in 1st place.
Well done to everyone who finished a very tough race.
Ollie Shilston – Surftech Team Rider
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