So, we just finished up 2 weeks of epic unprecedented competitions and it feels good to be a World Champion! The White Water Grand Prix was made up of 6 events (3 Freestyle & 3 Extreme Racing) each of which was the burliest event of it's kind.
We started out with a big trick freestyle contest on the biggest wave I'd ever surfed - "Gladiator" (Ottawa River). Everyone was nervous as the dreaded 'ledge' lay just downstream waiting to swallow a victim. I dropped into the pit for the first time and got instantly owned, I came up in the middle of the river (the worst spot) and the crowd was tense as I just managed to skirt the hungry hole. I figured this was worst case scenario so off I went for some more attempts and finally managed to surf the beast, got a trick and won the first womens event.
The next day, we made like gypsys and our entire party, athletes, media crew, safety crew, groupies, et al. hit the road for the Rouge.
The second event was a big water boater cross & it was BIG! I thought it was quite a long course so decided I would pace myself on the first run and save some power for the end when we had to plough through some enormous waves. Turns out there was no need as the water was cooking and we were at the finish line before I knew it. So, the next run I went hard from the start and got a good lead and the overall win.
The third event brought us to La Tuque where we stayed in these beautiful wooden cabins. We went to scout the course which was ridiculous, the town were helping us out and closing the dam for race day so we would have a third of the water. We had to run the event super tight as we only had a small window before the lake above would become too full and the dam would spill over onto the course...
We showed up on race day and waited for the water to drop, which it did - a little bit. It sure didn't look like a third of the water and when the local paddlers/race organisers were asked if they had run it that high, guess what the answer was...No!...great! It was stout, probably the burliest course ever raced, everyone was nervous. It was pretty crazy being at the start line and watching everyones little nervous rituals as they were about to go, there were a lot a big breaths. The first 3 racers went...and swam! not a good start and not helping the nerves of everyone else...these were the best boaters in the world! I was up last and by the time it was my turn, there had been 8 swims, I just told myself to go for it and peeled out of the eddy into the current. The first drop was a double drop with two waterfalls, i boofed off the first one and wound up in a boily eddy between the two drops...great!!! It took a few tries and all my strength to get out of the eddy and straight off the next drop, one rapid in and I'm exhausted, awesome! I sucked it up and survived the rest of the run, taking a quick roll on the slide but I was so stoked to make it to the bottom unscathed and still in my boat. I came out with another win so 3 for 3 was a very good place to be half way through the comp.
Next up we drove all the way up to Dolbeau where we were hoping for the giant wave, "Black Mass" to be in. Unfortunately the water levels were a little high so we went for plan B. The locals were expecting a show so we put on a downriver freestyle on a big wave called "Hawaii" it was a really tricky wave but if you timed it just right you could get big air. There were some awesome moves, I struggled to do something awesome but came in second after Katya.
The 5th event was to be another freestyle so the search began for the best wave around. We ended up on a wave they named the "pillars wave" which was actually two waves right after each other under a rail bridge. They were big and fun! I had a bit of a shocker and only got a couple of surfs throwing a few tricks but Katya the freestyle specialist threw the biggest trick of her life and probably of the day, a mega massive air screw, so sick. So another second place for me, Katya taking the win again.
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| Simon paddling the bottom drop of the Bras Louis on practi |
The 6th & final event was an extreme slalom on the Bras Louis in Chicoutimi. We rolled up to the take out, I'm not sure what we expected but everyones jaw dropped as they laid eyes on the final drop of the race section, a massive drop into a slide with an extra meaty hole at the bottom, and this is what we had to paddle at the end when we were exhausted. Well it was in theme, everything else had been full-on so far. I had an increasingly sore shoulder so I was on the fence a little bit about paddling the long course (as I already had enough points to win the comp overall), in the end I decided I didn't want to miss out and went to get ready. At this point I realised my footblocks were still in the hotel room so I raced back to get them (30 mins each way). After a mare trying to get into my room, getting lost on the way back and a 10 min hunt for my paddle, I missed my first run. They had decided by this time that the girls would finish the race just before the final drop so everyone would enter. I went down the course and missed a lot of gates (they were hard) as the water had risen for race day and was moving really really fast. So I was pretty disapointed with my run and decided to make up for it by firing up the bottom drop which was real fun and made me feel much better. MP took down the slalom in the end, and I came in second.
So yeah, sickest event ever!!!!!!!! Huge thanks to Pat, Julie & all the volunteers for putting it together, everyone had an amazing time, the competition has raised the bar for extreme whitewater events and I look forward to seeing all the media coverage that will be coming out and can't wait to see what is in store for next year!
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