Bilbao cements 4th back-to-back win for Booth
By Lauren Barley
Michael Booth is yet to be defeated on the 2018 European SUP Tour and last weekend strengthened his leading title with a further winning, now cementing his 4th back-to-back victory in the Basque city of Bilbao.
Whilst expressing that this might just be his best year yet, Booth remains humble and states that he never wins without a fight.
“I’m super happy with how I have been performing this year, there’s no denying that, but it’s never easy and last weekend the boys really pushed me to my limits”.
Michael explained that the race in Bilbao was one of the toughest he has faced this season, with a chasing pack that did not back off until he had crossed the finish line.
“The guys fought really hard out there, as they always do. I saw an opportunity present itself to break away about 500 metres into the race and from there I ran with the cards I was dealt, but it was tough… really tough”.
Promoted as a flat-water event, the race was in fact far from that with wash consistently forming off the hundreds of competitor’s boards, turning the course into a challenging race that required both skill and speed.
Lincoln Dews finished second behind Boothy, whilst Mo Freitas was close behind Dews finishing in third place and Titouan Puyo managed to sneak in at fourth, just ahead of a large chasing pack that battled across the finishing line.
“I could feel the chasing pack breathing down my back the whole race! The finish line couldn’t come soon enough,” said Booth.
Michael was thrilled to claim yet another win and hopes he will continue to race in great form for the remainder of the tour, continuing to push his limits and experiment with some new racing techniques.
“It’s been an awesome European summer, but Bilbao has really blown me away this year. There were thousands of spectators watching across the river mouth cheering us all on. It was really quite incredible”.
Booth will next race in the SUP World Cup held in Germany on the 1st of June.
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