The finals of the very first Czech River Surf Tour took place on Saturday, 17th of September in the center of České Budějovice and we are stoked to announce the results!
Not scared of the cold wind and the low temperatures, a total of 15 competitors registered for the final stop of the Czech River Surf Tour - River Surf Open 2022 České Budějovice. Amongst them, also Michal Kucha and Janek Moleš, Czech river surfing hotshots, who claimed the leading places in the previous tour stops. Antonín Hybner, at that time, ranked 3rd in the tour, did not start due to a cold that scrapped him out of the fight for the title of the first Czech river surfing champion. Unfortunately, no female river surfing athletes joined the final battle. Perhaps they were drawn back by the strength of the wave in České Budějovice or the weather conditions. Either way, we hope to see them next year, since they are much nicer and better to look at than the male competitors.
During the morning training session, we could see that the local riders’ skills shook the favorites’ confidence. Around 1 PM, Matylda Chromá, the competition organizer, drew the eager competitors into 4 heats and shortly introduced the rules. The shivering competitors finally entered the water, at that time surprisingly warmer than the air.
Thanks to the quality of the wave in České Budějovice and the riders, the level of the competition was significantly higher than in the previous stops. There was certainly a lot to look at. However, the favorites of the competition did not get intimidated and fought their way up to the finals. Janek Moleš, who failed to place in the previous tour stop in Brandýs nad Labem, claimed his fame back and quickly became the fans’ favorite not only with his specific riding style but also his music taste. He finally won the crowd’s heart with a massive acid drop from the surrounding concrete wall straight into the wave.
Michal Kucha made it to the finals ranked 3 points higher in the tour than Janek Moleš, meaning he would have needed only to place 3rd to be the tour winner. The final four included also two local riders, the legendary Tonda Haleš, and a rising star, 15-year-old youngster Ondra Štětka.
Rating the final runs was certainly not easy for the judges, as all the riders showed off their best maneuvers. In the end, Janek Moleš placed first, after convincing the jury with his unique style and courage to perform advanced tricks. Tonda Haleš ended up second, as he, unfortunately, did not manage to land his favorite 360° during the finals. Michal Kucha was clearly exhausted after the whole day of riding in the challenging weather conditions (We do not blame you, Michael, we almost froze to death, too!). He also paid for the fact that he has not yet mastered jumping into the wave, which was a necessary feature in the final to achieve a competitive score, and he ended up fourth behind Ondra Štětka.
The final results brought a draw in the points on the first place of the first Czech River Surf Tour overall ranking. Thus, the overall victory was decided by Janek Moleš’s placing, since he ended up winning the finals, as well as the first tour stop in Roudnice nad Labem. Michal Kucha placed 2nd and Antonín Hybner 3rd in the tour.
“Finally, I achieved some personal success, I’ve been waiting for this moment for such a long time!” stated Janek Moleš, overwhelmed by emotions after the well-deserved victory.
First Czech River Surf Tour has come to its end a we're already looking forward to the next one. This time, hopefully, with a competition at the new Štvanice wave!