It might be the most iconic marathon race in the world. The Sella Descent starts with hundreds of boats on the beach while paddles, held by paddlers, are locked into a cage not dissimilar to the starting gate at a horse race. As soon as hundreds of thousands of spectators finish singing the Asturian anthem, the gates open, and racers break loose.

Easily the biggest event of the year for Asturians and many Spanish paddlers, the race also attracts top level international paddlers from many countries including the UK, South Africa, and even Australia. But with incomparably accurate knowledge of Ribadesella, and the advantage of being one of the strongest marathon kayak countries in the world, it was Spanish teams who dominated the podiums in 2025.

Walter Bouzan and Alberto Llera combined experience with youth to not only lead the four-boat front pack for the final 9 minutes of the race but then win an incredibly fast sprint finish against equally strong crews. Hungarian legends Adrian Boros / Tamas Erdelyi took silver, while Spaniards Javier Lopez / Pedro Vazquez took bronze. The top team of Llorens / Plaza made some seriously fast attempts to break into the front three, but just couldn’t quite make it round for a podium spot.

Billy asked Walter Bouzan about how his race went, what it was like to train with his new partner Alberto Llera, and what his secrets are to becoming a now 12-time Sella winner.

South African Matthew Fenn also joins this episode of Paddlecast to give an international perspective, and compare the shallow Sella to the high-volume South African rivers and how that affects race tactics.

In the women’s race, longtime Spanish international marathon paddlers Tania Fernandez Garcia and Tania Alvarez Yates finished first, an impressive 1.5 minutes ahead of the next fastest team. They were joined on the podium by fellow Spaniards Amaia Osaba / Llara Tuset, and Irati Osa / Arantza Toledo. Hungarians Panna Csepe / Panna Sinko just missed out on the podium.

This was the second win for “the two Tanias” as a team after their K2 win in 2023, and each of them also has a previous win separately. Because the women’s teams’ start positions are far back in the field, Tania and Tania had to overcome a huge amount of boat traffic to win their race – they started #303 and finished 61st overall.

Tania Alvarez joins this episode of Paddlecast to talk about how their race went, her 7 year partnership with Tania Fernandez, what it takes to win the race, and how she’d like to see the race evolve in the future.

The Thames 200 Ultra is coming up very soon on 23rd August, and entries are still open! This 200km endurance event offers both straight-through and relay race options, and promises to draw some of the fastest endurance paddlers in the country this year. Stay tuned for the upcoming Paddlecast preview episode!

In the last few pieces of news, Billy and Betsy recap two recent UK surfski selection races: Hayling Island and the Moray Firth (Scottish National Championships). The news finishes with a brief recap of the Avon Descent which had its first female SUP finisher this year, and a bit of news in the warm down about a failed expedition that’s worth reading about for the lessons learned.

01:10 Sella Descent - The Men’s Race

02:35 Walter Bouzan, in his own words

10:03 Matthew Fenn, in his own words

14:44 Sella Descent - The Women’s Race

15:51 Tania Alvarez, in her own words

24:06 Brits on the podium at the Sella

26:12 Thames 200 Ultra preview

30:19 Hayling Island and Moray Firth race recaps

36:27 Avon Descent

40:51 The Warm Down

Relevant links:

Thames 200 Ultra sign up and information: https://www.thames200ultra.com/race-entry 

Tashka Goswell’s account of her Avon Descent: https://www.facebook.com/groups/509865939182902 (search “Tashka Goswell”)

Tim Haines’ story about his failed expedition: www.facebook.com/whishik.samak/posts/pfbid02fxQWKYRnMFVQPXUCUVkyW3sta8EePXc8SFw2nsWUJzNUsQygEMXWH7H49QiFFw28l