Sunshine + freestyle = happiness. Lyon is blessed with two great, reliable white water courses that both have some great, friendly and fun features – ideal for progressing your playboating. And with some of the best freestyle paddlers and coaches in the World at your disposal, this is a week that could transform your boating while putting a huge grin on your face!
Sault Brenaz is a friendly slalom course with fantastic atmosphere. There’s a great little wave to practice moving the boat around on a wave, spinning and blunting with big eddies either side and nothing bad to wash into. Right above the wave is one of the best cartwheeling holes in Europe… endless ends both ways, or more advanced moves such as Phonix Monkeys are possible here. This hole is also great for developing stopper control or makes a great next stage to progressing your spins. There are several other fun features on the course, but what makes the place really special is the way all river users, from slalomists to hydrospeeders, have big smiles on their faces and are very encouraging to those around them. This will be our base for the week, staying within a campsite of other paddlers to share the day’s experiences with.
Just a short drive away is another great slalom course with some more fun features. St Pierre de Boeuf (known in the freestyle world as SPB) will provide us with a fast wave and/or an awesome looping spot (release levels dependant). Check out this clip of Lowri looping so high she nearly hits the bridge!
In exceptional circumstances, Hawaii-Our-Rhone might come in, allowing us to go a try out one of the biggest waves in Europe. This needs high water on the Rhone though, which is unusual in the summer months.
The amount of time we’ll spend at each venue will depend on the needs and wants of those on the course. We’ll be working with very low ratios, allowing us to tailor the week to suit everybody. Here’s a few photos from trips over the years…
Coaching:
With European Champions and National Trainers among our coaching team, you can be confident that whatever your aspirations, we can help you to achieve them. We’ll use video feedback and analysis where appropriate to help break down the moves and see what you need to do in order to improve. At the end of each day, we’ll review the day’s sessions and make achievable targets for the following day. By the end of the week we’ll help you to make an action plan so you can continue to develop your playboating back home.
Pre-requisites:
We can cater for all abilities, but to get the most from this week you’ll have a solid roll and be confident in grade 3 white water.
Dates:
4-11th August 2018
Other dates can be arranged for groups (even just small groups of 2-3). Email us if you are interested.
Price: £699
Price includes 6 days of expert freestyle coaching, glamping (or camping if preferred), water fees and logistics within the Lyon area as required. Price excludes travel to & from Lyon, personal travel insurance, food and beer. Food will be done on a self-catering basis, with cooking facilities provided. We usually find that a group kitty system works well but the freedom to chose your own food (including quantity) is also appreciated by many hungry paddlers!
Logistics:
You can either fly or drive to Lyon (the French Alps are only a 3 hour drive from Lyon, so can make a great combined 2-week trip). You can fly to Lyon from London, Liverpool, Bristol or Edinburgh with Easyjet, who will take kayaks without issue if pre-booked at sports equipment. There are other airline options too.
Bookings & Enquiries:
Please email info@flowfree.co.uk or call 07810 878738 if you have any questions or would like to book.
