Registration open for Petite Tour du Teche; races Aug. 1 in Breaux Bridge

Registration is open for the youth races of Petit Tour du Teche in Breaux Bridge Aug. 1 and for TDT’s “big” races – including the new uber ultra marathon, the 410 (miles!) de Louisiane – in the fall.
All you have to do is go to www.tourduteche.com, select the race you’re interested in, click “Register,” and the ones and zeros will take it from there.
First up, on Saturday, Aug. 1, the youth races of Petit Tour du Teche take place in Parc des Ponts de Pont Breaux, St. Bernard Drive in Breaux Bridge.
Registration costs $20 which includes a T-shirt but not a boat or other necessary equipment. (Kayaks may be rented from Bayou Teche Experience, which is located near the race course, and from Pack and Paddle in Lafayette. Please check for availability in advance.) Also, parents or guardians must sign a waiver available on the website or at the Tour du Teche command center on race day (look for the flags).
The registration fee allows each paddler to compete in all races in the appropriate age division.
Ranging from 250 yards to a mile in length, the races are staged around buoys so that the racers are within view of the park at all times. There are entrances to the park on Bridge Street next to St. Bernard School and on Main Street next to Breaux Bridge Junior High.
On-site registration begins at 7 a.m., safety check at 8 a.m., and the first race at 9 a.m.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, an elite group of paddlers will embark from Shreveport’s Stoner Avenue Recreational Area Boat Launch (857 East Stoner Ave.) on two of the toughest canoe and kayak races in the country, the Tour de la Rivière Rouge and the 410 de Louisiane.
Those signed up for Rivière Rouge will race 275 miles from Shreveport-Bossier City to Port Barre down the Red and Atchafalaya rivers to Krotz Springs, motor portage to Bayou Courtableau for the final leg. They have 124 hours to get there. No check points, no mandatory stops, and it’s the racers’ option whether to portage around or lock through each the five dams on the Red River. Teams must have a coureur de bois and must employ a SPOT Tracker.
The 410 de Louisiane racers, the elite of the elite, will race with Rivière Rouge and then, on Oct. 2, continue with Tour du Teche 135, the three-day staged race from Port Barre to Berwick.
As usual, Tour du Teche will feature one-day races to run concurrently with TDT 135.
Check www.tourduteche.com for more information.