Some of Australia’s best paddlers diced it out at the Vajda 20 Beaches Ocean Classic this year – but Olympian Clint Robinson showed overwhelming form and finished 1 1/2 minutes ahead of his nearest rival, Tim Jacobs.

If Tim Jacobs wins 20 Beaches tomorrow, he’ll extend his record tally of victories to seven…  And given his form in Hong Kong where he won the Dragon Run against arguably the toughest field in history, it’s difficult to see who could stop him.

For the first time since 2006 (2004 if you’re talking line honours), and ahead of the two previous winners of Sydney’s most prestigious race, Tim Jacobs has won the Epic Kayaks Twenty Beaches in style. In doing so, Tim has taken out the first ICF World Series event held in Australia and has taken a clean sweep in the 2010 Bing Lee LG Oceanseries in association with Epic Kayaks.

Surf Life Saving Sydney Northern Beaches is proud to announce Epic Kayaks has picked up the naming rights of its premier ski race, which will now be known as “The Epic Kayaks 20 Beaches Ocean Classic”. Not only is race now associated with one of the most innovative and professional ocean racing names in the country, but this year it is also classified as an International World Series event.

Jeremy Cotter on his way to victory

With 20 Beaches down, and having just smashed myself for close to 2 hours into a slight headwind, it was with great relief that I caught a small wave into the finish line of the Epic Kayaks 20 Beaches Classic.  A huge crowd had assembled on a perfect summer's day at Shelley Beach, with the pile of skis starting to grow as more and more paddlers crossed the finish line.  Hardly able to walk, I looked up to see my girlfriend greet me with a massive smile.  "He's done it! Murray's won!" she yelled at me.  It took a minute to register; my ‘little' brother had just won the biggest ski race on the east coast of Australia, ahead of one of the hottest fields ever assembled in the country.  Pretty impressive for a 22 year old who less than 12 months ago was in hospital recovering from life-threatening surgery.

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The most accomplished sprint ski paddler in history, Clint Robinson, has confirmed that he'll be racing the Epic Kayaks 20 Beaches Classic this coming Sunday.  Clint's presence adds more depth to an already star-studded field for what is set to be one of the most contested races ever to hit Sydney's northern beaches.  Epic's Tony King, the key sponsor of the race, is very excited about the prospect of having one of paddling's bona fide legends on the start line.

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