| International Sella River Descent | |||||||||
| Native Name: | Descenso Internacional del Sella | ||||||||
| Native Name Lang: | es | ||||||||
| Nickname: | Fiesta de las Piraguas | ||||||||
| Genre: | Sport | ||||||||
| Date: | Saturday following 2 August | ||||||||
| Frequency: | Annual | ||||||||
| Location: | Arriondas-Ribadesella, Spain | ||||||||
| Footnotes: |
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The International Sella River Descent (Spanish: Spanish; Castilian: Descenso Internacional del Sella, popularly known as Spanish; Castilian: Fiesta de las Piraguas) is a 20km (10miles) canoeing and kayaking race that has been held since 1930 on the Saturday following 2 August along the Sella River between Arriondas and Ribadesella (Asturias), Spain.[1]
Organized by the Comité Organizador del Descenso Internacional del Sella (CODIS) on behalf of the, it holds the honorary distinction of Fiesta of International Tourist Interest since 1980.[2] In the 2023 edition, more than 1,100 paddlers and 800 boats from 18 countries participated in the competition, which attracted over 250,000 spectators.[3]
For the occasion, and since 1945, Renfe Feve makes a train available for the fans, named Tren fluvial or Tren de las piraguas, which, starting from Arriondas, runs parallel to the Sella River, with stops at different points to get off to take a closer look at the race.[4]