It’s been six years since the WSL last rolled its travelling circus into Hossegor.
The town has played host to the ASP World Championship Tour since the 1980s, quickly becoming one of the surfers’ favourite stops. Since then, Hossegor and surfing have been synonymous, and a good portion of the local economy built itself around it.
Now, with fall hinting at its arrival in Western Europe and school holidays long finished, it is surprising to see so many people milling about a town that’s usually — not dormant, but at least a little faint — around this time of year.
The morning was grey, but even before the first heat had paddled out, hundreds of cars filled the backstreets around Plage du Boiteux, wedging themselves into shady spots for the long day ahead.
In its third successful year, the Quiksilver Festival once again proved what’s always been obvious: this stretch of coastline belongs at the top tier of professional surfing. Sure, sandbars are fickle, but then again, how do you explain Saquarema?
There was more swell in the water, with longer walls spilling in both directions. Contest director Miky Picon’s WhatsApp decree announced “Best Combo” as the theme of the day, for the second consecutive day.
Given the choice between a strong cup of coffee or Mikey Wright and Hughie Vaughan riffing into a microphone, I’d take the latter every time. With Paul Evans off on a birdwatching quest south, the mongrel master and his eager apprentice hijacked the sound system with unparalleled energy. They didn’t just narrate the action, they were cheerleading, encouraging, and even egging on the surfers in the water.
Then Hughie dropped the mic, suited up, and ran down the beach for his heat, launching straight into a tweaked air reverse before milking a couple of whitewater sections into the shorebreak to win that heat.
Leo Fioravanti, joint rankings leader with teammate Zeke Lau, surfed with the game face of a man about to get nipped at Margies. He went out, did the work, and made sure their names remained on top.
Sky Brown, meanwhile, put up the morning’s highest score — a 7.33 — in Heat 3 against the in-form Thomas Debierre. Opting out of Saturday night’s rager paid off for surfing’s best skater.
Doubling as live commentator alongside Mikey Wright, Fioravanti declared, “That is the best surfing anyone has done this morning,” when Coco Ho threaded a left runner with a smooth, stylish, seamless assembly of rail turns. Mikey Wright nodded in agreement.
Ace Buchan turned up the decibels with a long backhand tube, the kind this year’s edition had been conspicuously missing. The tube is universal currency, one of the few things in surfing that both pros and clueless enthusiasts recognize on sight.
Conditions kept improving through the day, building in size and punch. That certainly helped Ace bring his CT muscle memory back into play, punishing one of the best waves of the entire event — a left — for an 8 and a convincing heat win.
Juliette Lacome led most of her heat from the start, against none other than Clay Marzo, Al Cleland Jr, and Jeremy Flores. She couldn’t quite hold it through to the end, but it was still an impressive showing.
After a full round of “best combos,” the final round shifted the script to “Best Turn.” With the new theme in mind, Mikey Wright and Eithan Osborne went out and did what they do best. Osborne landed a straight slob for a 7.83 and quickly took his team into the top five.
The team format meant one surfer in the water, another biting nails in the competitor’s area. “Come on Wilkinson, don’t go on the little ones, get a proper wave!” Ace barked, watching him string together 5s. By then, the Aussie goofs had scrambled into third place, and a Wilko circa-2010s throwback might have sent them high enough to topple the invictus Leo/Zeke duo.
Teamed with Eithan Osborne, Jackson Dorian needed a 6.9 to jump into the number one spot. He threw his fins skyward in a massive, completed air reverse, but the 6.7 fell just short.
As the tide dropped, wave quality deteriorated. Still, there were occasional double-ups on the right, offering scoring potential, as well as longer, smoother lefts. Marc Lacomare found one and unloaded a blowtail layback over Noah Beschen, sending the French peanut gallery into orbit and scoring an 8.27. He stuck, on the first attempt, the turn that Clay Marzo had been uncharacteristically failing to land all event.
Noah Beschen’s frontside straight grab for a 7.67 was also worth a nod, but didn’t shake the rankings.
The pointy end of the contest finally delivered the most excitement. Bigger waves were on offer, with plenty of reforms and a roulette of high-scoring potential.
Clay Marzo finally obliterated a right for one of the best-ridden waves of the round, setting the tone for the event’s finale. At this point, four teams still had a shot at winning.
Jeremy Flores, in front of his home crowd and true to form, went hard on the rights, eventually sneaking out of a super-long barrel for a 7.63 and a heat win. But Zeke Lau answered with a throaty, stand-up tube for a 7.33, enough to hold onto the first place his team had occupied since day one.
Leonardo Fioravanti and Zeke Lau are the first non-French team to win the Quiksilver Festival and will be leaving Hossegor a couple of e-bikes richer.