Winners of the 2015 Boardmasters Longboard Pro. Image: WSL / Feast
Edouard Delpero (FRA) 25, and Alice Lemoigne (REU) 18, have won the 2015 Boardmasters Longboard Pro in wind-affected three-to-four foot conditions at Fistral beach. Competition resumed early in the morning and completed seven rounds all together to crown the event Champions and new rankings leaders in the European Longboard Title race.
In a remake of last year’s European final, brothers Edouard and Antoine Delpero (FRA) 29, faced off and put on an exciting fight for the entire 25-minute bout. Despite surfing multiple heats in the build-up to this final — Edouard entered the shortboard competitions at Boardmasters as well — the younger Delpero managed to keep his composure and excellent rhythm to take out the longboarding final. “That’s a lot of heats in one day,” Edouard said. “Conditions were tough and both Antoine and I didn’t score the highest in that particular heat, but we were stoked to share the final and both of us had fun doing it ! I didn’t really feel any pressure of defending my title and honestly I didn’t think I could beat him today. Basically my goal was reached when we made the final together and winning it was just icing on the cake !”
The highest scorer in Newquay this weekend, Antoine Delpero who collected an impressive five waves over 9 points throughout the event, didn’t manage to keep the ball rolling in the final and had to settle for second place. “Making the final with Edouard was amazing,” Antoine Delpero stated. “Congrats to him he completely deserved it. My little brother has grown a lot and now he’s giving me a hard time in competition, but it’s just pure fun surfing together and against each other. I think I was a little bit tired in that heat and it showed, if I made that re-entry on one of the early waves it might have made the difference. I’ll try to have him back in the next event!”
Local hero and past-event winner Ben Skinner 30, despite being one of the most in-form surfers in this event, couldn’t overcome eventual winner Edouard Delpero in their semifinal matchup, finishing equal third. In an early exchange between the two surfers, Skinner’s powerful approach did get him the heat lead, unfortunately a mix of positioning errors and lack of opportunities proved fatal to his Newquay campaign. “I’m pretty disappointed cause I had a good wave and really only needed another one,” Skinner explained. “I felt it was well within my reach, but unfortunately I made a couple priority mistakes and there weren’t many waves out there. Edouard has been surfing amazing so congratulations to him, I’ll be back next year !”
In the all-Reunion Island women’s final, Alice Lemoigne took an early lead over compatriot Justine Mauvin (REU) 22, in the first half of the heat. She later caught another good wave to solidify her position and eventually took the win. The former European longboard champion takes an early rankings pole position and will look to perform in Vieux Boucau to re-claim the regional crown. “The waves were so hard in the final, I tried to take as many as I could to multiply my chances but it was tough,” Lemoigne explained. “Surfing with Justine in the final was really cool, there was a good vibe out there, we both were relaxed and had our opportunities. I’m super happy to win here and will definitely try my hardest in the next event to win another European title.”
Mauvin, who peaked a little early with an amazing performance in the semifinals, couldn’t spot the right waves in the final and had to settle for second place. The talented regular-footer previously dispatched of the last British surfer in contention Emily Currie (GBR), with an excellent 16.75 heat total, the highest of the entire event in Newquay. “I’m just getting back to competition so a second place is definitely a great result for me,” Mauvin reflected. “Waves in the semis were so fun, and unfortunately I couldn’t find the same rhythm in that last heat with sets breaking all-over the place and a lot of close-outs. I love competition and it’s always fun to surf with all the girls so even if I love freesurfing I’ll try to juggle the two and continue to represent my Island at events.”
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The Boardmasters Longboard Pro is supported by Canna, Relentless Energy Drink, Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels, Corona, Three Mobile, Rattler Cyder, Rocket Dog, UP&GO, Crabbies, Glide Soul, Urban Beach, with media partners Carve Surfing Magazine, Surfgirl, Cornish Guardian and Heart FM among others. Follow Boardmasters via: InstaGram @Boardmasters, Facebook @Boardmastersfestival, Twitter @Boardmasters81.
LONGBOARD PRO NEWQUAY MEN’S FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Edouard Delpero (FRA) 14.85
2 – Antoine Delpero (FRA) 12.75
LONGBOARD PRO NEWQUAY WOMEN’S FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Alice Lemoigne (REU) 10.10
2 – Justine Mauvin (REU) 7.65
LONGBOARD PRO NEWQUAY MEN’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Edouard Delpero (FRA) 16.95 def. Ben Skinner (GBR) 14.40
SF 2: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 16.35 def. Adam Griffith (GBR) 15.50
LONGBOARD PRO NEWQUAY WOMEN’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Alice Lemoigne (REU) 8.40 def. Lucie Milochau (FRA) 6.75
SF 2: Justine Mauvin (REU) 16.75 def. Emily Currie (GBR) 6.55
LONGBOARD PRO NEWQUAY MEN’S QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Edouard Delpero (FRA) 16.25 def. Sam Bleakley (GBR) 8.30
QF 2: Ben Skinner (GBR) 17.50 def. Rémi Arauzo (FRA) 9.80
QF 3: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 16.15 def. Aurélien Meynieux (REU) 15.00
QF 4: Adam Griffith (GBR) 14.15 def. Emilien Fleury (FRA) 12.95
LONGBOARD PRO NEWQUAY WOMEN’S QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Lucie Milochau (FRA) 8.65 def. Charlotte Bayliss (GBR) 6.20
QF 2: Alice Lemoigne (REU) 12.50 def. Jenny Briant (GBR) 10.00
QF 3: Justine Mauvin (REU) 8.75 def. Katrina Beddoe (GBR) 4.40
QF 4: Emily Currie (GBR) 9.20 def. Victoria Vergara (FRA) 5.95
LONGBOARD PRO NEWQUAY MEN’S ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Edouard Delpero (FRA) 15.00, Ben Skinner (GBR) 13.45, Ben Howey (GBR) 8.55, Stephan Hudson (GBR) 4.85
Heat 2: Rémi Arauzo (FRA) 14.60, Sam Bleakley (GBR) 11.00, Jack Unsworth (GBR) 10.75, Ben Haworth (GBR) 9.50
Heat 3: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 17.50, Emilien Fleury (FRA) 12.35, Robin Henry (FRA) 10.10, Connor Griffiths (GBR) 7.00
Heat 4: Adam Griffith (GBR) 13.65, Aurélien Meynieux (REU) 10.75, Raife Gaskell (GBR) 8.75, Espinho Firmin (FRA) 0.00
