- WSL / Laurent Masurel
- WSL / Laurent Masurel
Highlights: Epic Surfing Showdown at 2018 Surf de Nuit Anglet
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The 2018 Surf de Nuit Anglet unfolds in playful three-foot surf with capacity crowds gathering at Chambre d'Amour.

The 25th edition of the Surf de Nuit Anglet unfolded in epic conditions at Chambre d'Amour with surfers taking on fun three-to-four foot peaks in front of massive crowds estimated at 25,000+ people.

The day started with various activations from the six brands represented in the event this afternoon, and a LIVE music show from Lida Lies that fired up the crowds early on. But what everybody was waiting for was the main show, the night surfing competition that started at 9:45 p.m! Here's a breakdown of the three heats that ensued.

Heat 1:

The six surfers opening the show were freshly crowned Caraïbos Lacanau Pro Champ' Ramzi Boukhiam, Kyllian Guerin, Charly Quivront, Thomas Debierre, Lorenzo Dubois, and Sam Piter.
 Debierre had the lead for a while for #TeamSoöruz with a good backside air reverse and he even found a good little tube to post two high 6s. But #TeamRipCurl's Guerin came back with a massive forehand rotation, his tail well above the lip and perfectly landed for an excellent 8.43, the highest single number of Heat 1, taking pole position.

Boukhiam, Quivront, Dubois and Piter all fought back, with power turns for the Moroccan and aerial antics for the other three. When the dust settled, the 2017 winning #TeamRipCurl took the first 6 points in Heat 1 and confirmed their domination on night surfing in Anglet.

Anglet Surf de Nuit Kyllian Guerin killed it out there. - WSL / Guillaume Arrieta

"There were so many people on and around the beach it really felt like stepping into a stadium and I really wanted to give it all!" Guerin said. "I was the rookie in my team so I wanted to do the best I could and I'm stoked I could bring the win home for the team."

Intermissions

A 5-minute break between each heat featured Trial bike demos with Monster Energy pilot Samuele Zuccali jumping ramps and throwing backflips all over the place to the sound of DJ Martin Martin.

Heat 2:

The women's heat featuring Juliette Lacome, Pauline Ado, Carol Henrique, Maud Le Car, Tessa Thyssen and legendary French surfer Emmanuelle Joly took to the lineup.

Caribbean surfers Thyssen and Le Car battled for the lead in the first half of the heat but #TeamHurley's Henrique came back with a long left backside and 5 radical turns for a 7.33 to steal the number 1 spot. She quickly backed up her main score with an average number on a right. #TeamQuikRoxy's Lacome attacked the lip of a fun-looking right for a decent number and moved into second.

Team Volcom's Le Car came back firing with two rights in under five minutes, posting a 7.50 and an excellent 8.10 to thrust the top position. The rest of the surfers watched as the stylish natural foot dominated the Chambre d'Amour l lineup with aggressive forehand lip bashes to take the win in Heat 2.

Maud Le Car (FRA) .Anglet Surf de nuit 2018 Maud Le Car hits the lip on her backhand full speed. - WSL / Laurent Masurel

"There was such a fun vibe with all the girls out there, we don't usually 45mn in the water without any pressure," Le Car said. "It's really hard to surf at night, especially with the LEDs that kind of blind you and I had a hard time at first. But thankfully I started finding good waves and I managed to show what I could do."

The virtual leaderboard after Heat 2 had #TeamVolcom in first, #TeamSoöruz second, #TeamRipCurl third, #TeamQuikRoxy fourth, #TeamHurley fifth and #TeamPicture sixth.

Heat 3:

The teams No. 1 athletes came up in the final heat with Marc Lacomare, Vincent Duvignac, Adrien Rapp, William Aliotti, Jorgann Couzinet and Julien Thouron in the water.

Last year's winner Duvignac got an early start with a couple of waves below average with just one turn on each. He later further asserted his pole position with a combination of turns on his forehand for a 6.50 to push #TeamRipCurl up front. Lacomare and Thouron both found a good air section on back-to-back lefts, but Lacomare went higher for a 6.90 against Thouron's 4.93.

The current World No. 6 on the QS, Couzinet also wanted his piece of the pie and threw a good reverse on his forehand for a 6.87 to put #TeamSoöruz in the lead. But the fireworks continued and with four minutes on the clock, Lacomare launched into another big forehand rotation perfectly executed and with an excellent 8 point ride to put #TeamQuikRoxy back on top of the virtual leaderboard! Couzinet, completely unfazed from the situation started on a right and pulled arguably the biggest air of the whole night in the dying minutes for a near-perfect 9.93 to finally give #TeamSoöruz the big win!

"We got second last year and I really wanted to win it for Soöruz this time," Couzinet said. "I found that little bowl at the end and when I landed that air I was super happy and I knew it was the score."

Marc Lacomare (FRA) .Anglet Surf de nuit 2018 Lacomare lays into a classic drop-wallet. - WSL / Laurent Masurel

OVERALL RANKINGS SURF DE NUIT ANGLET 2018:

1 - Soöruz, 14 pts
2 - Quiksilver & Roxy, 12 pts
3 - Rip Curl, 12 pts
4 - Volcom, 11 pts
5 - Hurley, 8 pts
6 - Picture 6 pts

Team Soöruz walks away with three wildcards for the upcoming Pro Anglet pres. by Oakley as a bonus for their win today. The QS1,500 will unfold this week from August 21-26 on the same spot at Chambre d'Amour. Debierre and Thyssen will use the wildcard for a spot in the latter rounds, and the third will be awarded for another Soöruz surfer.

"It's always fun to surf in a team event cause we spend the whole year surfing for and by ourselves," Thyssen and Debierre added. ""Every point counts so we felt like we participated in the victory. And the wildcard slot in the Pro Anglet is a huge bonus for the two of us."

Ambiance Massice crowds gathered on the rocks again this year. - WSL / Guillaume Arrieta
World Surf League
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