Action culminates after a lay day at Boardmasters and completes all divisions with four great winners at Fistral.
The 2019 Boardmasters wrapped up today in fun three-to-four foot surf and crowned new winners in all four categories. Here's a breakdown of the event's finals.
Waves unfortunately got somewhat slower for the all-goofy foot battle and the first 20 minutes of the heat didn't provide surfers with many great opportunities, limiting the scores to the average range. On the 5-minute mark, both surfers threaded long lefts with a similar approach and dropped extremely similar scores, making things very interesting heading into the final few minutes.
Glatzer finally turned the heat with a solid 7.33 in the last two minutes and despite a great last effort from Henrique, the situation remained and Glatzer walked off with his second QS event win of a young and promising career. Glatzer's win and Presti's second place mark a very strong showing from Team Germany in an Olympic qualifying season.
Leon Glatzer (DEU) - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"It's been a tough week and a lot of hard work with these conditions so I'm drained physically and mentally but I'm on top of the world right now," he said. "I've been working with my new coach Llewellyn Whittaker and we've set very high goals for me so there are no more distractions and I'm 100% focused on improving my surfing especially on beachbreaks. The CT and the Olympics are my two goals short and long-term and I'm glad to have the support of the German Olympic Committee to reach those goals."
The 2018 runner-up Hopkins took on another German in Presti. The Portuguese surfer got active early on, catching many waves to apply pressure on her opponent. Hopkins, who has been collecting solid numbers all week, continued to improve her scoreboard throughout the 25-minute bout and eventually claimed her first-ever victory on the WSL tours.
Yolanda Hopkins (PRT) - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"I'm so stoked to win for the first time and I just wish my family and my coach were here to share this with me," she stated. "I was pretty confident since this morning and tried to fix a couple of things in the first heat and in the Final I was pretty relaxed and just wanted to surf as I know how to. This victory gives me a lot of confidence in thinking I do have what it takes to win sometimes."
Presti with the runner-up adds another stellar result to her impeccable track record in Europe and will continue to chase the elusive first place in the next few events in the region.
Delpero couldn't have dreamt of a better start in the Final as his first wave in the Final was deemed near-perfect by the judges who dropped a 9.50 for his backhand effort. Nesti, who reached his first-ever two-surfer Final gave it his best shot but couldn't quite rival Delpero and had to settle for second place. The former runner-up in the world, Delpero adds yet another event win to his impressive resume and further cements his spot on top of the regional rankings.
Edouard Delpero (FRA) - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"It was unreal to start with a wave like that especially cause they were pretty hard to find," he said. "Federico surfed great so hats off to him, and I'm happy I was able to have that much fun in the Final. It was another great beach day down here at Fistral and the public was once again super nice to us surfers. Now I have to go back to work at home and hopefully I'll manage to get a few surfs in to prepare for Galicia."
For the first 17 minutes it was an-all Japanese show of form with Taoka multiplying good waves to build a healthy lead. The 4-time European title winner Lemoigne struggled at first in an unusual manner but dropped the hammer with 8 minutes remaining as she rode a clean wave all the way to the beach with beautiful nose rides for an excellent 8.50 and eventually the win.
Alice Lemoigne (FRA) - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"There were little ripples on the face of the wave that made it really tricky to ride in that Final heat," she said. "But then I found a good one and I calmed down and focused on finding a backup. I'm stoked to solidify my first place in the rankings and hope I can seal the deal in Galicia with another European title. I always love coming down here to Newquay, people get really excited to watch us surf and are very supportive so it's always a pleasure."
Taoka claims her season-best result with the runner-up at Fistral and will build confidence heading into Galicia for the next big event on the longboard schedule.
Here are the new European rankings Top 5 following the completion of Boardmasters:
European Men's QS Top 5:
1 - Vicente Romero
2 - Jorgann Couzinet
3 - Leon Glatzer
4 - Tristan Guilbaud
5 - Maxime Huscenot
European Women's QS Top 5:
1 - Pauline Ado
2 - Yolanda Hopkins
3 - Ellie Turner
4 - Leticia Canales Bilbao
5 - Juliette Lacome
European Men's LQS Top 5:
1 - Edouard Delpero
2 - Federico Nesti
3 - Ben Skinner
4 - Benoit Carpentier
5 - Jordan Zervas
European Women's LQS Top 5:
1 - Alice Lemoigne
2 - Zoe Grospiron
3 - Francesca Rubegni
3 - Emily Currie
5 - Beth Leighfield
Qualifying series surfers will be back to work on Tuesday at the QS1,500 Caraïbos Lacanau Pro in France while for longboarders, a little two-week break will give them time to prepare for the first-ever Galicia Longboard Classic.
Tune in from August 7-11, 2019 and check out all the photos, videos and updates from Boardmasters right here!
Winners Crowned on Final Fun Day at Boardmasters
Nicolas Leroy
The 2019 Boardmasters wrapped up today in fun three-to-four foot surf and crowned new winners in all four categories. Here's a breakdown of the event's finals.
Quiksilver Open Final: Leon Glatzer vs. Pedro Henrique
Waves unfortunately got somewhat slower for the all-goofy foot battle and the first 20 minutes of the heat didn't provide surfers with many great opportunities, limiting the scores to the average range. On the 5-minute mark, both surfers threaded long lefts with a similar approach and dropped extremely similar scores, making things very interesting heading into the final few minutes.
Glatzer finally turned the heat with a solid 7.33 in the last two minutes and despite a great last effort from Henrique, the situation remained and Glatzer walked off with his second QS event win of a young and promising career. Glatzer's win and Presti's second place mark a very strong showing from Team Germany in an Olympic qualifying season.
"It's been a tough week and a lot of hard work with these conditions so I'm drained physically and mentally but I'm on top of the world right now," he said. "I've been working with my new coach Llewellyn Whittaker and we've set very high goals for me so there are no more distractions and I'm 100% focused on improving my surfing especially on beachbreaks. The CT and the Olympics are my two goals short and long-term and I'm glad to have the support of the German Olympic Committee to reach those goals."
Roxy Open Final: Yolanda Hopkins vs. Rachel Presti
The 2018 runner-up Hopkins took on another German in Presti. The Portuguese surfer got active early on, catching many waves to apply pressure on her opponent. Hopkins, who has been collecting solid numbers all week, continued to improve her scoreboard throughout the 25-minute bout and eventually claimed her first-ever victory on the WSL tours.
"I'm so stoked to win for the first time and I just wish my family and my coach were here to share this with me," she stated. "I was pretty confident since this morning and tried to fix a couple of things in the first heat and in the Final I was pretty relaxed and just wanted to surf as I know how to. This victory gives me a lot of confidence in thinking I do have what it takes to win sometimes."
Presti with the runner-up adds another stellar result to her impeccable track record in Europe and will continue to chase the elusive first place in the next few events in the region.
Men's Boardmasters Longboard Pro Final: Edouard Delpero vs. Federico Nesti
Delpero couldn't have dreamt of a better start in the Final as his first wave in the Final was deemed near-perfect by the judges who dropped a 9.50 for his backhand effort. Nesti, who reached his first-ever two-surfer Final gave it his best shot but couldn't quite rival Delpero and had to settle for second place. The former runner-up in the world, Delpero adds yet another event win to his impressive resume and further cements his spot on top of the regional rankings.
"It was unreal to start with a wave like that especially cause they were pretty hard to find," he said. "Federico surfed great so hats off to him, and I'm happy I was able to have that much fun in the Final. It was another great beach day down here at Fistral and the public was once again super nice to us surfers. Now I have to go back to work at home and hopefully I'll manage to get a few surfs in to prepare for Galicia."
Women's Boardmasters Longboard Pro Final: Alice Lemoigne vs. Natsumi Taoka
For the first 17 minutes it was an-all Japanese show of form with Taoka multiplying good waves to build a healthy lead. The 4-time European title winner Lemoigne struggled at first in an unusual manner but dropped the hammer with 8 minutes remaining as she rode a clean wave all the way to the beach with beautiful nose rides for an excellent 8.50 and eventually the win.
"There were little ripples on the face of the wave that made it really tricky to ride in that Final heat," she said. "But then I found a good one and I calmed down and focused on finding a backup. I'm stoked to solidify my first place in the rankings and hope I can seal the deal in Galicia with another European title. I always love coming down here to Newquay, people get really excited to watch us surf and are very supportive so it's always a pleasure."
Taoka claims her season-best result with the runner-up at Fistral and will build confidence heading into Galicia for the next big event on the longboard schedule.
Here are the new European rankings Top 5 following the completion of Boardmasters:
European Men's QS Top 5:
1 - Vicente Romero
2 - Jorgann Couzinet
3 - Leon Glatzer
4 - Tristan Guilbaud
5 - Maxime Huscenot
European Women's QS Top 5:
1 - Pauline Ado
2 - Yolanda Hopkins
3 - Ellie Turner
4 - Leticia Canales Bilbao
5 - Juliette Lacome
European Men's LQS Top 5:
1 - Edouard Delpero
2 - Federico Nesti
3 - Ben Skinner
4 - Benoit Carpentier
5 - Jordan Zervas
European Women's LQS Top 5:
1 - Alice Lemoigne
2 - Zoe Grospiron
3 - Francesca Rubegni
3 - Emily Currie
5 - Beth Leighfield
Qualifying series surfers will be back to work on Tuesday at the QS1,500 Caraïbos Lacanau Pro in France while for longboarders, a little two-week break will give them time to prepare for the first-ever Galicia Longboard Classic.
Tune in from August 7-11, 2019 and check out all the photos, videos and updates from Boardmasters right here!
Leon Glatzer
The Caparica Surf Fest resumes in pumping surf for a long day of epic surfing in Portugal.
Junior Season Culminates in Beautiful Sao Miguel; Regional QS Continues at Stop No.5, the Azores Pro
Classic 3-Stop Summer Leg Covers Newquay, Lacanau and Anglet
The Round of 96 is completed in tricky surf, paving the way for a top seed start on Friday.
Difficult Conditions for Third Round of Action, Dylan Groen Claims Estrella Galicia Wave of the Day.
Quiksilver Open
Check out a selection of imagery from the 2019 Boardmasters.
Action culminates after a lay day at Boardmasters and completes all divisions with four great winners at Fistral.
Boardmasters' surfing action resumes in building surf with large waves in the afternoon and shock eliminations of past winners.
Rain, sun, wind, flat, then solid, all in the span of a few hours, Welcome to Cornwall!
The QS1,000 Quiksilver & Roxy Open launched surfing action on Day 1 at Boardmasters at Fistral beach.