GRANDE PLAGE, Lacanau - Nouvelle-Aquitaine / France (Sunday, August 20, 2023) - Nadia Erostarbe andLeo Paul Etienne have won the European Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 Caraïbos Lacanau Pro today in two-to-three foot surf with cross shore winds in front of large Sunday crowds in Lacanau.
Finals day resumed at 10 a.m with the Semifinals on the outgoing tide and unfolded with exciting matchups up to the Finals around lunchtime on a busy weekend at grande plage.
Nadia Erostarbe (EUK) - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Erostarbe Finds Winning Formula Again in Lacanau
The all goofy-foot Final between Nadia Erostarbe and Tessa Thyssen, two of the overall standouts all week, was tense until the final moments of the heat. Both surfers attacked the heavy closeout sections on their backhand and smaller, more open waves on their forehand and exchanged similar scores all through the Final.
It came down to the smallest details and even though the French surfer had the best score of the heat (6.07 out of a possible 10), it was the Basque who came out victorious with the higher combined heat total.
This result marks Erostarbe's third career-win on the QS and her first since 2019. A standout in the last two Challenger Series (CS) events where she reached the Quarters both times, Erostarbe seems to have found her groove early in the European summer leg.
"I've never won here in Europe and I feel like it's one of the hardest regions to win on the QS so I'm really happy today," Erostarbe said. "Now my focus is on the QS3,000s cause I know some surfers weren't here this week. I've been coming here for a long time and know the place and waves pretty well so it felt comfortable to compete here. I didn't originally qualify for the Challengers so that was just a bonus to get to compete there and hopefully I can continue to get results there as well."
Tessa Thyssen (FRA) - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Hailing from the Caribbean island of St Barthelemy, Tessa Thyssen (FRA) has been collecting Finals appearances throughout her career but is yet to break her glass ceiling and get the win. The former runner-up in the world juniors kicks off her 2023/24 qualifying campaign with a bang and will be one to look out for in the next events this summer.
"It came down to nothing so it's a little bit frustrating but overall I'm satisfied with my competition," Thyssen said. "That's going to be precious experience for me and a good motivation boost for the next few comps. Maybe I could have been a little bit more active earlier in that heat but conditions were tough and I'm still happy with my performance."
Leo Paul Etienne (FRA) - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Etienne Breaks Out with Career First Win on Home Turf
Two explosive surfers met in the Final with Tiago Carrique taking on Leo Paul Etienne in an all-French battle. Both surfers have been throwing aerial moves all week but couldn't quite find the right sections in the Final. Instead they scored big attacking the heavy sections but with only one big score each, the door was left wide open until the dying seconds of the heat.
With Etienne in the lead, Carrique had a last opportunity before the buzzer but failed to stay on his board after a little rotation and Etienne was chaired up the beach victorious in Lacanau.
The talented Caribbean surfer from Guadeloupe had never made it past the Quarterfinals until today and managed to convert in his first-ever Final for a career-first win on the QS.
"I didn't really expect to win here so I'm stoked," Etienne admitted. "I've made lots of changes recently in my preparation, my coaching and my equipment and it seems to have paid off so I'm super happy to win in the first event of the season. Waves weren't easy and I managed to find good scores so that was great. To share this experience with really close friends was awesome, I feel like we're all pushing each other to do better and it's a really healthy vibe in our group."
Tiago Carrique (FRA) - WSL / Damien Poullenot
A standout on the junior tour and on the rise recently, most notably as a wildcard on the Championship Tour in Portugal earlier this year, Tiago Carrique (FRA) continues to impress with his technical abilities and repertoire above the lip. The surfer from Biarritz is poised to crack the top of the podium and will be a threat throughout the summer leg across the region.
"I'm extremely disappointed but it's only the first event of the season so it's a good start," Carrique said. "I've never been in a Final before on the QS so I guess that's a positive but that second place is the worst. I did get a chance before the end and couldn't land it so that's on me and it hurts."
With the Caraïbos Lacanau Pro, stop No.2 on the 2023/24 European QS in the books, here's an updated regional rankings Top 5:
Men's European QS Top 5:
1 - Ido Arkin (ISR)
2 - Kai Odriozola (ESP)
3 - Leo Paul Etienne (FRA)
4 - Tiago Carrique (FRA)
5 - Bitor Garitaonandia (ESP)
Women's European QS Top 5:
1 - Alys Barton (GBR)
2 - Yolanda Hopkins (POR)
3 - Nadia Erostarbe (EUK)
3 - Janire Gonzalez Etxabarri (ESP)
3 - Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri (EUK)
Surfers won't have much time to rest as the tour heads down the coast for the QS3,000 Rip Curl Pro Anglet, starting Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
The Caraïbos Lacanau Pro was scheduled from August 15-20, 2023 at Grande Plage, Lacanau - France. For all results, photos, video highlights and press releases, log on to worldsurfleague.com.
The Caraïbos Lacanau Pro is organized by Côte Ouest, the city council of Lacanau and the Lacanau Surf Club, supported by Caraïbos, Café Maritime, Prixtel, Dacia, Médoc Atlantique Tourisme, Signature Promotion, Oxbow, Suez, Heiko Poké, Roadsurfers, ODG Médoc, Youbeeforkids, Airotel, Chambers des Notaires, Krom Kendama, La cave à Titoune, Lacanau Boisson Kayoc, Hackschooling Institute, IDRAC Business School, Amos, Wyve, Kahé Surf, Bicy'Cool, Casino de Lacanau, Hopupu, Noumi Swim, Eveo, Splash Park, Eco Park, La Grange Aux Pains, Les Jardins d'Alexandre, Esthetisport, Terreazur, Vitalparc, System U, Surfew, Alinea, Pickle Skate Shop, Département Gironde, Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine with media partners Nova, Sud Ouest, TV7 and France 3.
CARAÏBOS LACANAU PRO WOMEN'S FINAL RESULTS:
1 - Nadia Erostarbe (EUK) 10.73
2 - Tessa Thyssen (FRA) 10.57
CARAÏBOS LACANAU PRO MEN'S FINAL RESULTS:
1 - Leo Paul Etienne (FRA) 10.83
2 - Tiago Carrique (FRA) 10.34
CARAÏBOS LACANAU PRO WOMEN'S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Tessa Thyssen (FRA) 13.00 def. Alys Barton (GBR) 8.47
SF 2: Nadia Erostarbe (EUK) 11.50 def. Francisca Veselko (POR) 9.00
CARAÏBOS LACANAU PRO MEN'S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Leo Paul Etienne (FRA) 10.04 def. Ido Hagag (ISR) 9.16
SF 2: Tiago Carrique (FRA) 11.74 def. Thomas Debierre (FRA) 10.87