Marc Lacomare And Joan Duru Win 2024 Quiksilver Festival
Who needs a WSL sanction anyway?
Despite being a surf contest, the vibe at the Quiksilver Festival doesn’t feel very competitive.
People share waves in heats. Competitors spend the nights out together. There are no exercise bikes in sight. Of course, everyone wants to win — it’s just that they don’t present their desire to win as if it’s a personality.
But when you think about it, the format is quite a clever way of deciding who did the best surfing throughout the waiting period. One bad heat won’t send you home. Likewise, one lucky wave is unlikely to deliver you victory against a superior opponent.
The day’s surf highlights.
In the span of six sessions, we saw everything from small, clean waves to large, angry waves. Every session, every surfer had to keep a score. Whoever surfs the best ultimately wins.
Yesterday, surfers were dodging sets on the head at La Nord. This morning, they were frantically paddling towards small, offshore lines at Les Gardians. The theme of the final round was ‘Best Combo,’ and opportunities abound despite the smaller surf.
Kelly Slater and Jeremy Flores had the lead going into the day. However, the Clay Marzo/Bobby Martinez and Joan Duru/Marc Lacomare teams were just behind them. The leaderboard shifted around in the first few heats, with Kai Lenny, Maud Le Car, and Jackson Dorian commanding their surfboards to do the morning’s most impressive surfing.
But everyone knew it was all about Heat 4, where Bobby, Marc, and Kelly were all in the same heat. Shoutout to Kael Walsh, who also existed in said heat.
Marc and Bobby mostly attacked a steep left, while Kelly found longer but softer rights. Each contender came within a point of each other. Kelly got a 5, Bobby got a 5.33, and Marc took it out with a 5.93.
This pushed Marc and Joan to the #1 spot — but Jeremy still had to surf. In the interim, Noah Beschen landed the day’s best airs in Heat 5 and got the day’s highest score — a 7.97.
Then, it was time for the final heat. Jeremy needed a 6.31 to take the lead. Midway through the heat, he linked a few solid (considering the conditions) turns together and hit ’em with a claim. The beach applauded, then held its collective breath. You could tell this moment would decide everything.
The score: A 5.67.
He still had a little less than half the heat left to try again, but fate seemed sealed. The local boys — who have taken many CT scalps here over the years — got it done.
Speaking of the Woz, here’s something to ponder.
I went to the Quiksilver Pro France every year from 2015 to 2019 and talked to people who’d attended it every year since its inception. The consensus was that this year’s turnout was as massive as the decades the event spent on the CT calendar, which ended when the WSL restructured the tour.
If an event’s main objective is to bring thousands of people together and leave them with a good taste for your brand (hint: it is), this thing seemed equally as effective as a WSL comp.
When you do it your own way, you may lose those highly coveted impressions from airing on ESPN2 at 4 AM, but you gain so much in terms of creative freedom.
Of course, brands also sponsor CT events to back surfing at that level. The WSL is absolutely good for our sport. I am lucky to have it. You are lucky to have it. John and Caity are lucky to have it, and the 12-year-old kid just beginning to fall in love with surfing somewhere is lucky to have it, too. The only reason any of us ever criticize it is because we care. Indifference would be a serious issue.
But it feels a touch cosmic that two other surf events were held today — the EDP Ericeira Pro and the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic.
Which, to you, felt like the best representation of this bizarre activity that we all seem to have grown so madly addicted to?
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