Quik Fest 2026 Outlook: The France You’ve Heard Myths About
Hollow waves, long nights, and serious heavyweights on both fronts.
Earlier this month, Robbie Page stopped by Hossegor, a place he called home for over a decade, for a little surfing holiday.
At a rendezvous near the lake, spending time with old and new friends, he addressed them one by one and asked where they liked to get barrelled the most. Desert Point, Teahupo’o, Greenbush, Lance’s Right, and all the obvious answers were spat into the circle gathering under the pines in the backyard of a traditional Basque pied-à-terre.
Robbie then said, “Well, my favourite place in the world to get barrelled is out here, so if I see any of you cunts in the water, I’m going first!”
A Pipe Master calling La Gravière his favourite place to tuck in should be a convincing enough recommendation letter for the singular stretch of coarse sand.
The once unwavering CT stop didn’t simply stop delivering because the tour decided to take a detour further south.
The French are a proud bunch, and if you spend some time in this place, it won’t really surprise you. Jeremy Flores lived here for the majority of his career, which reached its pinnacle when he won the Quik Pro France in 2019, a feeling he’ll never forget and one he tried to recreate by winning his own invitational event in 2023.
In its fourth year, following three successful editions, the Quiksilver Festival is back in Hossegor. This time at La Gravière (sorry, Robbie) and La Nord, where Andy and Bruce surfed the now fabled 2004 Quik Pro final.
Both spots are within eyeshot of the judges’ tower and are options for the coming week of competition.
Bar those people on the CT who won’t be able to fit the event into their schedule this year, the invitee lineup is a solid representation of surfing’s elite in 2026.
Who’s coming?
So, you’ve got a handful of people who know what it feels like to win a CT. Some of the past and present world’s best freesurfers. A kid who will probably try a stalefish backflip in his heat. And we’re not even going to attempt to label Bruce Irons and Nathan Fletcher, who will actually be on the same team. Speaking of which:
Team 1: Jeremy Flores / Michel Bourez
Team 2: Eimeo Czermak / Noah Beschen
Team 3: Mikey Wright / Clay Marzo
Team 4: Jack Freestone / Matt Wilkinson
Team 5: Bruce Irons / Nathan Fletcher
Team 6: Eithan Osborne / Parker Coffin
Team 7: Hughie Vaughan / Kash Brown
Team 8: Wiggolly Dantas / Aritz Aramburu
Team 9: Joan Duru / Marc Lacomare
Team 10: Kylian Guerin / Sam Piter / Noa Dupouy
Team 11: Kai Odriozola / Hans Odriozola / Quik Kids
Team 12: Justin Becret / Francisco Ordonhas
Team 13: Maud Le Car / Frankie Harrer
Team 14: Macy Callaghan / Holly Wawn
Team 15: Coco Ho / Milla-Coco Brown
Team 16: Juliette Lacome / Sky Brown
Team 17: Alana Blanchard / Zoe McDougall
And, those who’ve been keeping an eye on this since the early days may be wondering about Cocoa Beach’s most famous livestock export.
Kelly will miss the first few days, but there’s still a chance he gets here towards the end and jumps in on a few heats. As is always the case with Lord Kelly Slater, you’ll only know if he’s coming when you see him.
We shall pray.
The Forecast
In a word: Good.
In a few thousand pixels depicting arrows, colors, and numbers that inspire an emotional reaction in all of us: See above. Thanks, Surfline.
A more nuanced look at the charts reveals the wind’s predisposition to kick on in the afternoons. Right now, the plan is to run only in the mornings for the next few days. If the waves stay good, there’s no chance comp director Miky Picon pulls everyone out of the water. But, in all likelihood, the wind shall live up to meteorologists’ expectations and give everyone a few hours to reset before sailing off into the night.
In a serendipitous encounter with a French woman from La Réunion, the birthplace of Jeremy Flores, I mentioned the upcoming festival. She had very little interest in surfing or surfing competitions for that matter, but was visibly excited about this year’s edition, which has Parisian record label Ed Banger handling the music selection and creative direction.
“There’s gonna be sooo much Parisian there!” she said, like it was a bad thing. “No, no, honestly, if it’s Banger on it, it’s gonna be great.”
You never want to go out and speak too soon, but that side of the festival seems to be pretty well covered and will keep the small town in southwest France heaving for one last goodbye to Euro summer.
Head here for the full event schedule.
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