The event resumed around lunchtime in the Portuguese sun and ran through twelve epic heats of beautiful longboard surfing to crown the first-ever Gaia event champions.
Current European Longboard Champion Antoine Delpero (FRA), 30, took on reigning two-time World Longboard Champion Piccolo Clemente (PER), 33, in an epic final where both surfers exchanged excellent scores and lengthy nose rides for the appreciation of a large Sunday crowd assembled by the water's edge.
Delpero got a slight edge on Clemente courtesy of a really long right-hander he surfed almost to perfection for a 9.10 and the win.
"It's been a long and tiring three days in the sun and I can finally let the pressure down I'm so happy," he stated. "Getting two wins in a row is exceptional, and especially because both in Vieux-Boucau and here there were so many great surfers. Piccolo beat me in the semis in China the first year he won the World Title so I'm stoked to get my revenge today."
"It's been a long and tiring three days in the sun and I can finally let the pressure down I'm so happy," he stated. "Getting two wins in a row is exceptional, and especially because both in Vieux-Boucau and here there were so many great surfers. Piccolo beat me in the semis in China the first year he won the World Title so I'm stoked to get my revenge today."
"I see that at 30 years old I am more mature and can handle some of the situations better even if I still do some mistakes at times," he continued. "I'm immensely satisfied with those two events and look forward to the next ones. Reading the spot is really complicated here and I managed to be in the right position for some good waves. Piccolo took a different option and I could never rest on my lead as I knew he could pick up a 9 at any time."
Delpero cements his lead in the regional title race with his second win in Gaia. His road to the final wasn't a simple walk in the woods either, the Frenchman had to face England's Ben Skinner (GBR), then Japanese revelation Shohei Akimoto (JPN) on his way to the final.
Delpero cements his lead in the regional title race with his second win in Gaia. His road to the final wasn't a simple walk in the woods either, the Frenchman had to face England's Ben Skinner (GBR), then Japanese revelation Shohei Akimoto (JPN) on his way to the final.
