Ramzi Boukhiam and Bianca Buitendag claim Sooruz Royan Atlantique Pro Junior titles
Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam and South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag claimed top honours in the men’s and women’s division respectively at the Sooruz Royan Atlantique Pro Junior that went down at Cote Sauvage in Royan, France, on Sunday, July 15.
The surfing conditions at the primary event site were nothing short of demanding on the final day of the competition. While this was bound to make the surfers struggle to get their hands on a couple of good scores, the situation promised plenty of thrill
and intensity for the large crowd in attendance at Cote Savage to witness.
Boukhiam found himself pitted against Portugal’s Frederico Morais, France’s Diego Mignot and Great Britain’s Luis Eyre in a four-person Junior Men’s Final.
The battle was expected to go down to the wire as all four surfers had been exhibiting a solid form throughout the course of the event.
However, it turned out that the Moroccan surfer had been saving one of his best performances for the finals. Putting on a display of rail-to-rail carves, along with the powerful snaps on both left as well as right-handers. He got hold of a couple of solid
waves to reach a heat-total of 13.64 points, which served to seal the fate of the four-man battle in his favour.
“Tough final and tough conditions all the comp,” stated an ecstatic Boukhiam. “This is my first pro junior win and I am so happy. I have been doing pro juniors since I was thirteen years old and I am stoked to win one. I want to thank my sponsors and Thomas
and Yann Martin and my brother and my family. I also definitely want to dedicate my first victory to my dad who is watching me from the sky.”
Morais finished with a heat-total of 11.46 points, thus having to settle for a first runner-up position. Mignot finished third with a two-wave total of 9.13 points, while Eyre rounded out the top-four after registering a heat-total of 8.97 points.
The women’s division saw Buitendag walk away with her third consecutive ASP Europe Pro Junior title after emerging triumphant in Junior Women’s Final on Sunday. She found herself squaring off with France’s Maud Le Car, Reunion Island’s Cannelle Bulard and
Spain’s Lucia Martino for top honours.
The South African sensation trailed her rivals for most part of the heat before launching into a two-turn combination to post a 7.50 on the score-board. Adding the superb effort with her 4.87-point ride took her to a heat-total of 12.37 points, which sealed
the deal in her favour.
Le Car led the heat for majority of the clash, but eventually had to settle for a second-place finish due to her heat-total of 11.57 points. Bulard finished third with a two-wave total of 7.74 points, while Martino had to settle for fourth position after
registering a heat-total of 6.60 points.
Despite the tricky surfing conditions on hand, Sooruz Royan Atlantique Pro Junior managed to conclude with reached its conclusion with a couple of thrilling finals.
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