Photo: Sylvain Cazenave | Quiksilver
The world’s elite female surfers are eagerly awaited on the beaches of the Landes area in the Southwest of France in the towns of Seignosse, Hossegor, and Capbreton to compete conjointly in: the Roxy Pro France . The defending champion, Australia’s Tyler Wright will try to defend their titles, while the French surfer Johanne Defay respectively crowned at the US Open, strive to put on a strong showing for the home crowd. This French stop will also gather surfing legend Stephanie Gilmore.
The Roxy Pro France will be the second to last stop on the Women’s Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour 2015. The 17 surfers of the women’s world elite will bring their European sojourn, which started in Portugal, to an end in France. Even if most of the members of the men’s tour dream of surfing the often massive waves that break on the Landes coast, they are no longer a nightmare for the girls who’ve gained the experience and skill set necessary to hold their own in whatever size swell is on offer. So, the contest will not only be suspenseful from the point of view of the women’s performances but also from a sporting standpoint as the Roxy Pro France will be crucial for the 2015 Women’s World Champion crown.
The winner of the Roxy Pro France in 2014, Tyler Wright will be doing her utmost to defend her crown. Last year, the Australian left her mark on the event by scoring 4 waves over 9 out of 10 points possible in an epic final against Californian, Courtney Conlogue. Since then, the American has gained in confidence and is currently leading 2-time Women’s World Champion, Carissa Moore on the Jeep leaderboard – the official world ranking list. Another strong contender will be 6-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore if she recovers from her knee injury in time to compete.
Johanne Defay is a quick learner. Even though she’s only competing in her 2nd season amongst the women’s world elite surfers, the Reunion islander has found her rhythm and her bearings. After finishing 5th at Bells (Aus), and 3rd in Fiji, she won her first event on the Samsung Galaxy Women’s Championship Tour at the US Open and is heading for a requalification – or better – for 2016. And all that, without a sponsor!
The particularity of the Roxy Pro France is the exceptional playing field at its disposal, with a few dozen kilometers of the best world class beach breaks that the Landes area has to offer. Seignosse, Hossegor and Capbreton have an incalculable number of world class spots including Les Estagnots, le Gardian, les Culs Nus or la Gravière which have all hosted the event at one time or another.