Ben Skinner is the first Longboard European Champion

The last stage of the European Longboard Championship finished in a battle between two of the main powers in this discipline: France and the UK. With Timothée Creignou out in round 2, Ben Skinner was close to perfection and won in Estoril the stage and European title.

Portugal is no doubt one of the best Surf destinations in the Old Continent. This weekend (19-21 October) in Estoril Coast - just a few minutes away from the Portuguese Capital - the sun was shining up to a warm 27ºC! With many people in the beach, the atmosphere was perfect for the final round of the European Longboard Tour.

A total of 48 athletes from Portugal, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Romania competed in this final round. Due to the waves conditions, the competition was held in tree different beaches: Guincho, Bafureira and São Pedro do Estoril.

With 22 years old, Ben Skinner was a happy man after crushing his rivals at a very intense final. For this surfer from Jersey, Sunday was a magic day. It is not every day that is possible to reach perfection and Skinner made it this time in Estoril. He had a 10 points wave and managed to keep for himself only the best scores: best four waves (10.00/8.75/8.67/8.35) and best scores (18.67/16.75/16.40).

In the final he was clearly happy with his trophy: "To win the first European Longboard title is a dream came true! In Estoril I had such an incredible experience these days. The portuguese organization has done terrific job! I hope to comeback next year."

France got the second and third place in Estoril, with Alexis Deniel and Antione Delpero.

João Ferreira, president of Surfing Clube de Portugal and responsible for this organization made a positive balance of the event: "We could not be happier with the quality of the competition, the commitment of the surfers and the support of the public. Next year we want to go even further and put Estoril name in the world longboard tour".

Source: SW News

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