- WSL / Rémi BLANC
- WSL / Rémi BLANC
Highlights: Champions Crowned at Cabreiroá Las Americas Pro Tenerife
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The Cabreiroá Las Americas Pro Tenerife culminates with the victories of Tim Bisso and local hero Daniela Boldini.

The QS 1,500 Cabreiroá Las Americas Pro Tenerife wrapped up in two-to-three foot lefts this afternoon. Here's a breakdown of the event's Finals.

Men's Final: Paul Cesar Distinguin vs. Timothee Bisso

The men's Final was treated to a great start with a few good waves coming through the lineup in the opening minutes. Bisso once again came firing right out of the gates with an excellent 8.33 for a series of radical turns on his forehand. The Guadeloupe surfer linked his maneuvers perfectly with flow and took a big lead right away.

Distinguin answered with powerful turns but shorter rides and couldn't quite navigate his way around some of the sections closing out. Time continued to run away as Bisso sat patiently in the lineup until a set of two waves came on the five minute mark.

Timothee Bisso (FRA) Timothee Bisso (FRA) - WSL / Rémi BLANC

Bisso surfed the first wave of the set, continuing to push his turns hard all the way into the shorey. Distinguin opted to go on the second wave, with a good first turn and a little fin-free rotation for a 6.33 but Bisso's back up came slightly higher with a 6.7 which sealed the deal for his first-ever QS title.

"I got a couple close calls earlier in the event and today I just made no mistakes so I'm super happy to finally win my first event!" he said. "I've trained a lot with my coach Zé on all the different situations and tactics and today I just felt like I was ready to win. I moved to Portugal recently and there are so many great waves there to train, plus my coach lives there so it's perfect."

Bisso's path to the Final was an example of momentum building through the early rounds to peak at the right time. His fast and powerful approach in the pumping swell earlier this week translated perfectly into the smaller waves breaking on finals day and Bisso was the clear standout in the Final.

Distinguin reached the Final for the first time since 2014 and capped off a week of great surfing with a runner-up result in Tenerife.

Paul Cesar Distinguin (FRA) Paul Cesar Distinguin (FRA) - WSL / Rémi BLANC

"I just won the La Nord Challenge before coming here so I'm stoked with how I surf at the moment," he said. "I surfed well here last year so I really wanted to have a result again. Waves were incredible this week and I had so much fun! Sharing the Final with a friend is great too, Tim deserved it, and I hope the next will be mine! I feel like I did everything I could with the waves I was given today but my selection was a little off in the Final for sure."

Distinguin had previously edged out Thomas Debierre in an exciting first Semifinal, where he scored an excellent 8 point ride with a series of very good turns. Bisso left no chance to Lucca Mesinas in their Semi, dropping a near-perfect 9.50 in the opening 30 seconds of their exchange and backing it up with an 8.50 later on.

Women's Final: Daniela Boldini vs. Leticia Canales Bilbao

Local sensation Daniela Boldini made it all the way to the event's Final on her home break and despite a slow start from both surfers, took a short lead over Canales Bilbao in the opening ten minutes. The goofy vs. regular battle mostly happened in small insiders as the ocean failed to provide many sets for the two surfers.

A good exchange happened on the ten minute mark with the Basque surfer swinging first with a couple of good turns to re-claim the lead. The local answered right away and pushed her maneuvers a touch harder to post a 5.17 and get back in pole position.

Daniela Boldini (CNY) Daniela Boldini (CNY) - WSL / Rémi BLANC

Canales Bilbao got a final opportunity in the dying moments when the best wave of the heat rolled in, but the surfer fell on her first turn attempt, probably affected by the pressure of the whole situation.

The cinderella story culminated with the local event wildcard Boldini claiming the event title in front of very vocal, huge crowds, for her second time only competing at this level on the Qualifying Series.

"For me this competition has been a dream come true and it has motivated me to keep competing on the QS tour and to get a good end of year result," she said. "The truth is that my coach Nacho Sebastia has helped me a lot this week with my confidence and telling me where to position myself so that has helped me a lot. It turned out to be one of the contests where I have been less nervous because I believed in my ability and surfing. I would like to thank my family, my friends for their support and the surf club Punta Blanca. And I hope to achieve even bigger results during the year."

Canales Bilbao came back last year from an injury sustained in 2017 and finished her season just outside the QS top 50. She started her season exceptionally in Tenerife with a runner-up result and showed great potential all-week.

Leticia Canales Bilbao (EUK) Leticia Canales Bilbao (EUK) - WSL / Rémi BLANC

"This is a good result for me and a great confidence boost before the Australian leg coming up," she said. "These past couple of days had incredible waves and I surfed pretty much as well as I can so I'm super happy with my performance. We have a huge year ahead with the qualification for the Olympics, the WSL tour of course as well so it's going to be a busy one but I look forward to it."

In the Semifinals, Boldini eliminated event standout Anat Lelior by surfing the only good wave that broke to a 7.50 to solidify the lead. Canales Bilbao defeated Carol Henrique by staying busy on the insiders on the other hand.

With the completion of the Cabreiroá Las Americas Pro Tenerife, the European rankings have evolved, here's the new current Top 5:

European Men's QS Top 5:
1 - Timothee Bisso
2 - Tristan Guilbaud
3 - Paul Cesar Distinguin
4 - Leon Glatzer
4 - Ruben Vitoria

European Women's QS Top 3:
1 - Daniela Boldini
2 - Leticia Canales Bilbao
3 - Carol Henrique
3 - Anat Lelior

Surfers will now have eight weeks to prepare for the next event on the 2019 European Qualifying Series, the Pro Santa Cruz.

Tune in from February 4-10, 2019 for the LIVE Webcast and check out all the photos, videos and updates right here!

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