Pristine Waves Set Up Exciting Sunday Finish at Cabreiroa Junior Pro Razo-Caion

Highlights: Awesome Surfing Sets Up Sunday Finals at Razo

1:30

The JQS1,000 Cabreiroá Junior Pro Razo-Caión runs through its most important day and crowns the 2023 European Junior Title winners as well as potential qualifiers for the World Junior Championships.

Competition continued today at the Cabreiroá Junior Pro Razo-Caión, the third and Final stop on the 2023 World Surf League (WSL) European Junior Qualifying Series (JQS), in pristine, three-to-four foot surf with light offshore winds all day.

Competitors reveled in the perfect peaks of praia de razo and put on a great show in the men and women's Rounds of 32 and 16 as well as the men's Quarterfinals to set up an exciting finish on Sunday in Galicia.

Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri (EUK) - WSL / Damien Poullenot

Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri and Sam Piter Claim 2023 European Junior Titles

The second-to-last day of junior competition in Europe this season confirmed what seemed apparent for a while now, that Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri and Sam Piter stood apart from the rest of the fields.

For the Basque, there was little to no doubt the 16 year-old from Zumaia was going to follow in her older sister's footsteps and keep the European title in the Gonzalez Etxabarri household. The dynamic regular foot has been unbeatable so far this year, winning the first two events in Morocco and Brittany. By advancing into the Quarters again today, she made sure she's mathematically out of reach for her opponents as she received the coveted regional trophy.

"I'm super happy," Gonzalez Etxabarri said. "It wasn't easy today so I'm happy to make it through and now I hope my sister can make the Top 2 and we can go together to the world final."

Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri (EUK) won her first of what could be many titles and keeps the Basque family's hegemony alive and well with a fourth consecutive year on top of the rankings.

Sam Piter (FRA) - WSL / Damien Poullenot

Sam Piter (FRA) made the Quarters in Casablanca and won the second event in La Torche last week. By advancing into the Semis, he also clinched the 2023 regional title, his first as well, just in time as the goofy foot from Hossegor is in his last season as a junior surfer.

"I'm really happy," Piter said. "I've been sleeping next to this trophy my whole life, my dad has won it in the past and I'm happy to win it too, I've worked really hard for it. I felt a lot of pressure coming here and managed to handle it. I'm stoked to qualify for the World Juniors and really proud to represent Europe and France there, and I'll give my best to get the big trophy now."

Piter faced Elay Bochan (ISR) in an epic Quarterfinal showdown where both surfers went to the air and pushed each other towards bigger and bigger scores on every wave.

Francisco Mittermayer (POR) - WSL / Damien Poullenot

WJC Spots Still Up-For-Grab on Sunday

Pressure is at its highest as a lucky few are still battling for the qualifying spots for the World Junior Championships (WJC). Gonzalez Etxabarri and Piter being guaranteed the rankings first place, there is one more spot in the men and one more spot in the women to be allocated to the second-highest ranked surfer when the event wraps on Sunday.

Elay Bochan and Nahia Milhau currently hold a virtual second place in the rankings, but while Milhau will have a say in her fate on Sunday when she surfs in the Quarters, Bochan will be watching from the sidelines and hoping nobody bests his 1,500 points season tally.

The next call will be at 8:30 a.m CEST on Sunday, September 23, 2023 at playa de Razo, A Coruna, Galicia / Spain for the final day of competition.