INTERVIEW: BERYL, FRENCH SKIMBOARD CHAMP

Béryl Besseau was crowned French skimboard champion for the second consecutive year, at the end of October, in Saint-Nazaire. After this title, our team rider talks about his goals, the competition and his level of motivation.

 

 

“How did you approach this event knowing that you were defending your title? Was it extra pressure?

I started the competition with a strong drive to ride well, to land new tricks but also to win my 2nd title. So I trained a lot in the last 3 weeks, on a lot of technical aspects to improve my make rate. Namely the more complex tricks that I normally don’t nail in events. I had a lot of pressure (well, I put it on myself), because I had a title to defend and the fact that it would all play out on my home spot.

What type of conditions do you shine in?

I have several strengths and sometimes they don’t have much in common. I’m really comfortable when there’s a lot of size and heavy barrels but also when there are ramps, everywhere to put airs, that’s really my thing.

The conditions were technical with choppy water. The fact that I had trained a lot in similar conditions the week before the competition helped me a lot. The few bombs which passed and which were far to seek were great for me in particular in semi-final with a beautiful 10 points ride.  

 

How do you manage to keep such a motivation when you, once again, hit the jackpot ?

The first reason for my motivation is that I really like skimming. It’s different from the rest because of its approach to the wave and because it offers a lot of opportunities to make big airs. The second one is that I have the chance to live on one of the best spots in Europe, on the beach of La Courance, so it helps. I’m starting to get a little tired of events since all these years, but I will be there in 2023.

A word about other competitors you met this year ?

It was really mixed compared to previous years, we see a renewal of competitors. They are shaking up the competition a bit. Some results were surprising with early eliminations. A small group coming from Saint-Nazaire is quite well placed at the top in each competition this year. They are starting to find their own place in the sun.”