Lucas Chianca and Maya Gabeira won the Best Performance Awards at the Tudor Nazaré Challenge. Photos: WSL//Instagram
The 2024 Nazaré Big Wave Challenge at Praia do Norte in Portugal is in the books, and Lucas Chianca and Maya Gabeira came out on top, snagging the Best Performance awards. Chianca, along with partner Pedro Scooby, also took home the Best Team Performance award.
It was an epic day of surfing at Nazaré, with wave heights at the world’s most famous big wave spot hovering around 35 feet. Certainly not the biggest we’ve seen there, but plenty big enough for a day to be remembered. The swell, which grew as the day progressed, brought consistent and clean sets which can be a bit of a rarity.
The Nazaré event has an interesting format, with nine teams surfing in 40-minute heats. Each team member must surf and pilot the ski for their partner, and each surfer holds onto their two top-scoring rides. As is the norm for Nazaré, the cliff top was packed with spectators.
Chianca and Scooby put the rest of the field on notice in the second heat, locking down high scores that would stand until Nic von Rupp and Clement Roseyro climbed to the pole position. They weren’t able to hang onto the lead for long, though, and Chianca and Scooby took it back soon afterwards.
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Gabeira’s win at Nazaré came after a long and storied history with the wave that very nearly killed her in 2013. “Thank you so much to everyone who put on this amazing event in 72 hours,” Gabeira said from the podium. “This was incredible!”
Here are the 2024 Nazaré Big Wave Challenge Results:
Men’s Best Performance: Lucas Chianca (BRA)
Women’s Best Performance: Maya Gabeira (BRA)
Most Committed Award: T.B.A.
Best Team Performance: Pedro Scooby (BRA) / Lucas Chianca (BRA)
Team Leaderboard
1. Pedro Scooby (BRA) / Lucas Chianca (BRA), 41.16
2. Nic von Rupp (POR) / Clement Roseyro (FRA), 37.81
3. Rodrigo Koxa (BRA) / Vitor Faria (BRA), 35.79
4. Pierre Rollet (FRA) / Rafael Tapia (CHI), 34.63
5. Eric Rebiere (FRA) / Sebastian Steudtner (GER), 33.81
6. Andrew Cotton (GBR) / Will Skudin (USA), 27.22
7. Michelle des Bouillons (BRA) / Ian Cosenza (BRA), 20.36
8. Maya Gabeira (BRA) / Antonio Laureano (POR), 17.27
9. João De Macedo (POR) / Antonio Silva (POR), 15.60
