CAPBRETON, France (Wednesday, March 28, 2012) - France has been pumping with incredible waves lately and two of ASP Europe’s finest were spotted repeatedly on the main spots, shredding and preparing for the upcoming European Pro Junior season.
We caught up with Tom and Nelson Cloarec from France about their off-season training, school from a distance and their overall feel for the 2012 season.
Tom Cloarec (FRA) 18, and Nelson Cloarec (FRA) 16, originally come from the small town of Quiberon in Britanny, where they discovered surfing before eventually moving to Europe’s center of attention on the surf scene Hossegor, with their parents Didier and Carole supporting their career orientation.
Both have been surfing on the ASP European Junior Tour for a few years now, as well as travelling with the National French Team on international events. Here is their story.. Tom: My name is Tom Cloarec, 18yo, I’ve lived in Hossegor for 6 years now, and I was born in Auray (Britanny).
Nelson: My name is Nelson Cloarec, 16yo.
When did you guys start surfing ?
Tom: We started surfing in Britanny with the federal competitions at a local, then regional level, and we used to drive down to the South-West for U-10 comps and brand events like the Quiksilver Maider Arosteguy and the Moustik Tour.
Nelson: We first started surfing within the Green Pig Surf Club in Plouharnel with Steph Corbinien. We moved here because of surfing.
Didier: We moved here and switched jobs, and switched lives pretty much.. I used to be a fisherman in Britanny, and then when we moved here I started teaching in a high-school in Ciboure, and transitionned to selling crepes (Britanny’s specialty) on marketplaces..
How do you guys manage to pursue a career with school ?
Tom: We both study with CNED (french institute for distance learning) from home, and both in high-school, I’m a year ahead.
Our organization depends largely on the conditions, if the waves are bad we’re going to stay home and study all day, but if it’s perfect like right now, we work a lot less, sometimes not at all..
Basically we receive books and paper documents, and we have to study, but it’s a different program from what we would learn in school, it’s actually a lot harder.. Regularly we have to send home-tests and get notes and marks on those.
And then when come the exams, we just go take them in schools like everybody else.
Didier: It’s a big advantage to be able to organize your schedule, especially if you want to take a trip of several weeks in winter for example, you’re free to go and there’s no hassle with schools etc..
When was your first taste of ASP European events ?
Tom: We both started around 13 years-old on the ASP Europe Junior Tour and so far my best result has been 4th in 2010 at the end of the year.
Last year I had a good result in Newquay (3rd), and the year before I got a 3rd in San Sebastian and a 2nd in the Canary Islands, and a 3rd in the 3-Star in Confital last year too. Nelson: I haven’t had any major results on the Pro Junior yet, but I’ve had some good ones on other comps, I’ve won the European King of the Groms final for example..
What are your goals in term of results in 2012 ?
Tom: This year my goal is to crack the Top 3 to qualify for the World Juniors. Nelson: Same here basically..
Didier: So there’s only one spot left !!
How do you prepare / train for the upcoming events ?
Tom: We don’t really have a coach, we film our sessions all the time, our parents film us, and then we watch the footage and work from there.
Carole: They also get some feedback when they train with the French National Team, but it’s mostly auto-adjusting from what they see on the videos..
Didier: There’s not a lot of retired pro-surfers available for coaching, except in the bigger brands teams..
Carole: They had a few sessions with Xavier Huart in competition in the past.. And also trained before with Julien Dales who was Joan Duru’s coach back then. But basically we’re free to train however we want, and sign a private coach if we want to..
Tom: Yeah and we’re going to the ISA World Junior Champs in Panama in April too, with Patrick Flores and Yann Martin as coaches.. And also sometimes we talk to Hugo Savalli who’s been helping us improve. He’s in Reunion Island, but sometimes we send him videos, and he gives us feedback on what to work on..
Carole: I think compared to those who are now pros, maybe 3-4 years older, like Joan Duru, Marc Lacomare and Charly Martin, this new generation of 15-18yo surfers really got hit by the crisis within the brands and sponsors and have a harder time than the previous generation. The progression I think depends a lot on your environment, and your sponsor plays a major role in this.
So who are you supported by ?
Tom: Right now we have O’Neill, Pull-In, VonZipper, Sharp Eye and ATS Surfshop supporting us in our career.
Where will you surf this year ?
Tom: The plan is to do all the events of the ASP European Junior Tour this year for both of us, and some of the 6-Star events if we can get in like Lacanau, Zarautz and Pantin.. Unfortunately we miss the Protest Vendee Pro because we’re in Panama at the same time..
Nelson: It’s pretty hard to start on the Star Tour right now, because Vendee is the only non 6-Star event, and all the other events are hard to get in for Juniors without seeding..
Thank’s a lot for your time, and good luck for all you future events !
Tom and Nelson Cloarec will be competing in the ASP Europe Pro Junior Events in 2012. For more information on Tom, visit their ASP Europe Profiles:
Tom Cloarec and Nelson Cloarec. They also have a website relaying all their information, updates and videos: cloarec-brothers.com.
See also a video of their recent escapade in California
FOLLOW US:
