We used to meet the Swiss sailor Laure Treboux on the PWA events on the Canaries. This year we did not.

Swiss freestyle lady Laure Treboux (30/ SUI-4) decided to stop her competition career after being several years on the PWA tour. She has started to compete in freestyle in 2005, scored great results and was a regular podium finisher with her best results in 2011 and 2012. She won an IFCA freestyle title and several Swiss titles during her career. In 2008 Laure decided to compete on the PWA wave tour, too. She has moved to Western Australia and was able to push her waveriding level and in her fifth season she managed to make it in 4th position overall. Although her results were improving, Laure decided to stop her competition career at the age of 29. Laure has never won a PWA freestyle event during her career, although she gave Sarah-Quita a hard time on the water, but she impressed with her fluid style on the water. Read an interview, what Laure is up to at the moment and about her plans in the near future.

 

Sarah-Quita Offringa about Laure: “I MISS LAURE ! We started the tour in pretty much the same year. Ever since we started we would usually be roommates at the events. I would always enjoy her company as she is super relaxed but we would have so much laughs as well. On the water we were competitors but always both having fun because before the heats we would always wave or shout good luck to each other. The best heat we sailed against each other as far as I can remember was in Bonaire in 2011 where we both pushed each other to sail at our bests. If Laure has time she should make a grand return in 2014, because I heard there will be some Caribbean events on the calendar!”

 

Craig Gertenbach (Fanatic Brand manager) about Laure: „We are happy to have Laure Treboux in our Fanatic International Team and even if she does not do contests anymore it feels right for us to support her and have her as representative for our brand. We do have a long history together and Laure has helped us a lot in the past with great pictures and results. Similar with Nayra Alonso – when she told us she was pregnant we still  kept on supporting her even though she was not able to do any contests anymore for a certain period of time. We think it´s important to keep this loyality towards our riders and it´s not all about contests and top results!” 

 

Sarah Quita Offringa and Laure Treboux at Fuerteventura 2006 - Pic: CONTINENTSEVEN

Sarah Quita Offringa and Laure Treboux at Fuerteventura 2006 – Pic: CONTINENTSEVEN

 

C7: Hi Laure, how is it going? Are you still in Western Australia?

Laure Treboux: I’m very well thank you. Yep, still in WA. I’ve gone through my first winter over here and it’s been amazing. I didn’t windsurf very much over the last few months. The winter isn’t very windy here, but the surf has been awesome. So I’ve been in the water a lot, and had time to do a lot of other stuff as well.

 

A perfect wave spot at Western Australia.

 

 

C7: Usually we have met you at the PWA events in Fuerteventura, Pozo and Tenerife? This year not. Did you decide to have a break on tour for a few events, for a whole season or forever? 

Laure Treboux: After 7 years on tour I have decided to stop. It was an amazing part of my life, and I’m very grateful for all the support and experience I received over the last few years, but I felt like I needed a change. Even though I got better at competing thanks to the amazing help and work of my coach (Dr Aly Sabri) who helped me overcome my nerves and fears, and improve all aspects of my windsurfing, competing has never been my favorite part of windsurfing. I wasn’t born a competitor I don’t think, and competing when you weren’t made for it gets exhausting. It’s been heaps of fun though and I wouldn’t change a thing!

I got my Australian permanent residency about a year ago and that was a turning point. Suddenly I was able to live in my favourite part of the world, right at the sea, travel along the coast and be free to go windsurfing and surfing wherever and whenever I wanted. Basically my idea of the perfect lifestyle. It seemed too good to miss out!

Before that I had to stay away for months at a time as Australia is too far to go back and forth between events. It was fine for a few years but I got tired of it. I really felt like settling down a bit more and not having to be away from home for 6 months at a time. And I also felt like doing other things with my life. There is still so much I wanna do and so many places I want to travel to, I needed to create some space and time for it in my life.

At the moment I work as a sports teacher for kids, which I love. During the windy season I also do a lot of windsurf coaching. It’s really good to be able to give back and share a little bit of what sport has done for me. Teaching has always been a big part of my life and I’m grateful I get to do it pretty much every day. The great thing with living here is that even though I am working a fair bit, I still have a lot of time to windsurf and surf and do everything I love…

 

Laure at Fuerteventura 2008 - Pic: CONTINENTSEVEN

Laure at Fuerteventura 2008 – Pic: CONTINENTSEVEN

 

C7: You improved your wavesailing a lot through the last years and you were extremely competitive on tour last season. Why did you decide to stop?

Laure Treboux: I am still sailing as much as possible, but for fun – it’s what makes me the most happy. I love wave sailing. We’re getting so much quality conditions over here, and I’m lucky to sail with this crew of amazing windsurfers, it would be hard not to improve. I’m learning a lot with these guys.

Being part of the Severne team is also the best thing that could happen to me windsurfing-wise recently. They’re based here in Perth and I get to sail and do trips with them all the time. It’s great to be part of such a good team. The Fanatic guys have also been great and very understanding of my decision to stop competing. I am very grateful for the support both brands give me.

 

Cool freestyle action at the lake.

Cool freestyle action at the lake.

 

C7: Do you still train freestyle?

Laure Treboux: I still freestyle, definitely. I love doing both wave sailing and freesyling. When the waves are good I’m wave sailing and when it’s flat I’m freestyling. They complete each other perfectly. You get to sail a lot more this way, and I’m convinced freestyle helps my wave sailing too.

 

C7: Are you missing the excitement of competing and the air of the Worldtour events?

Laure Treboux: I miss the atmosphere and hanging out with all the riders for sure. I made some great friends and met amazing people over the years. Just the other day Sarah-Quita skyped me from Holland during the event in Brouwersdam. She walked around the event site and I got to see the whole set up and a few of the riders, it was really nice. That’s the part I miss. But I don’t miss competing itself and sailing heats.

 

Backloop action.

Back loop action by Laure Treboux.

 

C7: You are not only windsurfing. You are surfing, wake boarding. All kind of water sports. Is that something you have been missing?

Laure Treboux: Yes I missed it. I love having the opportunity to do a whole bunch of different activities now. We moved south of Perth a few months ago, in an awesome place, a minute from the beach, and the surf here is really good. So I’m surfing more, want to go on snowboard trips too, all sorts of exciting stuff.  We went on a surf trip in the Maldives a few months ago, it was the most amazing place.  I just love the idea of seeing new places and get really excited when I think about all the places I still wanna visit.

Simon (note: Hurrey) and his brother are working around the clock on their new project, the Perth Wake Park. It will be the sickest place. 3 lakes with 3 different cables including a step up pool, a café, pro shop… It’s a huge project and I cannot wait to see the result.

 

Laure and his boyfriend Simon at Fuerteventura - Pic: CONTINENTSEVEN

Laure and her boyfriend Simon at Fuerteventura – Pic: CONTINENTSEVEN

Kono by Laure Trebaux.

Kono by Laure Trebaux.

 

C7: How would you describe a perfect windsurfing day?

Laure Treboux: A day filled with clean waves and friends.

 

C7: What’s your favorite windsurfing spot?

Laure Treboux: Gnaraloo. And Dahab for freestyling.

 

C7: Will we see you back on tour again?

Laure Treboux: I’m having such a good time with my life as it is at the moment, going back on tour seems unlikely. Thanks to the support I get from Fanatic and Severne I feel like I’m still part of the windsurfing scene without having to compete. I found the perfect balance I think.

©continentseven.com 2013

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