Paris (AFP)

Perched 20 meters high, the equivalent of a 6-storey building, she surfs water monsters at over 60 km / h: Justine Dupont is preparing to resume her life for a new season on the popular spot of the big waves of Nazaré (Portugal).

La Française is one of the few surfers in the world to excel in these extreme conditions.

For the past 4 years, she has lived most of the year near the Praia de Norte beach, about 100 kilometers from Lisbon.

On Thursday, she will be ready for the first swell but looks forward to the following week, which promises to be strong in the North Atlantic.

“Being ready to surf the biggest waves was an objective a year ago exactly, but I don't know if I believed in it one hundred percent,” Justine Dupont told AFP.

"And I did it, I'm really proud of it. Here it is, I can surf the biggest storms there is."

This confidence, the 29-year-old champion owes it in particular to two masterful waves, in November 2019 and then in February, which have earned her a good position to beat the world record but it is ultimately the Brazilian Maia Gabeira - her great rival in the discipline - which barely groomed the pawn by bringing the mark to 22.25 m.

Justine Dupont was nevertheless honored as best performer of the year 2019/2020 but also for the best session of the year (Ride of the year).

Like a rich season which has taken it to a new level.

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- 'Danger zone' -

"I have another apprehension of the big swells that are coming. Even more envy, a little less fear and even more attracted by it. There are still storms that are not yet surfable because everything does not line up not but we know that in Nazaré we can surf even bigger waves ”, she rejoices.

The Canaulaise, who has been riding the waves for several years with her companion Fred David, continues to improve in search of the biggest wave but also in the most beautiful way to tame it.

"The pure performance of this sport is playing with the wave, enough to have all the power, the slope of the wave, but at the same time not too much. Getting closer and closer to the danger zone. . ”Says the surfer who has been very little injured in her career.

And for this new season, which runs from mid-October to the end of March, she would like to make more maneuvers to bring a real "surf side to big waves".

"Riding the big wave more than going down".

g "About the world record, I didn't agree. The Brazilian crashed, for me it wasn't surfing. Making a turn where you put the board aside to have more speed, it's just crazy, you felt a lot more than just dampening a disturbance in the water. It's like snowboarding, it's up to us to find those mountain maneuvers that you can put on the wave ", underlines the world champion 2019 stand-up paddle board.

Justine Dupont, who is also more committed to the defense of the environment with a partnership with the MAIF allowing her to transform her CO2 rate into euros donated for the Anglet forest, opens a new chapter in her career.

© 2020 AFP