Travis Grant toppled Titouan Puyo at home in New Caledonia last weekend, taking out the Downwind/Beach Race double at the NBS Race.

These two guys are a couple of the world’s premiere bump riders. While you may think “Connor” and “Kalama” when you think downwind supremos, Travis and Titou are both firmly on the top level as well. These guys have a sixth sense for reading the ocean, and if the wind is blowing and the bumps are running, you’ll struggle to keep them in sight.

However the duo have never raced head-to-head until now.

 
Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the head-to-head match-up that we’d been waiting for in Saturday’s downwind race: Trav was on a 14 footer while Titou used his trusty 12’6. The Aussie crossed a minute and a half ahead of his local counterpart, though it’s hard to tell how much of that advantage came from an extra foot and a half of foam under his feet.

(Another reason we need to do away with having two almost identical but totally separate board classes.)

Local dark horse Franck Muller was third, while future name-to-watch, Clement Colmas, was next over the line.

Trav backed up his downwind result by taking the Beach Race on Sunday, this time racing the same board class as Titou. Though Titouan’s specialty is the downwinder, so we’ll have to wait for another day before we see these two titans duke it out side by side.

The Noumea Board Shop Race, hosted by a local retailer of the same name, was a further showcase of New Cal’s paddling paradise.

Results from the Downwinder are below and there are hundreds of pics on Facebook: Downwinder gallery | Beach Race gallery

#	Name	Time	Class
1	Travis Grant	00:52:25	Men's 14'
2	Titouan Puyo	00:54:00	Men's 12'6
3	Franck Muller	00:55:19	Men's 14'
4	Clement Colmas	00:57:11	Men's 12'6
5	Arnaud Bouyé	00:58:04	Men's 12'6
6	Jean Louis Colmas	00:58:27	Men's 14'
7	David Anewy	00:58:40	Men's 12'6
8	Alexandre Rouys	00:59:01	Men's 14'
9	Bruno Masson	00:59:20	Men's 14'
10	Mario Tranier	01:00:05	Men's 14'
11	Axel Lux	01:00:26	Men's 14'
12	Erwan Bouvier	01:00:34	Men's 14'
13	Olivier Garioud	01:01:41	Men's 14'
14	Philippe Bui	01:02:32	Men's 12'6
15	Fabrice Chaminade	01:03:17	Men's 14'
16	Yann Clavel	01:03:37	Men's 14'
17	Alain Turquetil	01:03:51	Men's 14'
18	Michel Hauata	01:04:02	Men's 12'6
19	Benji Claveau	01:04:07	Men's 12'6
20	Kaheva Mahiota	01:05:32	Men's 14'
21	Pehi Aniamioi	01:05:37	Men's 14'
22	Théau Gontard	01:06:24	Men's 12'6
23	Grégory Taero	01:06:30	Men's 14'
24	Jérémie Mandin	01:06:42	Men's 12'6
25	Renato Mercuri	01:07:32	Men's 14'
26	Lionel Radigue	01:08:02	Men's 14'
27	Jean-Philippe Chabal	01:08:35	Men's 12'6
28	Téva Tapati	01:08:39	Men's 14'
29	Marie-Bénédicte Roger	01:09:00	Women's 14'
30	Miranda Tane Sanson	01:09:00	Women's 12'6
31	Liam Golis-Tuyen	01:09:01	Men's 12'6
32	Michel Pierre Sempere	01:11:54	Men's 14'
33	Vincent Berger	01:12:52	Men's 12'6
34	Isabelle Faget	01:12:53	Women's 12'6
35	Benoit Maritan	01:14:39	Men's 14'
36	Stéphane Amatredjo	01:15:46	Men's 14'
37	Nancy Tuyen	01:15:46	Women's 14'
38	Mickaël Cucchi	01:16:52	Men's 12'6
39	Tepua Chabal	01:18:05	Women's 12'6
40	Sonia Dumas	01:18:58	Women's 12'6
41	Remy Guieba	01:20:47	Men's 14'
42	Frederic Durand	01:22:11	Men's 12'6
43	Stephane Moussan	01:25:47	Men's 14'
44	Francoise Marmey	01:26:22	Women's 12'6
45	Herve Scholash	01:28:27	Men's 12'6
46	Gregoire Prigent	01:29:53	Men's 12'6
47	Valerie Lignon	01:35:30	Women's 12'6
48	Laure Canto	01:35:43	Women's 12'6
49	Christine Mitride	01:38:23	Women's 12'6