©Daniel Beres
A 2017 program under the banner of innovation.
Each year the Wheels & Waves festival reboots, rethinks and reimagines. Our friends must be sure of fun and good vibes, as ever, but there must also be new entertainment and experiences to be had. This giant get-together of bike and surf enthusiasts from around the world is the point at which mechanical hardware meets the fluidity of rolling water and all with the backdrop of the beautiful town of Biarritz. This is where surfing first arrived on the shores of Europe over 60 years ago and has become a central part of the myth of European and world wave riding. We still set up our temporary neighbourhood at the spectacular Cite de l’Ocean where you can check out the unique range of custom bikes that are shown here and watch the concerts staged each night.
©Robbie Warden ©Binch Aquashots
This year the focus on surfing will be greater than ever and on the beach will be the legendary Tom Curren just to keep an eye on things. Over the 5 day period there will be three contests:
A friendly open contest organized by SKOSS (Switched Kick Out Surf Syndicate).
The pro’ event called the Log Invitational – obviously for serious log-jockeys.
Finally, from Cornwall, John Isaac invites all comers to show their skills at riding the classic Cornish ply-wood belly board. This ancient wave-riding method still persists in the beach-breaks of England’s South West.
Biarritz will be buzzing from June 14 to 18, 2017 with passion and beauty, gliding and aesthetics and spending an evening in the town digging bikes, food and good vibes is a great experience. However, to add to this both the Art Ride (a substantial exhibition of motorcycles and art) and the Punk’s Peak hill-climb with take place over the boarder in Spain and are both less than one hour’s ride from the Wheels and Waves site. Continuing to innovate the Punk’s Peak races will include our first all electric competitor in the Superbike category.
This short summary only give a taste of what is to come and as things develop you can track them on our website or facebook pages. A schedule of the main events is below along with instructions on how to get tickets:
Wednesday 14 June
El Rollo Flat-track, or the art of turning left into gliding and into the dust.
©Larry Niehues
Thursday 15 June
Artride at Casa Ciriza, or the art of exposing styles without opposing them.
©Hermann Koepf
Friday June 16th
Punk’s Peak Race, or the art of traveling in a straight line the laces of Jaïzkibel
©Hiroyuki Maeda
Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th June
Ride through the northern and southern Basque Country, or the art of losing oneself by happiness.
Every day
Surf Contest
Skateboard Modules
Bike, surf and style expo at Cite de l’Ocean in Biarritz
– Live music (Moon Duo, Tom Curren, Elliott Murphy …)
– Screening of films and documentaries on motorcycle and surfing
©Chloé Daumal
Pre-registration online
The organizers of Wheels and Waves offer several packs at different prices:
– 5-day package: 39 € (1) instead of 50 € on the gate.
– Pack 3 days (Fri. Sat. Sun.): 35 € (2) instead of 45 € on the gate.
– Pack 2 days (Sat. Sun.): 26 € (3) instead of 30 € on the gate.
– Pack 1 day: 15 € (4)
Price includes entrance to the village at Cite de l’Ocean (exhibitors, concerts etc.) and all access to the races and planned events: El Rollo Flat-track, Art Ride and Punk’s Peak Races.
Free admission for children under 15
Opening hours of the village
From Wednesday to Saturday, from 10 am to 10 pm (until 0:30 am for the concert and bars)
On Sunday, from 10am to 4pm.
The Wheels & Waves Crew
Jérôme Allé – Julien Azé – Vincent Prat