Benjamin Sanchis looks like an ant on the face of the 60ft wave at Belharra in the Bay of Biscay.
Frozen in time, the picture shows the lip of the wave lurching forward threatening to crush the Frenchman with hundreds of tons of water.
But the 29-year-old professional surfer managed to avoid wiping-out and could earn a place in the history books for the ride.
The photo has won him a nomination for this year's Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards - a contest normally dominated by locations in the Pacific Ocean.
The wave, which breaks over an offshore reef near the border of France and Spain in the Basque Country, only picks up during huge swells.
However, the Atlantic has been host to several gigantic swells this winter, which have caused weather chaos in the UK.
The wave Mr Sanchis rode on January 18 was created by one of the deepest depression in recent years, which brought gale force winds and giant waves to Britain.
And forecasters are predicting more large swells in the Atlantic during the coming weeks.
A spokesman for surf forecasters, Surfline, said: "The North Atlantic has been in a very active pattern over the past few weeks producing a series of large swells.
"We continue to remain in a very active pattern with plenty of solid swell due for the region over the coming days.
"The North Atlantic storm track is expected to remain fairly active over the next couple of weeks which means potential for even more extra, extra, large swell."
Meanwhile, big wave surfers in Hawaii and the west coast of the US, areas which usually see high seas at this time of year, have been "starved for waves" during recent weeks, Surfline said.
The spokesman added: "The Atlantic Ocean has produced a bounty of massive storms and swells, becoming a key focus of the 2009 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards."
An spokesman for the awards said: "While some of the Atlantic storms lashing the European coastline have arrived with unfavourable weather, there have been many days where the conditions have come together for the surfers who have been on the prowl for the right window of opportunity."
Mr Sanchis, from Hossegor, has been surfing since the age of seven and made his historic ride just 11 days after his 29th birthday.
The picture was taken by surf photographer Stephane Salerno.
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