Big Scores Amongst Major Upsets in Lacanau

Caption: Maxime Huscenot (FRA), on point and into Round 5
Image: ASP/Masurel

Soöruz Lacanau Pro
Stop No. 2 of 5 on the 2014 ASP Europe Men’s QS Series
  

GRANDE PLAGE, Lacanau / France (Thursday, August 14, 2014) – Day 3 of the ASP 5-Star Soöruz Lacanau Pro witnessed great performances amongst major upsets, disputed in 4Ft bumpy surf. With the event top seeds entering the show today, the level of expertise rose and with it big scores started dropping.

Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 19, netted the biggest score of the event so far, an incredible 9.17 out of 10 for a succession of powerful turns in the critical sections of the wave.

“It is a great confidence boost to get scores like that, but I know this is just the beginning of the event and I have to keep my focus on what’s ahead.” Ribeiro analyzed. “To be honest I’m not sure which score is which wave, I didn’t hear much cause we’re so far from shore, but I heard at some point that I was in the lead.”

Ribeiro and compatriot Miguel Blanco (PRT) were responsible for the first major upset, defeating France’s Joan Duru (FRA) on the final exchange of the 25-minute bout.

“I’ve been training a lot with Yann, and in previous years my approach was wrong,” Ribeiro explained. “I used to try to perform as many turns as possible with little to no regards to the wave itself, whereas now my focus is on surfing the way the wave allows me to. Select the right wave and surf it smart, utilizing critical sections.”

Steven Pierson (PYF) 30, collected an impressive 16.16 out of 20 for two long waves he surfed to perfection. Extremely patient and cautious in the lineup, the Tahitian ambassador selected only four waves with a sufficient scoring potential and focused on exploiting all sections perfectly.

“It’s not easy but I managed to find two good waves early on, and then I just had to manage the lead basically,” Pierson reflected. “I’d love to win this event but it’s a long road, what’s most important is that I enjoy myself in the process. I’m stoked to see another Tahitian doing great and I hope at least one of us can go far !”

Heremoana Luciani (PYF) 24, continued his tear through the Soöruz Lacanau Pro, winning his third consecutive heat in fantastic fashion. The powerful Tahitian, previously unknown by the French public, made a strong impression at each three appearances.

“I’ve been lucky enough to attract all the waves for the past couple of days,” Luciani stated. “I’m really careful when identifying the peaks and preparing my heat, I’m happy that this part of the job pays off.”

Advancing into the fourth round alongside Italian ripper Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), Luciani caused another big upset, eliminating California’s Patrick Gudauskas (USA).

“I came here just to test myself really,” he continued. “I usually am busy with work and can’t travel much, but this year I planned in advance and I’m stoked to have come here and made a few heats. I’ll continue without thinking too much of the end result, I just want to build experience and confidence in the process.”

Charly Martin (GLP) 24, defending event champion, successfully entered the competition with a solid heat win and one of the best scores of the event, an excellent 9.00 ride. Displaying a big smile after his heat, Martin seemed unconcerned by the expectations of the public and surf afficionados.

“I’m super happy I got that best wave right from the start, it was a great righthander, probably the best of the whole heat,” Martin said. “I can’t say I’m not feeling the pressure, but honestly I don’t pay too much attention. I’m simply happy to be here and compete.”

Surfers will reconvene Friday at 9:00am local time for a potential start of the fifth round of competition.

The 2014 Soöruz Lacanau Pro is scheduled from August 12-17, 2014 at Grande Plage, Lacanau – France. For all results, photos and press releases, log on to aspworldtour.com.

The Sooruz Lacanau Pro and Lacanau Pro Junior are made possible with the support of the following event partners: Soöruz and NRJ amongst others.

UPCOMING SOÖRUZ LACANAU PRO RD OF 32 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Maxime Huscenot (FRA), Frederico Morais (PRT), Gony Zubizarreta (ESP), Marc Lacomare (FRA) 

Heat 2: Lucas Silveira (BRA), Nic Von Rupp (PRT), Gaspard Larsonneur (FRA), Imanol Yeregi (EUK) 

Heat 3: Alex Ribeiro (BRA), Vasco Ribeiro (PRT), Michael February (ZAF), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 

Heat 4: Rafael Teixeira (BRA), Miguel Blanco (PRT), Marlon Lipke (PRT), Heremoana Luciani (PYF) 

Heat 5: Charly Martin (GLP), Steven Pierson (PYF), Balaram Stack (USA), Hodei Collazo (EUK) 

Heat 6: Tommy Boucaut (FRA), Noe Mar McGonagle (CRI), Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR), Timothee Bisso (GLP) 

Heat 7: David Van Zyl (ZAF), Jack Freestone (AUS), Ian Gouveia (BRA), Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 

Heat 8: Jatyr Berasaluce (EUK), Vincent Duvignac (FRA), Matheus Navarro (BRA), Marco Giorgi (URY) 

SOÖRUZ LACANAU PRO RD OF 48 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 11.33, Lucas Silveira (BRA) 11.30, Shun Murakami (JPN) 11.16, Luel Felipe (BRA) 9.23

Heat 2: Frederico Morais (PRT) 14.84, Nic Von Rupp (PRT) 9.93, Leandro Usuna (ARG) 9.33, Tristan Guilbaud (FRA) 9.24

Heat 3: Gaspard Larsonneur (FRA) 13.44, Gony Zubizarreta (ESP) 9.60, Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) 9.30, Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 9.10

Heat 4: Imanol Yeregi (EUK) 14.17, Marc Lacomare (FRA) 11.27, Hiroto Arai (JPN) 11.07, Vicente Romero (ESP) 9.10

Heat 5: Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 14.40, Rafael Teixeira (BRA) 12.67, Adrien Toyon (FRA) 7.90, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 6.90

Heat 6: Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 17.10, Miguel Blanco (PRT) 12.5, Joan Duru (FRA) 11.93, Jerome Forrest (AUS) 8.47

Heat 7: Marlon Lipke (PRT) 14.00, Michael February (ZAF) 12.37, Miguel Tudela (PER) 10.96, Cory Arrambide (USA) 7.87

Heat 8: Heremoana Luciani (PYF) 15.67, Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 12.37, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.93, Gatien Delahaye (GLP) 11.50

Heat 9: Charly Martin (GLP) 14.57, Tommy Boucaut (FRA) 13.50, Pedro Henrique (BRA) 11.80, Teale Vanner (AUS) 10.77

Heat 10: Steven Pierson (PYF) 16.16, Noe Mar McGonagle (CRI) 13.96, Santiago Muniz (ARG) 12.90, William Aliotti (FRA) 9.76

Heat 11: Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 14.27, Balaram Stack (USA) 11.63, Dylan Lightfoot (ZAF) 11.63, Medi Veminardi (REU) 10.90

Heat 12: Timothee Bisso (GLP) 11.73, Hodei Collazo (EUK) 10.50, Tom Cloarec (FRA) 9.37, Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) 7.03

Heat 13: David Van Zyl (ZAF) 14.27, Jatyr Berasaluce (EUK) 13.64, Charly Quivront (FRA)12.40, Carlos Munoz (CRI) 12.10

Heat 14: Jack Freestone (AUS) 15.03, Vincent Duvignac (FRA) 14.90, Connor O’Leary (AUS) 13.87, Takumi Nakamura (JPN) 13.70

Heat 15: Matheus Navarro (BRA) 11.93, Ian Gouveia (BRA) 11.80, Cody Robinson (AUS) 11.13, Jean Da Silva (BRA) 11.04

Heat 16: Marco Giorgi (URY) 14.44, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 12.00, Monty Tait (AUS) 7.40, Paul Cesar Distinguin (FRA) 5.64