SAN JUAN, Lanzarote/Canary Islands (Wednesday, October 24 2012) – The ASP 6-Star Islas Canarias Santa Pro ran through another marathon day today to advance through 24 heats of competition in clean 3-4Ft waves at the primary venue of San Juan on the beautiful Island of Lanzarote. The last event on the European schedule this season, the Canarian showdown will crown our European Champion as well as play a vital role in determining next year’s elite ASP Top 34.
Willian Cardoso (BRA) 26, current ASP World No.36, came out storming this afternoon, dominating his heat and moving into the third round with two incredible scores of 9.77 and 8.60 out of 10. The Brazilian powerhouse left his three opponents in a combination zone, needing two scores to overtake the lead.
“I missed the first set and only started on the white wave after it,” Cardoso said. “I did a couple turns and got an 8.7 and I thought ‘wow if I get an 8.7 for that one I can’t wait to get a clean one!’ I got a good one and had that massive score of 9.77, it’s so cool. I got two 9ths in Europe and I was hoping to get a Quarterfinal or better so I’m hoping to get a good result here and get to Hawaii in a better position.”
Billy Stairmand (NZL) 23, sole representative of New-Zealand’s surfing talent pool in this event, came out on top of the most disputed heat today, besting Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia with an excellent heat total of 16.97 out of 20.
“That was fun,” Stairmand said. “Everyone was sitting wide and I just wanted to sit deep and have my own little peak, just go out there and have as much fun as I could. I was out there and I saw a big set coming, I just took off and I knew I only had to do two or three turns to get a good score just because it was a bigger wave. I had a good first turn and a sucky section came along and I just tried to go big and throw some spray for the judges.”
In the dying moments of their 25-minute confrontation, Stairmand and Patacchia shared a set, the Hawaiian opting for the first wave and applying his lethal fronthand attack while Stairmand started on the second wave to throw three massive turns on his backside. Both waves came as excellent scores in the 9 point range and the difference was made with the better backup score of the Kiwi.
“I had a good start to the season in the Aussie Open I got third, and after that I don’t know, I’ve just been traveling heaps and have been down a little but trying to keep my rankings up. I’m feeling good, trying to be as happy as possible and having fun. The Top 100 is what I aimed for at the start of the year, so I’m stoked to be in all the Primes and 6-Stars. It’s always good to surf against the best guys, I actually feel more relaxed because Freddy P. (Patacchia) is on the World Tour and has been there for years, he’s one of my favourite surfers, it’s just cool to be out there with these guys and we’re just having fun and doing the same thing.”
Stairmand will be facing Jean Da Silva (BRA), Cristobal De Col (PER) and Matt Wilkinson (AUS) in the next round while Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) will deal with an-all European affair against Maxime Huscenot (FRA), Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) and Alain Riou (PYF).
Gabe Kling (USA) 32, former WCT competitor who spent three and a half seasons among the World’s Best, netted the highest single wave score of the event so far, a near-perfect 9.33 out of 10 for a succession of powerful turns in the critical sections of a running lefthander.
“I had a really bad start to the heat,” Kling said. “I just couldn’t catch a wave, and then I was surfing bad on all of them, the first good wave I got caught out the back and fell, and right behind there was a perfect left. I just started in that inside spot and got to do like six good turns on it. That was like halfway through the heat and with the first terrible half, all it takes is one big score. I got a decent backup but it was a pretty nerve wracking heat up until that point.”
The experienced Floridian who collected a 3rd place in Merewether and a 5th in Huntington earlier in 2012, had a hard time balancing his new family situation of young father and his professional career and will be looking to collect more heat wins when competition resumes tomorrow.
“It’s been a different year for me, I got a couple results at the start of the year and not much since, but I got married and I’ve got a little boy. All of that happened this year, so my focus has been a little more on that. He’s 3 months old now, so it’s a bit harder to travel but I’ve still been doing contests and enjoying the time I got to spend at home and away as well.”
Granger Larsen (HAW) 22, current World No.33, is sitting just outside the qualification zone for next year’s World Championship Tour and took a commanding lead of his heat today to move into the third round of competition and get one step closer to his overall objective of winning an event.
“I got a 7.83 on my second wave and tried to build house from there,” Larsen stated.”There were actually some pretty good sets in that heat, I’m pretty stoked to get through that one. There’s definitely some pressure of course but I just try to block it out, I want to win an event super bad and hopefully this is my first one!”
Originating from the pristine Hawaiian island of Maui, Larsen was quick to find his marks on the perfect lefthander reefbreak of San Juan and displayed a complete repertoire of backhand surfing to net one of the highest heat totals of the day.
“I’ve been here one time, two years ago when it was a Prime, I thought this place was really cool, it kind of reminds me of home. I love reefbreaks, that’s all I surf at home and I have a place there that’s almost similar to this and I’ve been surfing it everyday preparing for this event so I can’t wait for the next couple of rounds.”
Marlon Likpe (DEU) 28, current frontrunner in the European Title race came second to Granger Larsen in their second round bout, and will continue his road to a maiden regional title when the event is called back ON.
Jean Da Silva (BRA) 27, potential qualifier for the 2013 WCT with his current 28th World Ranking, was another standout today, claiming another high wave score, an excellent 9.07 out of 10 on his way to advance to the third round.
“I’m relaxed and just having fun,” Da Silva said. “I’ve been here a few times before, I feel like home with all the other guys here. I definitely need a good result, I’ve been trying to qualify for the last six years and have been really close a couple of years in a row but hurt myself. Right now I’m in good shape and feeling good, so I hope it works out!”
Today’s most notorious upset was performed by Medi Veminardi (REU) 21 who defeated current WCT competitor Travis Logie (ZAF) in a low scoring heat this afternoon on the low tide.
Next Call will be at 8am tomorrow morning at the primary venue of San Juan to re-assess conditions and decide for the day’s schedule. Up first when competition re-starts will be Nathan Yeomans (USA), Marc Lacomare (FRA), Steven Pierson (PYF) and Davey Cathels (AUS).
The ASP 6-Star Islas Canarias Santa Pro is scheduled from October 23-28, 2012 in San Juan, Lanzarote / Canary Islands. For all results, photos, video highlights, press releases and LIVE webcast, log on to lanzarote.aspeurope.com.
The Islas Canarias Santa Pro is made possible with the support of the following event partners: Gobierno de Canarias, Islas Canarias Water Sports Experience, Cabildo de Lanzarote, Servicio Insular de Deportes, Lanzarote Reserva de Biosfera, Ayuntamiento de Teguise, Ayuntamiento de Tinajo, Sands Beach Active, Stilo Vitae – Sands Beach Center, FCS Federacion, SURFERS Village, Naviera Armas, Windguru, Graficas Alayon, Grupo Creativo Ferver, Lanzawagen, Sport8.es, Embotelladora de Canarias, REINA, 7UP, Clipper, Lanjaron amongst others.
ISLAS CANARIAS SANTA PRO ROUND OF 144 RESULTS:
Heat 21: Steven Pierson (PYF) 8.37, Simao Romao (BRA) 7.77, Rudy Marechal (FRA) 2.87 Heat 22: Romain Laulhe (FRA) 11.83, Davey Cathels (AUS) 9.27, Miguel Tudela (PER) 4.63, Julian Del Pozo (CNY) 4.14 Heat 23: Manuel Selman (CHL) 11.43, Natxo Gonzalez (EUK) 6.94, Gavin Gillette (HAW) 6.74, Alexander El Naib (DEU) 1.93 Heat 24: Chris Friend (AUS) 9.97, Norman Landa (EUK) 8.37, Filipe Jervis (PRT) 8.33
ISLAS CANARIAS SANTA PRO ROUND OF 96 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Heitor Alves (BRA) 13.00, Guillermo Satt (CHL) 7.57, Antonio Marques (CNY) 6.00, Andre Silva (BRA) 5.83 Heat 2: Dion Atkinson (AUS) 14.83, Romain Cloitre (FRA) 12.93, Ian Gouveia (BRA) 12.77, Vicente Romero (ESP) 11.03 Heat 3: Granger Larsen (HAW) 15.73, Marlon Lipke (DEU) 11.20, Dimitri Ouvre (GLP) 8.10, Miguel Villalba (ESP) 3.84 Heat 4: Evan Thompson (USA) 13.33, Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 11.73, Sebastien Zietz (HAW) 11.30, Bruno Rodrigues (BRA) 3.30 Heat 5: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.66, Leandro Usuna (ARG) 10.87, Gony Zubizarreta (ESP) 10.07, Cory Arrambide (USA) 7.50 Heat 6: Gabe Kling (USA) 15.26, Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 11.57, Jatyr Berasaluce (EUK) 9.06, Santiago Muniz (ARG) 7.67 Heat 7: Nathaniel Curran (USA) 13.43, Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 10.80, Ty Watson (AUS) 10.10, Carlo Zapata (PER) 5.84 Heat 8: Nat Young (USA) 12.17, Michael Dunphy (USA) 11.90, Borja Agote (EUK) 11.50, Eneko Acero (EUK) 11.43 Heat 9: Jean Da Silva (BRA) 15.00, Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 13.04, Jano Belo (BRA) 12.10, Yujiro Tsuji (JPN) 5.70 Heat 10: Billy Stairmand (NZL) 16.97, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.94, David Do Carmo (BRA) 14.84, Nobuyuki Osawa (JPN) 10.40 Heat 11: Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 15.33, Cristobal De Col (PER) 12.50, Joan Duru (FRA) 11.80, Paulo Moura (BRA) 7.07 Heat 12: Alain Riou (PYF) 14.00, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.70, Bino Lopes (BRA) 9.00, Dillon Perillo (USA) 8.37 Heat 13: Medi Veminardi (REU) 12.34, Lucas Silveira (BRA) 10.43, Luke Davis (USA) 9.74, Travis Logie (ZAF) 9.64 Heat 14: Patrick Beven (FRA) 14.20, Jay Thompson (AUS) 13.40, Keanu Asing (HAW) 13.17, Tristan Guilbaud (FRA) 11.70 Heat 15: Hodei Collazo (EUK) 11.34, Brian Toth (PRI) 11.30, Chase Wilson (USA) 11.03, Alexandre Chacon (BRA) 5.37 Heat 16: Willian Cardoso (BRA) 18.37, Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) 15.87, Halley Batista (BRA) 11.10, Shaun Joubert (ZAF) 10.16 Heat 17: Glenn Hall (IRL) 15.70, Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 12.27, Sidney Guimaraes (BRA) 9.15, Frederico Morais (PRT) 8.27 Heat 18: Nic Von Rupp (DEU) 15.60, Luel Felipe (BRA) 14.00, Perth Standlick (AUS) 13.44, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 13.04 Heat 19: Adrien Toyon (FRA) 13.67, Hizunome Bettero (BRA) 13.64, Thiago Camarao (BRA) 10.96, Carlos Munoz (CRI) 8.97 Heat 20: Vincent Duvignac (FRA) 15.67, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 9.10, Jose Ferreira (PRT) 8.87, Mickael Picon (FRA) 6.27
REMAINING ISLAS CANARIAS SANTA PRO ROUND OF 96 MATCHUPS:
Heat 21: Nathan Yeomans (USA), Marc Lacomare (FRA), Steven Pierson (PYF), Davey Cathels (AUS) Heat 22: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Stu Kennedy (AUS), Simao Romao (BRA), Romain Laulhe (FRA) Heat 23: Mitchel Coleborn (AUS), Charles Martin (GLP), Manuel Selman (CHL), Norman Landa (EUK) Heat 24: Tiago Pires (PRT), Jose Maria Cabrera (CNY), Natxo Gonzalez (EUK), Chris Friend (AUS)
