GRANDE PLAGE, Lacanau – France (Sunday, August 18, 2013) – The ASP 5-Star Soöruz Lacanau Pro was completed today in 2-3Ft surf with the crowning of Charles Martin after surfing four rounds of competition. Starting with only sixteen surfers left in the event this morning, selection was made mostly through aerial game in the wind affected lineup and ended with the victory of the young surfer from Guadeloupe.
Charles Martin (GLP) 23, led the 30mn bout from start to finish, scoring the best wave of the final in the first few seconds and backing it up with average scores in a wave starved heat. Focused on the event win since the first round of the morning, Martin was never really threatened and claims the prestigious Lacanau crown.
“I’m stoked, I went out there with calm and composure to enjoy myself above all else and it seems to have worked out well !” Martin stated. “Conditions were difficult and we expected better seeing how good it was yesterday but it was still fun and manageable. I’m in great form and this is an excellent result for me.”
Winner last year of the Newquay boardmasters and a recent 17th place finisher at the ASP Prime US Open of Surfing, Martin is no stranger to big results but will now need to find consistence in his surfing to keep building momentum and climb up the World Rankings to the coveted few spots synonyms of qualification for the WCT.
“I’ve worked very hard lately and also gave a lot of thoughts to my previous season, and I think I’ve learnt from my mistakes and will be more consistent this time around,” Martin continued. “I still don’t have a major sponsor but what I do have is a great entourage with people like Yann Martin who coaches Marc and Ramzi and has been helping me out. I want to thank all the people that have been supporting me, it’s really important to feel confident when you paddle out for a heat and support is key to raise my confidence level.”
Frederico Morais (PRT) 21, Portuguese powerhouse from the coastal town of Cascais, places second today and nets his best result to date on the Star tour. Having scored the second highest heat total of the event and several of the best single scoring rides, Morais was unable to continue to demonstrate his talent when the final came.
“I feel good, it was a great contest for me.” Morais said. “I had some really good scores and I felt great so I’m super stoked overall. It’s my first final on the Star tour and I’m happy for Charly as well, he’s a good friend and really deserved it today. I have the wildcard for the Prime in Portugal so I’m going back to working hard and prepare for this.”
Sitting in 150th position before Lacanau with two good results in 4-Star events in China and Australia under his belt, Morais has taken a turn towards excellence since he’s left the Junior series last year, and has proved his powerful approach to surfing all conditions is of efficiency.
“I’ve been working on athleticism with my coach and I think it shows now. We’ve also chosen to focus on my strenght which is power but try to mix it up with progressive surfing cause matching both approaches is clearly where professional surfing is headed, we’ve been seeing guys on the CT do both very well like Michel, Kelly and even John John who’s known for his air but he also has the craziest power turns.”
Oney Anwar (IDN) 20, sees his dream run at the Soöruz Lacanau Pro end in the semi-finals, not able to find decent opportunities for big scores and claims his best result of a young international career in France. The Indonesian originating from the perfect A-Frames of Lakey Peak celebrates his 20th birthday with an excellent equal third place after being one of the form surfers this week.
“I feel really great, this is my first time in the semis of a major star event and I’m stoked !” Anwar said. “I’m so happy to be here, it’s a beautiful place with great people and I’ve had a fun time, I’ll be back next year !”
Anwar was invited to take part in two ASP World Championship Tour events this year in Australia and Bali, and had the opportunity to evaluate his skills against the Top32. With both strong barrel riding and aerial game in his repertoire, Anwar’s only wish is to now get a full season pass for the Elite tour.
“It just pretty much made me want to do all the star events now and try to qualify, I dream of being there on tour for real. The difference is huge with the qualifying tour cause on the CT you have the very best surfers in perfect waves and they’re so hard to beat; on the other hand those events are super hard too cause everyone wants to win so bad and you’re four surfers out there battling out in 2Ft beachbreak !”
Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 21, places equal third in Lacanau today, claiming yet another excellent result in his 2013 qualifying campaign coming fresh off a victory in the ASP 6-Star Reef Pro El Salvador. The young Brazilian has been consistently standing out this week with his impressive explosive style; currently ranked 44th on the World Rankings, Crisanto adds another important 1125 points to his season count before heading off to the Azores for the next major European event.
“It’s a good result for me, I’m a little bit disappointed cause I thought I completed that air but the judges decided otherwise, it was a tough heat against Charly.” Crisanto said. “I’m still stoked with that third, I’m in great form and I’m looking forward to the next event to keep trying to get another win. I’m going to stay here in Europe training with my coach and I’m loving it here in Europe it’s always a lot of fun !”
The 2013 Soöruz Lacanau Pro is scheduled from August 13-18, 2013 at Grande Plage, Lacanau – France. For all results, photos, video highlights, press releases and LIVE webcast, log on to aspeurope.com or sooruzlacanaupro.com.
The Sooruz Lacanau Pro is made possible with the support of the following event partners: Soöruz, Airwalk, Ice Watches, NRJ, Red Bull and Smurfit amongst others.
SOÖRUZ LACANAU PRO FINAL RESULTS:
1 - Charles Martin (GLP) 11.87 2 - Frederico Morais (PRT) 10.90
SOÖRUZ LACANAU PRO SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:
Heat 1: Charles Martin (GLP) 13.17 def. Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 10.33 Heat 2: Frederico Morais (PRT) 14.34 def. Oney Anwar (IDN) 8.87
SOÖRUZ LACANAU PRO QUARTER-FINALS RESULTS:
Heat 1: Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 14.10 def. Steven Pierson (PYF) 13.67 Heat 2: Charles Martin (GLP) 12.90 def. Jesse Mendes (BRA) 12.17 Heat 3: Oney Anwar (IDN) 10.90 def. Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 10.00 Heat 4: Frederico Morais (PRT) 12.43 def. Balaram Stack (USA) 7.13
SOÖRUZ LACANAU PRO ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 16.84, Charles Martin (GLP) 14.20, Joan Duru (FRA) 13.94, Ian Gouveia (BRA) 8.13 Heat 2: Jesse Mendes (BRA) 14.10, Steven Pierson (PYF) 12.34, Cory Arrambide (USA) 11.00, Marco Fernandez (BRA) 7.74 Heat 3: Oney Anwar (IDN) 17.34, Balaram Stack (USA) 12.47, Billy Stairmand (NZL) 12.10, Conner Coffin (USA) 9.67 Heat 4: Frederico Morais (PRT) 16.00, Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 11.80, Krystian Kymerson (BRA) 11.00, Santiago Muniz (ARG) 10.40
