El Confital Fires for Day 2 at Islas Canarias Ocean&Earth Pro by Gran Canaria
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria – Spain (Thursday, September 22, 2011) – Day 2 of the ASP 2-Star Islas Canarias Ocean & Earth Pro by Gran Canaria saw high performance surfing in clean 4Ft surf at ‘El Confital’. The beautiful reefbreak setup in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria produced once again excellent conditions with a mix of engaged top turn manoeuvres and sucky inside barrel sections.
Adrien Toyon (REU) 22, was the man in form on this second day of competition in Gran Canaria. The talented goofy footer impressed with strong backhand attack on the shallow reef and perfect positionning to score the best wave of the event so far, a near perfect 9.50 out of 10.
«It wasn’t very big this morning, in the 3Ft range with a few bigger sets coming through. I was lucky to get one of those with no wind, it’s a beautiful wave. There was a way bigger set that caught all of us inside, so the next wave looked pretty small compared to it but it was a good insider. I started on it, it was still a little white and I saw it had a great pocket to hit and I had two good turns pretty critical cause you kind of fall from the top after the turn and it’s really shallow.»
Toyon, an experienced reefbreak surfer coming from the Reunion Island, surfed ‘El Confital’ in the past and managed to use his knowledge and find the best scoring waves. With a backup score of 7.75, his heat total was the highest of today’s action, an impressive 17.25 out of 20 possible.
«I want to surf heat by heat and see how it goes. Last year on the 5-Stars I finished with a good 9th place overall so for sure i want to have a good result here. I know the wave pretty well I’ve surfed here a few times before.»
Toyon is currently climbing up the European and World rankings and knows how important a good result is in the race for crucial ranking points in the next big events in Europe and beyond .
«There’s not so many ranking points to grab here but a good result would be a confidence boost before the Azores for sure. I’m sitting 10th on the European rankings and somewhere around 118 on the World Rankings so i’ll be looking to grab a few spots at the next events.»
Javier Medina (CNY) 28, got the best wave of the day in Heat 5 of Round 2. The local crowd favourite found the longest tube section of the event so far and was rewarded a 9.25 out of 10 for a combination of radical manoeuvres and barrel riding.
«I saw that wave coming and it didn’t look that big on the outside but I saw that inside section growing. I started with a top turn on a flatter section and a long bottom followed by a quick snap under the lip to get in position for the barrel. It was hard to stay inside the barrel because the wave was really frothy and hollow but I managed to connect a couple sections inside the barrel.»
Medina, the local surfer from ‘La Cicer’ another break just at the southern end of the beach of ‘El Confital’, was supported by a growing crowd of friends and family sitting by the dry reef in front of the main site.
«I’ve been surfing this contest every year and my best result was two years ago with a quarter finals finish. It ended with small waves and no barrels so a lot harder for me, I remember surfing against Ruben Gonzalez and it was a tough one ! I always come here to have fun and make barrels like the one I had this morning you know, enjoy ‘El Confital’ with only a couple surfers out.»
After suffering an important foot injury right before the contest started on Wednesday, Abdel El Harim (MAR) 26, received 8 stitches. The Morrocan ambassador surfed his Round 2 bout today, focusing most of his energy on trying not to hit the reef again.
«The waves are cool this morning but I was really stressed about my foot, I didn’t want to force it. I wiped out on a couple barrels and I was really scared to hit the reef again and re-open the wound. Fortunately I was able to find a good cover-up and I got through.»
El Harim was rewarded an 8.25 out of 10 for a hollow wave surfed perfectly, netting the third highest single wave score of the day and enjoying a Canarian specialty at ‘El Confital’.
«I saw that wave coming and bend perfectly around the reef so I knew there was going to be a hollow section. I started on it and you know when you see this section you just want to get under it and make the tube. Plus if you bail you know everybody’s going to mess with you so I had no choice ! I got a perfect tube and it felt great.»
Abdel El Harim, a long time ASP competitor on both Junior and Star Series, is the only African surfer to enter this event bringing hopes of representing his country well on the European tour.
«I started competing in ASP events when I was 14 so it’s been a while. This is the first year I didn’t compete full time because I now have a surfcamp back home in Morocco and I’m very busy working there. I came to this event with the goal of flying high the Moroccan flag ! This year I won the West African championship so I’m very proud I got that title on the federal tour. I hope this result can help me find a new sponsor to get full time on the tour again.»
Tom Cloarec (FRA) 17, was the youngest surfer to impress today, displaying mature competitive surfing and posting high scores to secure his spot in the next Round of competition. He equalled Abdel El Harim’s 8.25 to enter the event’s Top 5 scoring waves.
«It’s quite tough to catch the best waves but when you get one it’s exellent to surf. The hollow ones are rare and you have to start way inside the bowl so I sticked to trying big turns taking less risks on the reef.. My 8.25 was a good tube, I started just in the right spot and managed to get it clean, then I had the opportunity for a big turn at the end section that stood up in front of me.»
Cloarec, who finished the season ranked 7th on the European Junior Series, had to improvise his positioning at ‘El Confital’. Coming from the sand bottoms of the World famous Hossegor beaches, Cloarec seemed comfortable in the shallow waters of Gran Canaria.
«I don’t know the wave at all, I came last year for a Junior event but it was on another break ‘La Cicer’, so basically I surfed this wave for the first time yesterday before the event started. It’s quite impressive when you’re sitting inside and you see the barrel section lining up, but once you get in, the wave usually opens wide so it’s really cool !»
The competition was called off after the completion of Round 2 today, and everyone will gather tomorrow at 10AM to decide the schedule of the third day of competition. Conditions look to improve tomorrow morning with a slightly bigger swell peaking around noon.
The ASP 2-Star Islas Canarias Ocean & Earth Pro by Gran Canaria is scheduled from September 21-25, 2011. For more information, and all upcoming results, photos, video highlights, press releases and LIVE webcast log-on to;
www.aspeurope.com
Upcoming Islas Canarias Ocean & Earth Pro by Gran Canaria Round Three Matchups:
Heat 1: Adrien Toyon (REU), Nelson Cloarec (FRA), Tom Cloarec (FRA), Luciano Casillas Dorta (CNY)
Heat 2: Abdel El Harim (MAR), Felix Ortega (CNY), Norman Landa (EUK), Carlos Marques (CNY)
Heat 3: Javier Medina (CNY), Igor Munian (ESP), Steven Pierson (PYF), Ian Fontaine (FRA)
Heat 4: Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY), Jaymes Triglone (AUS), Romain Laulhe (FRA), Jose Roman Grau (CNY)
Islas Canarias Ocean & Earth Pro by Gran Canaria Round Two Results
Heat 1: Adrien Toyon (REU) 17.25, Felix Ortega (CNY) 9.75, Eduardo Acosta (CNY) 5.55, Kai Garcia (CNY) 3.75.
Heat 2: Tom Cloarec (FRA) 13.05, Carlos Marques (CNY) 7.85, Luis Eyre (GBR) 7.60, Mario Gonzalez Candela (CNY) 3.75
Heat 3: Abdel El Harim (MAR) 13.00, Nelson Cloarec (FRA) 9.55, Alejandro Ruiz Garcia (CNY) 6.50, Damian Moro Ceballos (ESP) 4.25.
Heat 4: Norman Landa (EUK) 13.00, Luciano Casillas Dorta (CNY) 11.40, Ander Mendiguren (EUK) 10.15, Saul Torres Ruano (CNY) 4.95
Heat 5: Javier Medina (CNY) 15.50, Jaymes Triglone (AUS) 13.40, Leandro Usuna (ARG) 10.50, Will Davey (GBR) 4.65
Heat 6: Steven Pierson (PYF) 14.00, Jose Roman Grau (CNY) 8.15, Robertson Goncalves (PRT) 7.75, Ivan Monaga Torres (ESP) 4.25.
Heat 7: Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 11.75, Igor Munian (ESP) 10.00, Rudy Marechal (FRA) 7.50, Alexander El Naib (DEU) 0.00.
Heat 8: Romain Laulhe (FRA) 14.00, Ian Fontaine (FRA) 11.35, Stuart Campbell (GBR) 6.00, Alberto Garcia Deniz (CNY) 5.60.
Source:
El Confital Fires for Day 2 at Islas Canarias Ocean&Earth Pro by Gran Canaria
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Thema: [ASP News] El Confital Fires for Day 2 at Islas Canarias Ocean&Earth Pro by Gran Canaria (Gelesen 2952 mal)
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