Junior Air Force Lead the Way on Day 1 of O’Neill Sopela Pro Junior
PLAYA DE SOPELANA, Euskadi – Basque Country (Thursday, July 25, 2013) - Second stop on the European Men and Women Junior series, the ASP 1-Star O’Neill Sopela Pro Junior pres. by El Peñon started today in clean 2Ft surf at Sopelana’s main beach. An early 8am start saw the Men’s round 1 & 2, as well as four heats of Round 3 completed in fun waves and surfers were eager to get their Basque campaign going.
Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 17, dominated both his Round 1 & 2 confrontations today and claimed the highest single-wave score of the event so far, a near-perfect 9.33 for a massive frontside air-reverse on a little lefthander.
“I was sitting out there comfortable with already two good scores while the other guys were scratching to get better than a 2,” Hiquily said. “I was waiting for a good wave and I saw that one with a good little ramp so I hit it!”
The young Polynesian was revealed to the European crowd last year in this very event and seems particularly at ease in the Basque beachbreaks. Hiquily is focused on the top of the rankings, and looking deadly so far.
“I got to the quarters here last year so my goal is obviously to go even further this time around, and I’m hoping to get on the podium and maybe even try to win!”
Gatien Delahaye (GLP) 16, was in-form as well today netting an excellent 8.50 out of a possible 10. He was rewarded for taking risks in the air repeatedly and made a strong impression before the top seeds enter the show in Round 3.
“It was fun!” Delahaye stated. “Waves really improved compared to lunchtime when we had a break, I spotted those little wedges that were perfect for airs so I tried my luck and it went my way. I’ve been working a lot on my air game in all sorts of conditions and I just love it, so to see it paying off like this, I’m super happy!”
Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 15, also made the best out of a tricky lineup, scoring in the excellent range to win two heats and qualify for the third round in Sopelana. The talented Italian surfer took advantage of his light weight to throw his fins out and show the judges he’s a serious contender.
“I had a pretty good heat,” Fioravanti said. “I entered late so I was in the first round, but it doesn’t really matter, at the end of the day if you surf good you’re going to get through anyways so those are warm up heats. I had some fun waves this morning at high tide on the inside, and thankfully the swell picked up again this afternoon for my next heat.”
Having already made a name for himself on the international scene after winning the international Gromsearch finals and other events worldwide, Fioravanti is yet to make it to the final stages of an ASP Pro Junior in Europe and will try to build momentum from an excellent first day in the Basque Country.
“I wasn’t really sure if there was going to be a World Juniors Final, but apparently there is, so I’m going to do all the Junior events this year and try to qualify to hopefully make it!”
Next call tomorrow morning will be at 7:15am for both Men and Women to decide for the second day’s schedule. Forecasts call for a slight decrease in swell size and lighter winds.
The 2013 Sopelana Pro Junior is scheduled from July 25-28, 2013 at Playa de Sopelana, Euskadi – Basque Country. For all results, photos, video highlights, press releases and LIVE webcast, log on to aspeurope.com/sopelana2013.
To access our complimentary high-res images, please go to
http://www.aspeurope.com/press-room
The Sopelana Pro Junior is made possible with the support of the following event partners: Peña Txuri Surf Eskola, Ayuntamiento de Sopelana, Euskadi Turismo, Diputacion Foral Vizcaya, Surfing Euskadi-Basque Country, Red Bull, Bar El Peñon, Euskal Herriko Surf Federazioa, Bizkaiko Surf Federazioa amongst others.
REMAINING SOPELA O’NEILL PRO JUNIOR MEN’S ROUND 3 MATCHUPS:
Heat 5: Francisco Alves (PRT), Pierre Rollet (FRA), Martin Coret (REU), Jobe Harriss (GBR)
Heat 6: Charly Termeau (FRA), Aldric God (FRA), Joao Kopke (PRT), Francisco Almeida (PRT)
Heat 7: Harry Timson (GBR), Luke Dillon (GBR), Gatien Delahaye (GLP), Mathis Crozon (REU)
Heat 8: Vasco Ribeiro (PRT), Txaber Gaminde (EUK), Mateo Poulot (REU), Selim Barkat (DZA)
Heat 9: Tom Cloarec (FRA), Will Davey (GBR), Mateia Hiquily (PYF), Gearoid McDaid (IRL)
Heat 10: Ugo Robin (FRA), Ethan Egiguren (EUK), Leon Glatzer (DEU), Thomas Delplace (FRA)
Heat 11: Nomme Mignot (FRA), Tomas Fernandes (PRT), Paul Cesar Distinguin (FRA), Imanol Geledan (FRA)
Heat 12: Nelson Cloarec (FRA), Alex Iriondo (EUK), Ignacio Guisasola (ESP), Maurice Marc Meyerwestphal (REU)
Heat 13: Jorgann Couzinet (REU), Charly Quivront (FRA), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), Tom Simon (REU)
Heat 14: Natxo Gonzalez (EUK), Mihimana Braye (PYF), Andy Criere (FRA), Arne Bergwinkl (DEU)
Heat 15: Miguel Blanco (PRT), Roberto Letemendia (EUK), Miguel Perez-Moneo (ESP), Ruben Vitoria (EUK)
Heat 16: Gaspard Larsonneur (FRA), Luis Diaz (CNY), Titouan Deffarges (FRA), Julen Egiguren (EUK)
UPCOMING SOPELA O’NEILL PRO JUNIOR WOMEN’S ROUND 1 MATCHUPS:
Heat 1: Ainara Aymat (EUK), Michelle Beach (USA), Victoria Capdepont (FRA), Julia Rooij (NDL)
Heat 2: Maddi Aizpurua (ESP), Eveline Hooft (NDL), Mirna Boelsma (NDL), Teresa Bonvalot (PRT)
Heat 3: Carina Duarte (PRT), Keshia Seelow-Eyre (PRT), Kim Veteau (GLP)
Heat 4: Leticia Canales Bilbao (EUK), Yolanda Aneiros (ESP), Lilia Lissardy (FRA)
Heat 5: Lucia Martino (ESP), Lucie Milochau (FRA), Alice Melissa Limoigne (REU)
Heat 6: Loiola Canales Bilbao (EUK), Marion Bouzigues (FRA), Leira Fuentes (EUK)
Heat 7: Josephine Costes (FRA), Erica Franco (ESP), Marina Lopez (FRA)
Heat 8: Johanne Defay (FRA), Matilde Gomez (FRA), Noa Iturripea (EUK)
SOPELA O’NEILL PRO JUNIOR MEN’S ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Diego Mignot (FRA) 13.26, Pablo Goncalves (REU) 9.17, Maxime Bobet (FRA) 6.33, Colin Doyez (REU) 4.50
Heat 2: William Aliotti (FRA) 11.34, Tomas Ferreira (PRT) 8.87, Diogo Appleton (PRT) 8.60, Saul Torres (CNY) 8.30
Heat 3: Imanol Yeregi (EUK) 10.10, Arthur Lasse (FRA) 8.90, Joshua Braddock (GBR) 6.34
Heat 4: Ian Fontaine (FRA) 12.00, Guilherme Fonseca (PRT) 8.40, Marco Mignot (FRA) 8.17, Titouan Boyer (MAF) 8.10
SOPELA O’NEILL PRO JUNIOR MEN’S ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Pablo Goncalves (REU) 10.17, Saul Torres (CNY) 8.16, Asier Ruiz De Gauna (ESP) 6.14, Joao Andre (PRT) 5.54
Heat 2: Tomas Ferreira (PRT) 8.07, Colin Doyez (REU) 6.87, Inaxio Illarramendi (EUK) 5.46, Vincent Vandeputte (BEL) 4.10
Heat 3: Arthur Lasse (FRA) 10.00, Marco Mignot (FRA) 8.83, Nacho Mari (ESP) 3.64, Liam Turner (GBR) 3.34
Heat 4: Titouan Boyer (MAF) 10.03, Joshua Braddock (GBR) 7.80, Pablo Aspiroz (ESP) 4.43
Heat 5: Martin Coret (REU) 10.30, Francisco Almeida (PRT) 8.54, Miguel Betegon (ESP) 6.86, Luis Perloiro (PRT) 6.23
Heat 6: Joao Kopke (PRT) 11.97, Jobe Harriss (GBR) 10.66, Pedro Birne Calheiros (PRT) 8.53, Lander Bracamonte (ESP) 7.00
Heat 7: Gatien Delahaye (GLP) 15.83, Selim Barkat (DZA) 10.43, Diego Alvarez Lourido (ESP) 9.37, Alban Chovet (BLM) 5.66
Heat 8: Mateo Poulot (REU) 7.73, Mathis Crozon (REU) 7.34, Jacome Correia (PRT) 6.96, Juan Diaz-Teran (ESP) 5.53
Heat 9: Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 16.16, Thomas Delplace (FRA) 9.43, Alex Bauduin (CNY) 5.80, Martin Cortijo Gonzalez (ESP) 4.80
Heat 10: Leon Glatzer (DEU) 11.44, Gearoid McDaid (IRL) 8.07, Shadi Lahrioui (MAR) 7.64, Luca Dioguardi (CNY) 5.10
Heat 11: Paul Cesar Distinguin (FRA) 11.34, Maurice Marc Meyerwestphal (REU) 5.73, Nicolas Guimont (GLP) 5.67, Henrique Pyrrait (PRT) 3.50
Heat 12: Ignacio Guisasola (ESP) 8.37, Imanol Geledan (FRA) 7.60, Gonzalo Gutierrez (ESP) 7.27, Enzo Cavallini (GLP) 5.33
Heat 13: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 13.60, Arne Bergwinkl (DEU) 9.35, Eliott Ivarra (GLP) 7.63, Arran Strong (GBR) 4.57
Heat 14: Andy Criere (FRA) 14.83, Tom Simon (REU) 11.26, Enzo Poulat (FRA) 5.63, Mathieu Coret (REU) 4.87
Heat 15: Miguel Perez-Moneo (ESP) 8.13, Julen Egiguren (EUK) 7.13, Eritz Urrusolo (EUK) 4.60
Heat 16: Titouan Deffarges (FRA) 11.73, Ruben Vitoria (EUK) 4.84, Luca Carlisle (CHE) 4.40, Tarik Rahim (ESP) 4.36
SOPELA O’NEILL PRO JUNIOR MEN’S ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Joao Andre (PRT) 8.17, Tomas Ferreira (PRT) 6.90, Lucas Jannier (FRA) 6.49
Heat 2: Marco Mignot (FRA) 9.26, Pablo Aspiroz (ESP) 6.66, Pedro Rua (PRT) 5.57, Luis Ansin (ESP) 4.53
Heat 3: Francisco Almeida (PRT) 9.13, Pedro Birne Calheiros (PRT) 8.30, Malik Berho (FRA) 4.95, Yael Pena (CNY) 4.07
Heat 4: Diego Alvarez Lourido (ESP) 11.60, Mathis Crozon (REU) 5.34, Gaspar Teixeira (PRT) 3.20, Sjoerd Tummers (NLD) 2.70
Heat 5: Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 13.00, Shadi Lahrioui (MAR) 7.97, Kalani Da Silva (CNY) 6.40, Salaberria Usandizaga (EUK) 3.53
Heat 6: Henrique Pyrrait (PRT) 6.90, Ignacio Guisasola (ESP) 5.60, Francisco Cambim (PRT) 4.60, Lucas Bernard (REU) 4.57
Heat 7: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 15.10, Tom Simon (REU) 9.17, Jelle De Roode (NDL) 6.90, Samuel Bahillo (ESP) 3.66
Heat 8: Miguel Perez-Moneo (ESP) 9.04, Tarik Rahim (ESP) 5.30, Simao Teixeira (PRT) 3.77
Source:
Junior Air Force Lead the Way on Day 1 of O’Neill Sopela Pro Junior
Autor
Thema: [ASP News] Junior Air Force Lead the Way on Day 1 of O’Neill Sopela Pro Junior (Gelesen 1762 mal)
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube