Alex Ribeiro claims victory in Round 3 of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime – Surfing News
Brazil’s Alex Ribeiro successfully jumped straight into the fifth round (Round of 16) at the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola after putting on a superb show to claim top honours in the fourth heat of Round 3 (No-Elimination Round of 24)
that went down at the primary event site of Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on Thursday, May 24.
France’s Romain Cloitre finished in second place, whereas America’s Chris Ward rounded out the third position. The failure to finish on top resulted in the relegation of both the surfers into the fourth round (Round of 24) to surf again for a place in the
fifth round.
Continuing at Itauna Beach for the third consecutive day, the latest edition of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime kept delivering epic performances by some of the best surfing talent from around the globe, offering them an opportunity to get their hands on a hefty
prize purse and also take home valuable Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) ranking points. The two-to-three foot waves gracing the point-break on the latest day of the competition acted as a perfect canvas for the surfers to paint through their exquisite
performances.
The fourth heat of Round 3 saw Ribeiro take on Cloitre and Ward in a three-man battle for the Round 5 spot. There was not a lot of pressure hanging over the head of surfers during their latest bout, as a defeat meant relegation to the fourth round instead
of elimination. However, the opportunity to skip the fourth round and go straight into the fifth round was something that kept everyone motivated to perform well and make a dedicated effort to clinch victory.
As the heat got underway, Ribeiro went through a series of ordinary wave-scores before locking his first business-wave to post a 7.07 on the score-board. He continued his search for another good score and eventually got rewarded for his persistence and determination
with a 7.03-point ride in the dying minutes of the bout, thus finishing with a heat-total of 14.10 points. The score held up until the end to see him through to victory.
Cloitre had to settle for second place due to a heat-total of 12.96 points, while a couple of scores in the six-point range resulted in a heat-total of 12.56 points for Ward, thus putting him in third place.
Both the surfers consequently found themselves against the edge, with one last chance to bounce back and get into the fifth round.
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