Bourez, Neves, Quinn and Staple set to begin Oakley Saquarema Surf Pro International
The fourth Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event of the year, the Oakley Saquarema Surf Pro International, is all set to kick off on Tuesday, May 24, at the Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil.
The event has attracted some of the biggest and most exciting names in professional surfing from all around the world to compete for a large slice of the US$250,000 prize-purse as well as the coveted ranking points in order to move up in the World Rankings.
The conditions at the primary event site are excellent for surfing, with the surfs currently up to five-foot and rising. The location has a reputation of providing consistent waves and it is expected that ideal surfing conditions will prevail throughout the event.
The latest edition of the Coca Cola-sponsored ASP Prime event will kick off tomorrow with the round of 96. The first heat will be featuring French Polynesian surfer Michel Bourez, Brazil’s Leonardo Neves, New Zealand’s Jay Quinn and South Africa’s Dale Staples.
Bourez is making is way to the last surfing competition straight from the recently concluded 2011 Billabong Rio Pro, a 2011 ASP Men’s World Tour event, where barely missed out on making it into the quarter-final stage after getting eliminated by Brazil’s Adriano de Souza in the fifth round.
The French Polynesian showed a promising form during the event but the in-form Brazilian turned out to be too much for him to handle. He will now be looking to remove the few kinks in his surfing that prevented him from making a stronger impact in 2011 Billabong Rio Pro and fully regain his form before the start of the next World Tour event in July.
Neves, Quinn and Staples have showed good potential over the last few months and will put up a determined fight to keep Bourez from walking away with the victory.
Brazil’s Miguel Pupo, the winner of the previous ASP Prime event that took place at Lowers Trestles in California, America, will be determined to clinch yet another win and announce himself as a formidable force to be reckoned with. However, his job will be made tough with the presence of the best ASP surfers in the field.
It will be also interesting to see how De Souza, the 24-year-old Brazilian who emerged triumphant in Billabong Rio Pro, performs in Saquarema. He exhibited an inconsistent form in the initial stages of the previous event but became consistent as the competition progressed. With the heavy-weights of surfing such as America’s Kelly Slater and Australia’s Mick Fanning and Taj Burrows missing from the event, all eyes will be on De Souza. De Souza will make his appearance in the competition in the 12th heat.
Many other participants of the Billabong Rio Pro are also participating in the Saquarema Surf Pro International and will be hoping to find their rhythm before they make their way to South Africa for the next stop of the 2011 ASP Men’s World Tour.
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