Marlon Lipke defeats local talent to claim ASP 3-Star Protest Vendee Pro Title
Germany’s Marlon Lipke took out the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 3-Star Protest Vendee Pro that wrapped up with an exciting final at the main site of La Sauzaie in Bretignolles-sur-Mer, France, on Saturday, April 21.
France’s Vincent Duvignac was forced to settle for runner-up place, whereas his compatriots Joan Duru and Romain Cloitre rounded out the bottom-two positions.
The tough surfing conditions continued to trouble the surfers during the final, making them stay on their toes throughout the course of the heat to grab whatever potential scoring opportunity appeared. The shifting four-to-five foot wind-affected waves even
challenge the local talent despite their familiarity with the conditions at hand.
Lipke, the 28-year-old German based in Portugal, had done exceptionally well to adapt to the choppy waves during the earlier stages of the competition to successfully remain in contention for the event title. He apparently brought that rhythm with him into
the final as he faced three French surfers, each of whom was equally capable of topping the podium.
Being the sole international surfer to reach the final at the latest edition of the ASP 3-Star Protest Vendee Pro, Lipke went on to eventually claim the over-all victory by putting on an impressive performance in what turned out to be a low-scoring four-man
battle. The German surfer had a tough time finding decent waves, but eventually managed to get to a heat-total of 10.20 points, which held up until the end to seal the deal in his favour.
“The wind picked up again during the final and destroyed the waves, with very few offering a shoulder to work with, but I felt like when you put a lot of energy in and keep catching waves then eventually it pays off,” commented Lipke. “I just blocked everything
out, surfed my heat, tried my best and I’m very very happy to win here. It’s my sponsor’s event (Protest) so it’s even better!”
The 24-year-old Duvignac barely missed out on the No.1 position in the Final despite getting off to a good start but failing to back it up with an adequate score off his second business-wave to consequently finish with a heat-total of 9.97 points.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, the French surfer conceded that it had been a challenging contest with very little scoring opportunities to work with. However, he was disappointed of not clinching the overall victory despite coming so close.
The 23-year-old Duru rounded out the podium after finishing in third place with a heat-total of 9.34 points, whereas Cloitre finished fourth after finishing with a two-wave combined total of 8.20 points.
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