Mateia Hiquily and Cahill Bell-Warren move into Round 3 at Sooruz Lacanau Pro
French Polynesia’s Mateia Hiquily and Australia’s Cahill Bell-Warren advanced to the third round (Round of 96) at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 5-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro after emerging triumphant in their respective Round 2 (Round of 128)
heats that went down at the Grande Plage in Lacanau, France, on Tuesday, August 14.
While Hiquily claimed victory in the 13th heat, America’s Michael Powell finished just behind him in second place to secure his place in the next round. Australia’s Daniel Karren and Netherland’s Remi Peterson finished in third and fourth place
respectively, which led to their elimination from the competition.
The 14th heat saw Basque Country’s Eneko Acero finish behind Bell-Warren in runner-up place to guarantee place in Round 3. His fellow countryperson Natxo Gonzalez finished in third place, while France’s Ian Fontaine had to settle for fourth place.
The bottom-two finish brought their pursuit for the event title to a premature end.
The winds at the primary event site presented the up-and-coming global surfing talent to push hard during their hunt for a couple of good scores.
Squaring-off with Powell, Karren and Petersen in the 13th heat, Hiquily put on a powerful performance to walk away with the win. The French Polynesian surfer got off to an impressive start, scoring a 6.83 off his first business-wave and went on
to back it up with a superb 9.67-point ride for a heat-total of 16.50 points.
“It started rather slow with small waves for me like 3′s and 4′s,” Hiquily commented. “I didn’t really know what I was doing but then I started building on it with a 5 and then a 6.83. I realised I had a pretty strong lead and when that good wave came and
I saw the perfect section I just went for it!”
Powell made it through into the next round as well after scoring a 5.00 and 4.50 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 9.50 points, which proved sufficient to earn him runner-up place.
Karren finished with a heat-total of 8.06 points, while Peterson had to settle for a bottom-place finish after registering a two-wave total of 5.37 points.
The 14th heat saw Bell-Warren walk away with the win after scoring 5.17 off his first business-wave and adding an additional 6.33 points to his account in the later stages of the heat, consequently finishing with a two-wave total of 11.50 points.
Acero advanced to the next round as well after finishing in second place with a heat-total of 9.57 points, which includes a 4.17 and 5.40-point ride.
Gonzalez finished in third place with a heat-total of 9.50 points, while Fontaine finished fourth with a two-wave total of 7.00 points.
Tags: