Pablo Gutierrez and Balaram Stack prevail in Round 2 at Sooruz Lacanau Pro
Spain’s Pablo Gutierrez and America’s Balaram Stack made their way to the third round (Round of 96) of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 5-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro after walking away with the win from their respective Round 2 (Round of 128) heats
that went down at Grande Plage in Lacanau, France, on Tuesday, August 14.
South Africa’s Davey Brand finished behind Gutierrez in second place during the fifth heat to accompany the winner into the third round. Reunion Island’s Hugo Dubosc and Australia’s Jaymes Triglone finished in third and fourth place respectively, which subsequently
led to their elimination from the competition.
The sixth heat saw Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam finished in runner-up place to accompany the heat-winner Stack into the next round. Portugal’s Robertson Goncalves finished in third place while his compatriot Joao Kopke took fourth place. The bottom-two finish
led to their elimination from the competition.
The opening day of the competition promised a heavy dose of exciting action as the up-and-coming talent from around the world continued to exchange blows with the intended motivation of extending their life in the event. With three-to-four foot waves on
offer, there was hardly any reason to expect anything less than thrilling performances.
Pitted against Brand, Dubosc and Triglone in the fifth heat, Gutierrez had his way cut out as the conditions became a bit demanding. All four surfers struggled to hold their own as the sea lost its generosity. After a long and determined hunt, Gutierrez
managed to reach a heat-total of 9.93 points, which included a 4.93 and 5.00-point ride, to claim top honours.
Brand collected a couple of waves in the four-point range to finish with a heat-total of 8.33 points, thus moving into the next round of the competition as well.
Dubosc and Triglone were sent packing after they finished with a heat-total of 8.30 and 8.13 points respectively.
The sixth heat saw Stack walk away with the win despite struggling to hold his own for most part of the heat. The American surfer earned a 4.67 off his first business-wave and went on to back it up with a 5.47-point ride to finish with a resultant heat-total
of 10.14 points.
Boukhiam got off to a slow start, but managed to collect a 5.50 and 3.90 off his two business-waves halfway through the heat to reach a heat-total of 9.40 points, which proved sufficient to take him through into the next round.
Goncalves finished in third place with a heat-total of 7.87 points, while Kopke had to settle for fourth place after earning a combined wave-total of 6.64 points. The efforts by the two surfers were simply not enough and thus resulted in a premature end
of their pursuit for the event title.
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