The ASP 3-Star Protest Vendee Pro Semi-finals wrap up in testy surfing conditions
France’s Joan Duru and Germany’s Marlon Lipke managed to claim victory in their respective Semi-finals at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 3-Star Protest Vendee Pro that continued at the main event site of La Sauzaie in Bretignolles-sur-Mer,
France, on Saturday, April 21.
France’s Vincent Duvignac and his fellow countryperson Romain Cloitre successfully made it into the Final as well after securing runner-up position in the first and second Semi-final respectively.
Majority of the heats during the course of the event featured a low-scoring contest as the surfers struggled to navigate their way through big sets. The local talent showed much more comfort in the challenging waves on offer while the international surfers
had a hard time adjusting to the conditions. Lipke, however, remained an exception to this throughout the event, managing to adapt exceptionally well to the choppy waves and consequently remaining in contention for the event title.
The first Semi-final Great Britain’s Jayce Robinson pitted against three local surfers, namely an in-form Duru, Duvignac and William Aliotti.
Despite the tough surfing conditions and very few potential scoring options available, the surfers still pushed hard to try and make the most of whatever they could get their hands on.
Duru and Duvignac eventually managed to steal the spotlight with an intense battle going between them for top honours. Once the dust settled, the 23-year-old Duru finished with a heat-total of 10.34 points, barely edging past Duvignac who was forced to settle
for runner-up place with a two-wave total of 9.74 points.
The commendable effort by the two French surfers carried them through into the final to take a shot at the event title.
Aliotti and Robinson rounded out the bottom-two positions after finishing with a heat-total of 6.50 and 6.27 points respectively.
Lipke, the 28-year-old German based in Portugal, stole the show while taking on Cloitre, Portugal’s Frederico Morais and Basque Country’s Jatyr Berasaluce in the second Semi-final.
Getting off to a slow start, Lipke gradually built momentum to eventually lock a relatively juicy wave and unload a series of powerful carves. He continued the charge to unleash another combination of exquisite manoeuvres, proving that he had what it took
to land an impressive performance in the most challenging of conditions. Finishing with a heat-total of 12.43 points, the German surfer walked away with a comprehensive victory.
Cloitre accompanied Lipke into the Final after placing second behind Lipke with a heat-total of 8.83 points.
Morais and Berasaluce had done to stay alive in the event considering the tough conditions on offer, but they were unable to reach the final after finishing with a two-wave total of 8.13 and 6.00 points respectively in the second Semi-final.
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