Tough conditions lead to low-scoring battles during Round 2 of the ASP 3-Star Protest Vendee Pro
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 3-Star Protest Vendee Pro continued to deliver thrilling action with the second round (Round of 96) at the primary event site of La Sauzaie in Bretignolles-sur-Mer, France, on Thursday, April 19.
After a series of exciting battles, France’s Hugo Dubosc, Great Britain’s Stuart Campbell, Basque Country’s Txaber Trojaola and Portugal’s Pedro Correia advanced through into the third round (Round of 64) after prevailing in their respective Round 2 battles.
France’s Tom Bellevergue, his compatriots Didier Piter and Vincent Primel, along with Great Britain’s Harry Timson successfully made the Round 3 cut as well after securing runner-up positions in their respective heats.
With clean four-to-five foot waves prevailing at the primary event site during the afternoon session, the local and international surfers delivered plenty of impressive performances, determined to stay alive in the contention for the event title.
The fifth heat saw Dubosc claim victory in what turned out to be a low-scoring contest due to the lack of scoring opportunities. Under the circumstances, his modest heat-total of 6.53 points proved to be sufficient to seal the fate of the four-man battle in his favour. He was accompanied by Bellevergue, who finished behind him with a heat-total of 4.83 points, into the next round.
Italy’s Lorenzo Castagna and Netherland’s Roy Van Eijk got eliminated from the competition after rounding out the third and fourth positions respectively.
The sixth heat featured yet another low-scoring affair as the surfers struggled to find a juicy wave during the course of the battle. Campbell eventually managed to clinch victory by getting to a heat-total of 9.67 points, which held up until the end to see him through into the next round. Piter made the Round 3 cut as well after finishing with a heat-total of 6.73 points to secure runner-up place.
France’s Cassaigne Guillaume and his compatriot Kevin Olsen were forced to step out of the competition field after finishing with a heat-total of 3.80 and 2.33 points respectively.
Trojaola and Timson successfully made it through the seventh heat of the second round despite putting on pretty ordinary performances. The Basque Country-based surfer finished in first place after getting to a heat-total of 6.36 points, while the latter grabbed runner-up place with a heat-total of 6.10 points.
Venezuela’s Victor Pinango De No and Basque Country’s Julen Egiguren exited the competition after rounding out the bottom-two positions with a heat-total of 4.83 and 4.73 points respectively.
The eighth heat proved to be intense, though the crowd did not witness any technical tricks during the course of the four-man battle.
Correia and Primel advanced through into the third round after finishing in first and second position respectively, with the former scoring a heat-total of 8.50 points whereas the latter finished with a heat-total of 6.63 points.
France’s Charly Termeau and his fellow countryperson Benoit Potier made a premature exit from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 6.57 and 3.24 points respectively.
The surfing action continued at La Sauzaie with the remaining Round 2 heats of the ASP 3-Star Protest Vendee Pro on Thursday.
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