An unstoppable Joan Duru takes out the 2016 Médoc Océan Lacanau Pro in great conditions.
Joan Duru has won the Médoc Océan Lacanau Pro today over Lucas Silveira in good five-to-six foot surf.
Silveira capitalized early on in the final, belting two average scores quickly to take a commanding lead and apply pressure on current QS N°4 Duru. The Frenchman finally started on a good wave midway through the heat and went all-out with a big forehand top turn and a radical snap for a 7.83 and the lead.
On the five-minute mark, Duru started on another good left, slightly smaller but exploited the two sections ahead of him and displayed his signature powerful carves for a 7.27 to extend his lead. His opponent's final few efforts deemed in vain and Duru ultimately clinched his second Lacanau win after succeeding in 2009.
Duru takes flight towards victory - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"We had great conditions this week and I'm stoked to take this one out," he said. "This win is great to keep my confidence levels up as we're going into the next few events and the end of the year. I really wanted to surf some good heats, keep training and to win here in front of the French crowds is awesome. I love surfing no matter how many points are on the line, and here especially with my family around, we don't compete much at home so it makes it special. There were a lot of excellent international surfers and three of us Frenchies in the semis so that's really positive."
Reigning World Junior Champion Silveira had a stellar path to the final, consistently posting huge heat totals and several scores in the eight and nine points range. The Brazilian's Lacanau assault was abruptly stopped by Duru in the final though as Silveira was unable to catch any wave of consequence, ultimately placing runner-up.
Silveira's precise hits were crowds pleasers - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"It was a great event for me, in every heat I got at least one big score and often two or more so I'm stoked with that result," he reflected. "I'm really happy with my performance, of course I wanted to win that final but it's my first final in a QS and I'm stoked to launch my European trip like that."
Silveira's most entertaining skill was his commitment all-week to hit the gnarliest sections and go big wether it was in the small surf of the first couple of days, or the large closing out sets that battered the coast Saturday.
Silveira about to go airborne after a closeout bash - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"Since I was little I've always wanted to be a complete surfer," he added. "I like to go paddle in some of the big waves on my down time, like Jaws and other places. When I'm competing I focus on the smaller, more high-performance surfing side of things but I like every aspect of the sport and I'm very comfortable in bigger surf."
Marc Lacomare had a slow start to his semifinal bout and fell on the first couple of tries before he really got into rhythm and started to score. The talented goofy foot rapidly caught two excellent waves but couldn't match Duru's flair and was forced out of competition despite an impressive heat total. Since the swell picked up, Lacomare had not scored under 16 points and was one of the top form surfers in this event.
Lacomare scored the only perfect 10 point ride of the event earlier today with a big rotation - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"I felt really really good all-event, I was waiting for a good wave in that semi and did get an opportunity, but I was a little too deep and unfortunately that was it," he admitted. "I'm taking out a lot of positive from this event. I started in the first round and won a lot of good heats so I'm really happy and I can't wait for the bigger events to start. Losing against one of my best friends on tour doesn't make it any easier but I'm happy for Joan and stoked he continued and won the event."
In a slow first half of the second semifinal, Maxime Huscenot and Silveira had a hard time catching decent waves. Huscenot finally put two scores on the board but was unfortunately caught on the inside by repeated sets and couldn't make his way back out into the lineup until he only had minutes left to fight for the coveted ticket for the final. Huscenot still held the lead until the final seconds when the Brazilian caught a running left for the winning score.
Past winner Huscenot was again on fire this week until he was defeated in the semis - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"We were surfing really far and couldn't hear anything, so it made it really hard to try to apply a strategy cause I wasn't sure who had what scores," he commented. "I've surfed a lot of rights lately, training at Trestles and in Huntington so it was great to go left again ! This year I've taken time off at the beginning of the season and hope I can build on my current form to score big results towards the end of the year."
Surfers will next continue their European campaign just a little further down the French Atlantic coastline and compete at the Pro Anglet, starting Wednesday August 24.
Post Médoc Océan Lacanau pro, the European Rankings stand as follow:
Men's European QS:
1 - Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY)
2 - Jorgann Couzinet (REU)
3 - Andy Criere (FRA)
4 - Gony Zubizarreta (ESP)
5 - Pedro Henrique (PRT)
Women's European QS:
1 - Ariane Ochoa (EUK)
2 - Garazi Sanchez-Ortun (EUK)
3 - Maud Le Car (FRA)
4 - Justine Dupont (FRA)
5 - Pauline Ado (FRA)
Joan Duru Crowned Médoc Océan Lacanau Pro Champion
WSL
Joan Duru has won the Médoc Océan Lacanau Pro today over Lucas Silveira in good five-to-six foot surf.
Silveira capitalized early on in the final, belting two average scores quickly to take a commanding lead and apply pressure on current QS N°4 Duru. The Frenchman finally started on a good wave midway through the heat and went all-out with a big forehand top turn and a radical snap for a 7.83 and the lead.
On the five-minute mark, Duru started on another good left, slightly smaller but exploited the two sections ahead of him and displayed his signature powerful carves for a 7.27 to extend his lead. His opponent's final few efforts deemed in vain and Duru ultimately clinched his second Lacanau win after succeeding in 2009.
"We had great conditions this week and I'm stoked to take this one out," he said. "This win is great to keep my confidence levels up as we're going into the next few events and the end of the year. I really wanted to surf some good heats, keep training and to win here in front of the French crowds is awesome. I love surfing no matter how many points are on the line, and here especially with my family around, we don't compete much at home so it makes it special. There were a lot of excellent international surfers and three of us Frenchies in the semis so that's really positive."
Reigning World Junior Champion Silveira had a stellar path to the final, consistently posting huge heat totals and several scores in the eight and nine points range. The Brazilian's Lacanau assault was abruptly stopped by Duru in the final though as Silveira was unable to catch any wave of consequence, ultimately placing runner-up.
"It was a great event for me, in every heat I got at least one big score and often two or more so I'm stoked with that result," he reflected. "I'm really happy with my performance, of course I wanted to win that final but it's my first final in a QS and I'm stoked to launch my European trip like that."
Silveira's most entertaining skill was his commitment all-week to hit the gnarliest sections and go big wether it was in the small surf of the first couple of days, or the large closing out sets that battered the coast Saturday.
"Since I was little I've always wanted to be a complete surfer," he added. "I like to go paddle in some of the big waves on my down time, like Jaws and other places. When I'm competing I focus on the smaller, more high-performance surfing side of things but I like every aspect of the sport and I'm very comfortable in bigger surf."
Marc Lacomare had a slow start to his semifinal bout and fell on the first couple of tries before he really got into rhythm and started to score. The talented goofy foot rapidly caught two excellent waves but couldn't match Duru's flair and was forced out of competition despite an impressive heat total. Since the swell picked up, Lacomare had not scored under 16 points and was one of the top form surfers in this event.
"I felt really really good all-event, I was waiting for a good wave in that semi and did get an opportunity, but I was a little too deep and unfortunately that was it," he admitted. "I'm taking out a lot of positive from this event. I started in the first round and won a lot of good heats so I'm really happy and I can't wait for the bigger events to start. Losing against one of my best friends on tour doesn't make it any easier but I'm happy for Joan and stoked he continued and won the event."
In a slow first half of the second semifinal, Maxime Huscenot and Silveira had a hard time catching decent waves. Huscenot finally put two scores on the board but was unfortunately caught on the inside by repeated sets and couldn't make his way back out into the lineup until he only had minutes left to fight for the coveted ticket for the final. Huscenot still held the lead until the final seconds when the Brazilian caught a running left for the winning score.
"We were surfing really far and couldn't hear anything, so it made it really hard to try to apply a strategy cause I wasn't sure who had what scores," he commented. "I've surfed a lot of rights lately, training at Trestles and in Huntington so it was great to go left again ! This year I've taken time off at the beginning of the season and hope I can build on my current form to score big results towards the end of the year."
Surfers will next continue their European campaign just a little further down the French Atlantic coastline and compete at the Pro Anglet, starting Wednesday August 24.
Post Médoc Océan Lacanau pro, the European Rankings stand as follow:
Men's European QS:
1 - Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY)
2 - Jorgann Couzinet (REU)
3 - Andy Criere (FRA)
4 - Gony Zubizarreta (ESP)
5 - Pedro Henrique (PRT)
Women's European QS:
1 - Ariane Ochoa (EUK)
2 - Garazi Sanchez-Ortun (EUK)
3 - Maud Le Car (FRA)
4 - Justine Dupont (FRA)
5 - Pauline Ado (FRA)
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An unstoppable Joan Duru takes out the 2016 Médoc Océan Lacanau Pro in great conditions.
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