The Junior Pro Biscarrosse continues and the level rises up a notch with the event's top seeds giving a good show.
The Junior Pro Biscarrosse resumed in cleaner, smaller, two-to-three foot surf and ran through a long day of action with a little break at low tide, to complete multiple rounds of the men and women's events.
In the men's, pretty much the whole European Junior Top 10 made it through their heats today, stamping their authority on the younger surfers trying to break out on the junior scene. It's as if the pressure of the season winding down made everyone get really serious, all at once.
Justin Becret, Lenni Jensen, Mathis Crozon and Kauli Vaast earned some of the most convincing wins.
Marco Mignot was the one surfer to truly deliver fireworks in the shifty peaks of Biscarrosse. The current No. 1 is still tied with Crozon at this point, and someone will have to take the upper hand this week for a chance to claim their first-ever European title.
Marco Mignot blows the tail en route to Round 4 in Bisca. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"That heat started a little slow with very soft waves," said Mignot. "But I managed to build some momentum on some medium waves and later found back-to-back really good rights. Mathis and I have a very healthy battle going on and I'm loving every minute of it. One of us will eventually surf better than the other, I feel very good this week so I hope that's me."
Gaizka Housset Ezponda got one of the day's top single scores, but the Frenchman from Bidart also got a good scare as he looked down at the last minute of his heat without a second wave surfed, and a potential elimination. With an excellent 8 under his belt, the goofy foot opted to go on a closeout left in the dying seconds and pulled a floater for a 2.27 to advance.
"That was a very close one for me," he said. "My first wave came out of nowhere, it was a fun little left and I managed to do a few good snaps and a carve. I was a bit surprised to get an 8 on it but obviously happy with it. Then the whole heat pretty much shut off and I just waited for something that never came. I was lucky enough to find a really bad wave at the very end and managed to pull it off."
Cristian Portelli (SWE) continued to cruise through the rounds today. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
Sean Gunning was one of the surprise top scorers of the day, with a great wave scored 7.67 for a combination of turns and an aerial rotation on the inside to finish it up.
Brothers Adur and Iker Amatriain continued to turn heads with great surfing and heat wins for both of them. The younger of the two Adur, got the better of the friendly competition with a combined total of 12.43 over Iker's 11.66.
Adur Amatriain is a very iconic young surfer and has immense potential. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
In the women's, ranking leaders Anat Lelior and Melania Diaz advanced through the opening heat but didn't show much surfing as scores stayed very low.
Uhania Joly pushed the performance bar higher in the following heat with a great combination of two backhand snaps for a 7-point ride. The French surfer in her last season as a junior has been quite consistent but failed to make the Finals in the first three events, which she'll hope to achieve in Bisca.
Uhaina Joly (FRA) stepped up in Round 2. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"The first half of that heat was so bad for me I was starting to freak out," she said. "I've put a lot of pressure on myself to do well this season and I'm not handling it very well so far. But I have good coaching with Yann Martin and I'm going to continue to work on this as well as technique. I feel like my surfing is there in the free-surfs but I can't really showcase it in my heats."
Lucia Machado continued to raise the level as she tore apart the little lefts in front of the judges' tower. The goofyfooter surfed with great flow and placed radical forehand snaps in the right sections every time, to build an incredible 16.83 heat total.
Lucia Machado (CNY) pulled the day's massive performance to advance into Round Three. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"I usually feel better on my backhand but I have to admit that left was a lot of fun," Machado said. "My best results so far have been equal-fifth so my goal is definitely to improve on that here this week."
The rest of the evening heats paled in comparison with Machado's performance, but once again most top seeds made their way into Round 3.
Surfers and event officials will reassess conditions at 7 a.m on Friday for a potential resumption of the men's event while the women will come in at 9:30 a.m for their call.
Tune in from May 16 - 20, 2018 and check out all the photos, videos and updates right here.
Top Seeds Dominate Day 2 of Junior Pro Biscarrosse
Nicolas Leroy
The Junior Pro Biscarrosse resumed in cleaner, smaller, two-to-three foot surf and ran through a long day of action with a little break at low tide, to complete multiple rounds of the men and women's events.
In the men's, pretty much the whole European Junior Top 10 made it through their heats today, stamping their authority on the younger surfers trying to break out on the junior scene. It's as if the pressure of the season winding down made everyone get really serious, all at once.
Justin Becret, Lenni Jensen, Mathis Crozon and Kauli Vaast earned some of the most convincing wins.
Marco Mignot was the one surfer to truly deliver fireworks in the shifty peaks of Biscarrosse. The current No. 1 is still tied with Crozon at this point, and someone will have to take the upper hand this week for a chance to claim their first-ever European title.
"That heat started a little slow with very soft waves," said Mignot. "But I managed to build some momentum on some medium waves and later found back-to-back really good rights. Mathis and I have a very healthy battle going on and I'm loving every minute of it. One of us will eventually surf better than the other, I feel very good this week so I hope that's me."
Gaizka Housset Ezponda got one of the day's top single scores, but the Frenchman from Bidart also got a good scare as he looked down at the last minute of his heat without a second wave surfed, and a potential elimination. With an excellent 8 under his belt, the goofy foot opted to go on a closeout left in the dying seconds and pulled a floater for a 2.27 to advance.
"That was a very close one for me," he said. "My first wave came out of nowhere, it was a fun little left and I managed to do a few good snaps and a carve. I was a bit surprised to get an 8 on it but obviously happy with it. Then the whole heat pretty much shut off and I just waited for something that never came. I was lucky enough to find a really bad wave at the very end and managed to pull it off."
Sean Gunning was one of the surprise top scorers of the day, with a great wave scored 7.67 for a combination of turns and an aerial rotation on the inside to finish it up.
Brothers Adur and Iker Amatriain continued to turn heads with great surfing and heat wins for both of them. The younger of the two Adur, got the better of the friendly competition with a combined total of 12.43 over Iker's 11.66.
In the women's, ranking leaders Anat Lelior and Melania Diaz advanced through the opening heat but didn't show much surfing as scores stayed very low.
Uhania Joly pushed the performance bar higher in the following heat with a great combination of two backhand snaps for a 7-point ride. The French surfer in her last season as a junior has been quite consistent but failed to make the Finals in the first three events, which she'll hope to achieve in Bisca.
"The first half of that heat was so bad for me I was starting to freak out," she said. "I've put a lot of pressure on myself to do well this season and I'm not handling it very well so far. But I have good coaching with Yann Martin and I'm going to continue to work on this as well as technique. I feel like my surfing is there in the free-surfs but I can't really showcase it in my heats."
Lucia Machado continued to raise the level as she tore apart the little lefts in front of the judges' tower. The goofyfooter surfed with great flow and placed radical forehand snaps in the right sections every time, to build an incredible 16.83 heat total.
"I usually feel better on my backhand but I have to admit that left was a lot of fun," Machado said. "My best results so far have been equal-fifth so my goal is definitely to improve on that here this week."
The rest of the evening heats paled in comparison with Machado's performance, but once again most top seeds made their way into Round 3.
Surfers and event officials will reassess conditions at 7 a.m on Friday for a potential resumption of the men's event while the women will come in at 9:30 a.m for their call.
Tune in from May 16 - 20, 2018 and check out all the photos, videos and updates right here.
Melania Suarez Diaz
The Caraïbos Lacanau Pro comes back this summer after a two-year hiatus!
Surfers Battle Through Minimal Conditions on Opening Day.
Surfers are treated to a fresh new location for the GADIS Junior Pro Ferrol as the European season continues to unfold.
Adur Amatriain and Carolina Mendes come out on top at the 34th ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro.
Exciting Finals Oppose Youth to Experience with Mixed Results
Junior Pro Biscarrosse
The Junior Pro Biscarrosse culminates with the victories of Justin Becret and Nadia Erostarbe in good surf and great weather.
French surfers dominate finals on home turf, but a Basque wins the women's event.
Important progress was made on Day 3 as surfers fought for their spot in the quarters and semis.
The Junior Pro Biscarrosse winds down towards the event finals in quality beach breaks.
The Junior Pro Biscarrosse continues and the level rises up a notch with the event's top seeds giving a good show.