Round of 96 Finishes Tonight.

Check out all the Action on the Sooruz Lacanau Pro 2009.

Favorites Tame Tricky Conditions, Sooruz Lacanau Pro Expects New Swell

Owen Wright (Sydney, AUS), 19, was one of today’s top seeds to advance in the early morning, the current ASP WQS No. 4 showing he was in good form for his French campaign start. Wright will surf against fellow WQS leaders Patrick Gudauskas (California, USA) and Luke Munro (Gold Coast, AUS) along with Oakley Pro Junior winner Charles Martin (GLP)

LACANAU OCEAN – France (Wednesday, August 19, 2009) – The third day of the waiting period saw seven heats only take place in the early morning, the outgoing tide delivering some fun and clean waves until the dead-low tide made the conditions uncontestable. Some two to three foot (0.5 to 1 meter) sets allowed for some top seeds to kick off their French campaign, current ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) No. 4 Owen Wright (Sydney, AUS), 19, securing his berth into Round 3 of competition.

Also advancing today were rising Californian star Nat Young (USA), 17, and renowned progressive surfer Eric Geiselman (Florida, USA), both American surfers showing solid surfing to secure their Round 3 ticket along with the day’s top scorer Yadin Nicol (Western Australia, AUS).

Geiselman, who was surfing for the first time ever in France today, was at ease in the tricky fast breaking waves posting a promising 13.07 point heat result including an 8.17 point ride, the day’s second best wave. The 20-year-old surfer, who managed to win Heat 7 ahead of former ASP Top 45 surfer Travis Logie (Durban, ZAF), left the water relieved.

“I felt pretty slow actually but I am stoked to make it through,” Geiselman said. “The waves were very challenging but I just tried to surf smart and get the better waves I guess. I am happy because I have never been to France before and I like the place a lot.”

Geiselman, who has built a reputation on his spectacular surfing and a complete repertoire of flying maneuvers, used smart heat tactics today to win his event starter and will definitely be one to count with when the new swell delivers clean walls at Lacanau.

“I have been enjoying my time so far here and I hope I can get a few points and be able to get in the Hawiian Triple Crown at the end of this year,” Geiselman said. “The waves are okay, we’ve had fast walls to longer though flatter conditions but it’s fun overall. I will start full-time on the WQS next year for sure so I am trying to enjoy myself here.”

One of today’s surprises was the heat win of Medi Veminardi (REU), 18, the Reunion Island born surfer already achieving his best result ever by advancing through to Round 3 of the ASP WQS 6-Star event. Veminardi, who was able to post 14.00 points to best current ASP World Tour surfer David Weare (Durban, ZAF), eliminated favorite Pablo Paulino (BRA) and fellow island surfer Damien Chaudoy.

“It’s pretty cool to make that heat and it’s my best result ever in a 6-Star rated event,” Veminardi said. “I had a game plan which was not to worry about David Weare who is on the ASP World Tour, and focus on getting the second place from Pablo Paulino (BRA). Then I got that 7+ score and I heard the guys needed a pretty decent score to catch-up so I stayed calm and watched Paulino. I am super happy to make it through.”

All surf forecasts are showing a new swell supposed to hit Lacanau around tomorrow afternoon and some excellent surf in the five to six foot range should be breaking over the quality sand bank by Saturday morning. The event showdown promises to bring intense action but until then, sixteen heats remain before Round 2 is completed and the number of title contenders decreases dramatically. A call will be made at 7.30 AM.

Visit www.aspeurope.com and www.sooruzlacanaupro.com for results, photos and news of the ASP WQS 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro

SOORUZ LACANAU PRO ROUND 2 RESULTS
Heat 1: Tim Boal (FRA) 17.17 pts, Charles Martin (GLP) 12.60 pts, Richard Christie (NZL) 11.17 pts, Alex Gray (USA) 10.00 pts

Heat 2: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 15.66 pts, Luke Munro (AUS) 13.20 pts, Daniel Redman (ZAF) 11.17 pts, Mark Mathews (AUS) 9.57 pts

Heat 3: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.50 pts, Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 9.98 pts, William Cardoso (BRA) 9.66 pts, Shaun Ward (USA) 8.77 pts

Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 13.00 pts, Nat Young (USA) 11.20 pts, Hodei Collazo (EUK) 10.94 pts, Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) 8.43 pts

Heat 5: Dylan Graves (PRI) 14.10 pts, Jihad Khodr (BRA) 11.67 pts, Paulo Moura (BRA) 10.07 pts, Che Stang (USA) 8.70 pts

Heat 6: Eric Geiselman (USA) 13.07 pts, Travis Logie (ZAF) 11.07 pts, Marco Polo (BRA) 10.67 pts, Vincent Duvignac (FRA) 7.73 pts

Heat 7: Blake Wilson (AUS) 13.67 pts, Leonardo Neves (BRA) 12.80 pts, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 9.07 pts, Brent Dorrington (AUS) 8.90 pts
Heat 8: Medi Veminardi (REU) 14.00 pts, David Weare (ZAF) 13.60 pts, Pablo Paulino (BRA) 7.33 pts, Damien Chaudoy (REU) 6.66 pts