Maxime Huscenot (FRA), on point and into Round 5. Image: ASP/Masurel

Day 3 of the 5-Star Soöruz Lacanau Pro witnessed great performances amongst major upsets, disputed in 4ft bumpy surf. With the event top seeds entering the show today, the level of expertise rose and with it big scores started dropping.

Portuguese ripper Vasco Ribeiro netted the biggest score of the event so far, an incredible 9.17 out of 10 for a succession of powerful turns in the critical sections of the wave.

“It is a great confidence boost to get scores like that, but I know this is just the beginning of the event and I have to keep my focus on what’s ahead.” Ribeiro commented. “To be honest I’m not sure which score is which wave, I didn’t hear much cause we’re so far from shore, but I heard at some point that I was in the lead.”

Ribeiro and compatriot Miguel Blanco were responsible for the first major upset, defeating France’s Joan Duru in the final exchange of the 25-minute bout.

French Polynesian Heremoana Luciani also continued his tear through the Soöruz Lacanau Pro, winning his third consecutive heat in fantastic fashion. Advancing into the fourth round alongside Italian ripper Leonardo Fioravanti, Luciani caused another big upset, eliminating California’s Patrick Gudauskas (USA).

“I came here just to test myself really,” Luciana said. “I usually am busy with work and can’t travel much, but this year I planned in advance and I’m stoked to have come here and made a few heats. I’ll continue without thinking too much of the end result, I just want to build experience and confidence in the process.”

Defending event champion Charly Martin got off to a good start with a solid heat win. Displaying a big smile after his heat, Martin seemed unconcerned by the expectations of the public and surf fans.

“I’m super happy I got that best wave right from the start, it was a great righthander, probably the best of the whole heat,” Martin said. “I can’t say I’m not feeling the pressure, but honestly I don’t pay too much attention. I’m simply happy to be here and compete.”

UPCOMING SOÖRUZ LACANAU PRO RD OF 32 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Maxime Huscenot (FRA), Frederico Morais (PRT), Gony Zubizarreta (ESP), Marc Lacomare (FRA)
Heat 2: Lucas Silveira (BRA), Nic Von Rupp (PRT), Gaspard Larsonneur (FRA), Imanol Yeregi (EUK)
Heat 3: Alex Ribeiro (BRA), Vasco Ribeiro (PRT), Michael February (ZAF), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Heat 4: Rafael Teixeira (BRA), Miguel Blanco (PRT), Marlon Lipke (PRT), Heremoana Luciani (PYF)
Heat 5: Charly Martin (GLP), Steven Pierson (PYF), Balaram Stack (USA), Hodei Collazo (EUK)
Heat 6: Tommy Boucaut (FRA), Noe Mar McGonagle (CRI), Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR), Timothee Bisso (GLP)
Heat 7: David Van Zyl (ZAF), Jack Freestone (AUS), Ian Gouveia (BRA), Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 8: Jatyr Berasaluce (EUK), Vincent Duvignac (FRA), Matheus Navarro (BRA), Marco Giorgi (URY)

SOÖRUZ LACANAU PRO RD OF 48 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 11.33, Lucas Silveira (BRA) 11.30, Shun Murakami (JPN) 11.16, Luel Felipe (BRA) 9.23
Heat 2: Frederico Morais (PRT) 14.84, Nic Von Rupp (PRT) 9.93, Leandro Usuna (ARG) 9.33, Tristan Guilbaud (FRA) 9.24
Heat 3: Gaspard Larsonneur (FRA) 13.44, Gony Zubizarreta (ESP) 9.60, Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) 9.30, Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 9.10
Heat 4: Imanol Yeregi (EUK) 14.17, Marc Lacomare (FRA) 11.27, Hiroto Arai (JPN) 11.07, Vicente Romero (ESP) 9.10
Heat 5: Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 14.40, Rafael Teixeira (BRA) 12.67, Adrien Toyon (FRA) 7.90, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 6.90
Heat 6: Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 17.10, Miguel Blanco (PRT) 12.5, Joan Duru (FRA) 11.93, Jerome Forrest (AUS) 8.47
Heat 7: Marlon Lipke (PRT) 14.00, Michael February (ZAF) 12.37, Miguel Tudela (PER) 10.96, Cory Arrambide (USA) 7.87
Heat 8: Heremoana Luciani (PYF) 15.67, Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 12.37, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.93, Gatien Delahaye (GLP) 11.50
Heat 9: Charly Martin (GLP) 14.57, Tommy Boucaut (FRA) 13.50, Pedro Henrique (BRA) 11.80, Teale Vanner (AUS) 10.77
Heat 10: Steven Pierson (PYF) 16.16, Noe Mar McGonagle (CRI) 13.96, Santiago Muniz (ARG) 12.90, William Aliotti (FRA) 9.76
Heat 11: Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 14.27, Balaram Stack (USA) 11.63, Dylan Lightfoot (ZAF) 11.63, Medi Veminardi (REU) 10.90
Heat 12: Timothee Bisso (GLP) 11.73, Hodei Collazo (EUK) 10.50, Tom Cloarec (FRA) 9.37, Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) 7.03
Heat 13: David Van Zyl (ZAF) 14.27, Jatyr Berasaluce (EUK) 13.64, Charly Quivront (FRA)12.40, Carlos Munoz (CRI) 12.10
Heat 14: Jack Freestone (AUS) 15.03, Vincent Duvignac (FRA) 14.90, Connor O’Leary (AUS) 13.87, Takumi Nakamura (JPN) 13.70
Heat 15: Matheus Navarro (BRA) 11.93, Ian Gouveia (BRA) 11.80, Cody Robinson (AUS) 11.13, Jean Da Silva (BRA) 11.04
Heat 16: Marco Giorgi (URY) 14.44, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 12.00, Monty Tait (AUS) 7.40, Paul Cesar Distinguin (FRA) 5.64