The Men's QS5,000 and Women's QS3,000 Azores Airlines Pro continued today in slightly bumpy three-to-five foot surf to complete the men's Round of 64 as well as the women's Round of 32.
Conditions were best early on as surfers enjoyed a relatively low tide and clean waves with good wall to work with. Sure enough the performance of the day came in the very first heat with rising talent Marco Mignot taking apart the lefts with power and style to build a healthy 16.50 total and advance alongside compatriot Enzo Cavallini.
"I went out there calm and focused on finding that one good wave and when it came I capitalized so I'm really happy with my performance," Mignot said. "I love being in the nature and this is one those places that's so pretty and peaceful I just love being here."
15 year-old Ryan Kainalo took a page out of Mignot's book a couple of heats later and found an excellent ride of his own with two critical turns in the lip to eventually win a difficult heat against former CT surfer Joan Duru, and form surfers Siam Nikritin and Jacome Correia.
A third consecutive day of action unfolds in fun surf on Sao Miguel.
"The waves are pretty challenging and I'm so happy I made it," Kainalo said. "The heat started perfectly for me, I got my best score an 8 right at the beginning and it helped a lot. I'm just out here building some experience and confidence and I hope I can make a few more heats."
The first three heats of the women's Round of 32 were a statement of intention from the Portuguese crew with three winners in full form, namely Francisca Veselko, Yolanda Hopkins and Teresa Bonvalot.
Hopkins, who has been on a tear on the Challenger Series recently with three good results, kept her momentum wave going with an impressive performance in her Azores debut. The powerful regular foot broke her board going all out on a solid set wave midway through the heat, but managed to change her equipment, re-join the lineup and a second big score to take an easy win into the round of 16.
"I always go for the lip and this one looked really fun but unfortunately my board couldn't handle it," she said. "So I had a little bit of a workout to come in and change but thankfully I got the priority as soon as I reached the back again and a good wave came."
The rest of the field struggled to find high-scoring rides throughout the afternoon, notably some of the most experienced competitors on the QS , including former Championship Tour competitor Pauline Ado, who advanced in uncomfortable second place positions.
The vibe got a little sleepy towards the end of the day with only average scores on the board in most heats, until Mafalda Lopes got everyone back on their toes and fired up with a frontside rotation to score the first 10 point ride of the event.
The rising talent took everyone by surprise in the final heat of the day with a frontside rotation above the lip.
It wasn't a monstrous aerial but under pressure the Portuguese managed to launch and land a clean rotation on a closeout section and these are still extremely rare in women's competitions, which is why the judges rewarded her progression with the highest score available.
"It's incredible to get my first 10 and in such a special place, Azores is like a second home to me," Lopes said. "I wasn't really looking for it but that section came and I wasn't going to waste a good opportunity to go for it!"
Surfers will be back at 7:45 a.m for the men's call tomorrow and 10 a.m for the women's event.
Top Seeds Join The Fun On Day 3 Of Azores Airlines Pro
WSL
The Men's QS5,000 and Women's QS3,000 Azores Airlines Pro continued today in slightly bumpy three-to-five foot surf to complete the men's Round of 64 as well as the women's Round of 32.
Conditions were best early on as surfers enjoyed a relatively low tide and clean waves with good wall to work with. Sure enough the performance of the day came in the very first heat with rising talent Marco Mignot taking apart the lefts with power and style to build a healthy 16.50 total and advance alongside compatriot Enzo Cavallini.
"I went out there calm and focused on finding that one good wave and when it came I capitalized so I'm really happy with my performance," Mignot said. "I love being in the nature and this is one those places that's so pretty and peaceful I just love being here."
15 year-old Ryan Kainalo took a page out of Mignot's book a couple of heats later and found an excellent ride of his own with two critical turns in the lip to eventually win a difficult heat against former CT surfer Joan Duru, and form surfers Siam Nikritin and Jacome Correia.
"The waves are pretty challenging and I'm so happy I made it," Kainalo said. "The heat started perfectly for me, I got my best score an 8 right at the beginning and it helped a lot. I'm just out here building some experience and confidence and I hope I can make a few more heats."
The first three heats of the women's Round of 32 were a statement of intention from the Portuguese crew with three winners in full form, namely Francisca Veselko, Yolanda Hopkins and Teresa Bonvalot.
Hopkins, who has been on a tear on the Challenger Series recently with three good results, kept her momentum wave going with an impressive performance in her Azores debut. The powerful regular foot broke her board going all out on a solid set wave midway through the heat, but managed to change her equipment, re-join the lineup and a second big score to take an easy win into the round of 16.
"I always go for the lip and this one looked really fun but unfortunately my board couldn't handle it," she said. "So I had a little bit of a workout to come in and change but thankfully I got the priority as soon as I reached the back again and a good wave came."
The rest of the field struggled to find high-scoring rides throughout the afternoon, notably some of the most experienced competitors on the QS , including former Championship Tour competitor Pauline Ado, who advanced in uncomfortable second place positions.
The vibe got a little sleepy towards the end of the day with only average scores on the board in most heats, until Mafalda Lopes got everyone back on their toes and fired up with a frontside rotation to score the first 10 point ride of the event.
It wasn't a monstrous aerial but under pressure the Portuguese managed to launch and land a clean rotation on a closeout section and these are still extremely rare in women's competitions, which is why the judges rewarded her progression with the highest score available.
"It's incredible to get my first 10 and in such a special place, Azores is like a second home to me," Lopes said. "I wasn't really looking for it but that section came and I wasn't going to waste a good opportunity to go for it!"
Surfers will be back at 7:45 a.m for the men's call tomorrow and 10 a.m for the women's event.
Teresa Bonvalot
An eventful week ultimately crowned proper warriors as the 2024 Caparica Surf Fest winners.
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Tiago Carrique and Teresa Bonvalot claim the 2024 Caparica Surf Fest event titles, the Frenchman wins his first European title and Hopkins
The 9th edition of the Caparica Surf Fest will close out the 2023/24 European QS season in style.
Big powerful Galician surf sets the scene on Day 5 for the Quarterfinals of the ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro.
Azores Airlines Pro
Two Wins and a Quarterfinal in 4 events crowned Reunion Island's Maxime Huscenot as the 2021/22 European QS Winner!
Maxime Huscenot and Teresa Bonvalot come out on top of a stacked finals day to claim their second tour win.
And then there were 8.
Only 8 surfers remain as the Azores Airlines Pro wraps up the quarterfinals in super fun conditions again and surfers make their way into
Pressure builds as we approach the final rounds of the Men's QS5,000 and Women's QS3,000 Azores Airlines Pro.