- WSL / Pedro Mestre
- WSL / Pedro Mestre
Highlights: Grovel On at Caparica Surf Fest
2:25
The Estrella Galicia Caparica Surf Fest powers through the men's second round in difficult small conditions.

The men's QS3,000 Estrella Galicia Caparica Surf Fest resumed in small but clean waves to run through (? heats of) the second round while the women's QS1,000 division was called off for the day.

The tough conditions today made it fairly easy to identify surfers with better rhythm and dynamic, athletic abilities, who were able to generate speed and perform good turns despite the lack of energy in the lineup.

Long time Qualifying Series competitor Vicente Romero outshone the rest of the field with quick and powerful turns on his backhand as well as a fancy airtime considering the size of the ramps on offer.

Vicente Romero (ESP) Vicente Romero (ESP) - WSL / Pedro Mestre

"It was pretty tough, very small and the sets were slow to come," he said. "But I'm a light surfer and these are conditions are some I do well in, I've made the Quarters here before and I really like it in Caparica. Where I'm from in Barcelona is quite similar with the rocks and sandbanks so I'm comfortable out there."

Cristian Portelli not only surfed better than his opponents in his heat but he also was very smart in his approach to the lineup. At a time where the outside and inside sections were tough to connect, he chose the perfect spot to sit in the lineup and exploited the little rights to perfection, nailing two good scores to take the win.

Estrella Galicia Wave of the Day 2
0:20
Erwan Blouin Belts the Estrella Galicia Wave of the Day in Caparica with his aerial approach on the lefts.

"It was cool we had a good strategy my coach and I," he said. "Everyone sat quite far and I decided to stay on the inside on the rights, it was a bit slow but I got some good ones and made the heat so all good. Depending on how the waves change, I hope it picks up a bit, I'll adapt to the new conditions."

Full Results Available on WorldSurfLeague.com

Gony Zubizarreta (ESP) Gony Zubizarreta (ESP) - WSL / Pedro Mestre

A few surfers couldn't quite adapt to the conditions on hand and suffered early exits to the hands of more agile surfers. Halley Batista bowing out was a surprise even though the Brazilian surfed at probably the slowest time of the day. Form Frenchmen Theo Julitte, Leo Paul Etienne were part of the top seeds lost in the round, as well as Leon Glatzer just to name a few.

The Men's event has been called Off for Thursday and the women in the QS1,000 have a 6:45 a.m call for a potential 7 a.m start of Round 2.

Watch the Estrella Galicia Caparica Surf Fest LIVE on the WSL platforms from May 18-23, and check out daily recaps, pictures, videos and more right here.

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