- With this victory, the Brazilian rider is placed third in the men’s QS classification, ascending twenty places
- Pupo managed to the American Jake Marshall in the final, who was one of the great surprises of the competition
The ‘Wave Factory’ as the beach of Pantín (Valdoviño, Ferrolterra, province of A Coruña) is known, did not fail. The great conditions prevailing and the remarkable influx of the audience that met in the final rounds of the QS/10,000 of the ABANCA Galicia Classic Surf Pro were matched with a great surf show.
Both the finalists, the Brazilian Miguel Pupo and the American Jake Marshall, like the rest of surfers who competed during the afternoon this Saturday (September 7), showed why they are among the best in the world in the speciality.
With all these components, one could only hope who would be crowned as ABANCA Galicia Classic Surf Pro champion, and it was none other than Miguel Pupo. The Brazilian rider was confident in each of the tests he played, showing the spectacular surfing inside.
In the final, he managed to win one of the surprises of the competition, the American Jake Marshall, who against prognosis got into the fight for the title. Pupo dominated from the beginning with a wave of 8.50 points, which marked the future of the rest of the test, which complemented with a wave of 8.37 points, to put a score of 16.87 to 14.43 points.
The third place was shared by Brazilian Jadson Andre and Australian Morgan Cibilic, who did not pass into semifinals.
With this result, Miguel Pupo ascends 20 positions in the general classification and is placed third; while Marshall (who started the test in 24th place) climbs 16 places to get eighth.
Thus, the top five classified in the men’s QS / 10,000 (WSL) are: Jadson Andre (22,500 points); Alex Ribeiro (18,930 points, Brazil); Miguel Pupo (17,900 points); Jorgann Couzinet (17,310 points, France), who loses the lead and Matt Banting (16,750 points, Australia).
As for the ‘Cabreiroá Best Wave of the competition’ trophy, it went to Brazil’s Deivid Silva, with a score of 9.40 points; while the ‘Best- Accumulated Score in a Test’ was for Jadson Andre (17.33 points).
The semifinal crosses
In the semifinals, Marshall got into the fight for the title, by eliminating Brazilian Jadson Andre against the odds. The American was more regular and achieved two waves with an almost identical value: 7.57 and 7.43 points, to put a score of 15.00 – 13.47 in his favour.
Meanwhile, Pupo resolved by the fast track, as shown by the scores of his first three waves: 7.17 – 7.07 and 8.17 points. Cibilic tried to react to this overwhelming start of the Brazilian and almost succeeds, but his two waves (7.87 and 7.03 points) were not enough to exceed 15.34 of Pupo.
Quarter-final round
The quarterfinals had as clear protagonists Jadson Andre and Jake Marshall. The first opened the competition making a wave of 8.67 points, which earned him to accumulate a result of 14.07 points and eliminate the Australian Matt Banting (7th in the QS), who had surfed at a high level during the previous rounds.
For his part, Marshall did not give options to the Australian Caleb Tancred, with a cumulative 16.77 points, which includes a wave of 9.10 points.
The last two tests of the round, the Australian Morgan Cibilic and the Brazilian Miguel Pupo, who passed more easily than expected before the South African Matthew McGillivray and the French Nomme Mignot.
Trophy delivery
During the trophy delivery, which was performed on the Estrella Galicia stage, the Regional Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Xunta de Galicia, Román Rodríguez; who delivered the first prize; the Councilor for Sports of the Municipality of Valdoviño, Sergio Saavedra; the deputy of the Deputation of A Coruña, Ana Lamas; the territorial director of A Coruña, Gerardo Fuentes, and the representative of Estrella Galicia and Cabreiroá, Jaime Perozo.
Pupo: “Pantín is a very special place for me”
The QS / 10,000 champion of the ABANCA Galicia Classic Surf Pro, Miguel Pupo, acknowledged being “very happy with the victory achieved”. “Pantín is a very special place for me, a bit cold compared to Brazil. I am very happy to be here, they have received me very well and I have felt very comfortable, ”he said.
Besides, Pupo said that victory has a greater value since “I had not won a test since 2015. I have worked very hard to achieve this result.”
For his part, Jake Marshall said the Galician test had been “a great experience.” “It has been hard, but I feel good about my performance.” The American explained that “much of the surfing” he has shown in Pantín, is due “to the work done with my coach, with whom I have greatly improved the technique.”
ABANCA Galicia Classic Surf Pro counts with the support of Xunta de Galicia (Turismo de Galicia, Xacobeo 2021, Deporte Galego, Galicia Calidade, Secretaria Xeral de Igualdade, Conselleria de Medioambiente), Diputacion de A Coruña, Ayuntamiento de Ferrol, Ayuntamiento de Valdoviño, Sociedad Mixta de Turismo de Ferrol, Costa das Ondas y Federación Galega de Surf; así como las firmas ABANCA, ESTRELLA GALICIA, CABREIROA, HOSPITAL QUIRON, INTERMAX, VOLKSWAGEN YAÑEZ, TAGHEUER, JOYERIA JAEL, SIROKO,GADIS, GAM, ITG Y VAZVA.