OCTOBER 22, 2004
PLAYA DE SAN JUAN, LANZAROTE
WQS 4 * Men
Powerful and tricky conditions for a "world-class" day of contest

The last 8 heats of the round of 96 and the whole round of 64 have been completed today in 5 to 6 feet powerful waves on the massive lefthander of San Juan. The west swell picked up during the night and created long walls on this famous world class pointbreak; perfect conditions for the 96 surfers left in this WQS 4* contest.

The first "show" was held during heat # 14 of the round of 96 when the local superstar Franito Saenz showed impressive performance on his homebreak, scoring the 3rd best heat points of the day with a total of 16.16. He comments :"I'm always a bit nervous for my first heat but I was confident; I have knowledge and experience on this wave. I found 2 really good waves during the heat and my board was just perfect for these conditions!" Franito also reckons the level has never been so high for a contest in the canaries islands. Someone to definitely look after for the coming heats…

Hot local ripper Jose Maria Cabrera also got through with powerful carves and a solid commitment in these tricky conditions. He will face WCT rider Eric Rébière, French rookie Fabrice Gelez and Australian Kai Otton in the first heat of the round of 32.

As the tide went down, the swell remained solid and the world class riders travelling from Australia, Brazil or South Africa showed some incredible surf in stressful heats. The best performance of the day is to be given to Jarrad Howse -from Australia- who scored a perfect 10 pointer on a bomb wave with 3 huge backside rollers under the lip. Just as we all love it!

One of the toughest heat of the coming round will be definitely the one between Australian rookies Glen Hall & Zane Harrison, Portuguese superstar Tiago Pirès and 2004 EPSA champion Justin Mujica.

Good waves and wind conditions are expected for tomorrow. The organizers are willing to complete the round of the 32 and the quarter finals.