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> News > Adur Amatriain and Carolina Mendes Claim ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro Titles

surfing News

Adur Amatriain and Carolina Mendes Claim ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro Titles

The winners and finalists in Pantin, L-R: men's runner-up Joan Duru (FRA), men's winner Adur Amatriain (EUK), women's winner Carolina Mendes (PRT) & women's runner-up Melania Suarez Diaz (ESP), at Playa De Pantin, Valdoviño, Galicia, Spain, July 4, 2021. Image credit: / WSL / Masurel

04 July 2021

Adur Amatriain (EUK) and Carolina Mendes (PRT) have won the ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro today, claiming victory in the Finals against Joan Duru (FRA) and Melania Suarez Diaz (ESP) held in two-to-three foot surf.

The last stop on the 2020/21 World Surf League (WSL) European Qualifying Series (QS), the ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro had to battle through a difficult forecast but culminated today with the finals in rippable conditions.

Adur Amatriain Continues Incredible 2021 Run

“I can’t believe I’ve won it,” Amatriain stated. “The Final was super close and Joan got the best score of the entire event so I was very nervous out there and the time passed pretty slowly for me.”

At only 17 years-old, Adur Amatriain (EUK) continues to wow with an impeccable run through the Galician week. Only weeks after seizing his first win on the Junior QS in France, the Basque surfer stepped up big time to claim the victory in Pantin today.

“This is such a prestigious event,” Amatriain continued. “Winning here makes me feel super confident and very motivated for the next following events.”

Amatriain pulled the trigger first on a good-sized set to post a solid 6.33 and apply pressure on Joan Duru (FRA) early on, quickly putting on a second high 6 on the scoreboard. But the veteran sat patiently and waited for the bomb, to put a near-perfect, powerful backhand combo of multiple turns for a 9.33.

As time ran down though, the patient approach proved expensive for Duru, who couldn’t find a second scoring ride and had to settle for the runner-up spot in Galicia.

The former Championship Tour surfer who already has four QS event wins in the bag, was surely betting on No.5 after his near-perfect score but unfortunately couldn’t back it up.

“It was very small and Adur’s been ripping the whole event so he deserved that win,” a gracious Duru commented. “I got a very good wave and waited for another one but it just never came. Things like this happen, but I did my best and I’m happy with my performance. I wasn’t sure I could get a 3 on one of the smaller waves so I just waited and unfortunately it didn’t work out.”

Women’s Final: Against the Ropes, Mendes Finds Resources to Fight Back

The women’s Final was a similar opposition of style, stance and experience as long time QS warrior Carolina Mendes (PRT) took on up-and-comer Canarian Melania Suarez Diaz (ESP).

In a wave-starved Final heat, Suarez Diaz got the better of a 28-minute exchange, building house on minimal swell while Mendes was struggling to find opportunities to surf. But with such low scores on the board for both surfers, the door was still wide open.

On the two-minute mark, the only set wave of the Final showed up and the Portuguese surfed it just well enough to post a medium score and turn the heat to win her career’s second QS event.

“That was a really hard heat of small waves and nothing really breaking,” Mendes said. “I’m just really happy that that one wave showed up and I’m stoked to win here. Pantin is such an amazing contest and being one of the winners here is special.”

The Portuguese surfer who has been competing for over ten years on the WSL tours claims a second win, in what is undeniably her strongest season ever. Following an excellent equal third place in Caparica in May, the 2017 European Champion claims the second and last event of the 2020/21 season as the best surfer in the region.

Following a decent junior career which included a win in Portugal, Melania Suarez Diaz (ESP) has now transitioned to the Qualifying Series and is already making her mark, reaching her first Final in Pantin this week. The stylish goofy footer put together two strong results this season and will be a force to be reckoned with, through the next Qualifying campaign on the Old Continent.

“I’m really happy to have made it this far in this event,” Suarez Diaz said. “I never imagined I’d make the Final so that’s very satisfying for me.”

Leticia Canales Bilbao Joins Vasco Ribeiro Atop Region’s Leaderboard

In this special season spanning over two calendar years and with a restricted number of events due to the global pandemic, Leticia Canales Bilbao (ESP) was fortunate to count on one huge result from her 2020 season, an amazing third place at the inaugural women’s Challenger Series event in Sydney.

By reaching the Quarterfinals this week, Canales Bilbao built a big enough cushion to cement her spot atop the regional leaderboard and claims her first European crown.

“I couldn’t believe it actually I thought I’d have to make a few more heats,” Canales Bilbao said. “I came to Pantin with the goal to win the European title so it feels great to achieve one of my goals and now let’s set some more for the future. I’m super happy to be the first Spanish woman to win this title of European Champion.”

Full Results and Rankings Update

With the completion of the ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro, the European rankings for 2020-21 are now Final, here are the Top 5:

European Men’s QS Top 5:

1 - Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) **European Champion**

2 - Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)

3 - Joan Duru (FRA)

4 - Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR)

5 - Kauli Vaast (FRA)

European Women’s QS Top 5:

1 - Leticia Canales Bilbao (ESP) **European Champion**

2 - Pauline Ado (FRA)

3 - Vahine Fierro (FRA)

4 - Maud Le Car (FRA)

5 - Johanne Defay (FRA)

The ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro (Men's & Women's) is scheduled from June 29 - July 4, 2021 at playa de Pantin, Galicia / Spain. For all results, photos, video highlights and press releases, log on to WorldSurfLeague.com. The event will be webcast LIVE starting Friday.

The ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro is supported by ABANCA, Xunta de Galicia (Turismo de Galicia, Xacobeo 2021-22, Deporte Galego, Galicia Calidade), Concello de Valdoviño, Deputacion de A Coruña as well as Estrella Galicia, Cabreiroa, Vithas, Ecolife, Joyeria Jael, TAG Heuer, NON, Gadis, Volkswagen Yañez, Northside, Intermax, FGS and We Project.

ABANCA PANTIN CLASSIC GALICIA PRO MEN’S FINAL RESULT:

1 - Adur Amatriain (EUK) 13.23

2 - Joan Duru (FRA) 10.83

ABANCA PANTIN CLASSIC GALICIA PRO WOMEN’S FINAL RESULT:

1 - Carolina Mendes (PRT) 8.17

2 - Melania Suarez Diaz (ESP) 8.00

ABANCA PANTIN CLASSIC GALICIA PRO MEN’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

SF 1: Adur Amatriain (EUK) 10.30 def. Ruben Vitoria (EUK) 8.10

SF 2: Joan Duru (FRA) 9.76 def. Kauli Vaast (FRA) 8.10

ABANCA PANTIN CLASSIC GALICIA PRO WOMEN’S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

SF 1: Carolina Mendes (PRT) 8.00 def. Garazi Sanchez-Ortun (EUK) 6.50

SF 2: Melania Suarez Diaz (ESP) 9.83 def. Ariane Ochoa (EUK) 8.40

ABANCA PANTIN CLASSIC GALICIA PRO MEN’S QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:

QF 1: Ruben Vitoria (EUK) 11.67 def. Marc Lacomare (FRA) 10.24

QF 2: Adur Amatriain (EUK) 10.67 def. Aritz Aranburu (ESP) 8.57

QF 3: Kauli Vaast (FRA) 13.30 def. Tristan Guilbaud (FRA) 11.56

QF 4: Joan Duru (FRA) 10.60 def. Pedro Henrique (PRT) 9.43

ABANCA PANTIN CLASSIC GALICIA PRO WOMEN’S QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:

QF 1: Carolina Mendes (PRT) 11.27 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 6.70

QF 2: Garazi Sanchez-Ortun (EUK) 10.73 def. Lucia Machado (CNY) 9.66

QF 3: Ariane Ochoa (EUK) 13.50 def. Mafalda Lopes (PRT) 10.17

QF 4: Melania Suarez Diaz (ESP) 10.83 def. Leticia Canales Bilbao (ESP) 7.67

About the WSL

Established in 1976, the World Surf League (WSL) is the home of the world's best surfing.

A global sports, media and entertainment company, the WSL oversees international tours and competitions, a studios division creating over 500+ hours of live and on-demand content, and via affiliate WaveCo, the home of the world's largest high performance, human-made wave. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the WSL has regional offices in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA.

The WSL annually crowns the men’s and women’s surfing World Champions. The global Tours and Competition division oversees and operates more than 180 global contests each year across the Championship Tour, the development tiers, including the Challenger, Qualifying and Junior Series, as well as longboard and big wave properties.

Launched in 2019, WSL Studios is an independent producer of unscripted television projects, including documentaries and series, which provide unprecedented access to athletes, events, and locations around the world. WSL events and content are distributed on linear television in over 743M+ homes worldwide and across digital and social media platforms around the world, including WorldSurfLeague.com.

WaveCo includes the Surf Ranch Lemoore facility and the utilizing and licensing of the Kelly Slater Wave System.

The WSL is dedicated to changing the world through the inspirational power of surfing by creating authentic events, experiences, and storytelling to inspire a growing, global community to live with purpose, originality, and stoke.

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

Press Release Source: www.worldsurfleague.com