The Vans Surf Pro Classic 2017 kicked off in style today with cranking waves, sunshine and high scores. Last years event winner, Beyrick de Vries, went nuts on the buttery Yoyos walls earning himself a 9.17 & an 8.6 to easily advance to round 2. Naturally, Zag took a quick look at his equipment. “5’11” Hurricane shaped by DVG. Its a proper all-rounder, able to go in anything from 1-6 foot” When quizzed on his relaxed mindset for the QS tour this year, he’s candid “I’m not thinking about rankings, just living for the next bottom turn, enjoying my surfing and figuring out my boards.”
Mateus Herdy, nephew of ex WCT campaigner Guilherme Herdy, also blew up, busting a massive, risky air reverse in the closing minute for a 9.77 and the win. “It’s my first time in South Africa and I’m so excited to be here, the waves are so good. For that last wave I was pretty nervous, and I knew I had to do something big, so I set my mind to it and when I landed the air I was so stoked.” Local boys Davey Van Zyl, Mikey February and Shane Sykes all earned great heat wins with high totals by throwing down big turns and swooping carves on the set waves to effectively combo their opponents. Jeffreys Bay standout Matt McGillivray’s contest savvy approach resulted in a great win over a super charged Luke Slijpen. Both absolutely tore but in the end McGillivray’s pair of high 8’s had the edge.
There’s high quality international representation at the Vans Surf Pro Classic and it’s clear in the caliber of the surfing. Colin Fitch, WSL Africa Operations Manager, is in his element. “It’s absolutely awesome, the waves are cranking. This event has had some of the best waves we’ve seen in any event throughout the year. It’s great to have the internationals here as you can see how they push up the level of surfing and to have such a huge amount of them come over is amazing. We’d like to extend a special thanks to the town of Lamberts Bay for hosting us, and to the local surfers who’ve given up their spot for a couple of days. A very special thank you goes to Vans, they are such a great company to work with, very professional, and it’s a fantastic event they’ve created here in Lamberts Bay.
As part of the amazing community outreach partnership by Vans and the WSL, Vans marketing manager, Warren Talbot, and team rider Josh Redman, presented the schoolkids and staff of Klein Engeltjies pre-primary with personalized jackets and shoes, much to the delight of the recipients. Great work guys!
The woman’s QS1000 also got a run on the clean Yoyos walls with Cape Town’s Tanika Hoffman putting in a solid performance on her backhand to move convincingly to the next round. However, the afternoon glare resulted in the cancellation of heats 3 and 4. All in all, a cracker first day of competition to be continued tomorrow morning at 8am.