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Lele Usuna lived one of the best Volcomo Pipe Pros in history with intensity, with three days to remember and achieving his second fifth place in four years, which speaks volumes about the Argentine's relationship with the queen of the waves.

The Argentine competed in four heats, two of them in the epic conditions of the first days, and two in the challenging waves of the final day, three of which he won and one he finished second in. When he reached the semi-final against Yago Dora and Wiggolly Dantas, he waited four minutes for a 2,67 that never appeared.

This is what he had to say in a conversation via WhatsApp with DUKE:

How do you feel about the result?
I'm very happy. I think it's a wave where I'm doing pretty well. I like to compete. There are many Latinos who are very strong here. We've had several semi-finalists already and I think it won't be long before one of us reaches the final and wins the tournament.

I'm very happy with the result. I'm not going to do many QS this year, so I'm going to choose the waves where I want to compete more. It went well for me, I thought I was enjoying it, the waves were incredible, I had a great time and that's why I got that result.

What  you thought and felt in  el  water when you needed it so much  little to go to the final?
When there were four minutes left and I needed a 2.67, I was like “I did it,” but a 2.67 is sometimes impossible. Here a 2.67 is sometimes like going into a tube and coming out, so it is not an easy score that you do just like that, you catch a wave, you do a cut and that's it, it has to be a wave that you can do two cuts, that gives you that opportunity, because if not, they almost always give you less than 2.5.

The grades are almost always less than 2.5 or more than 5 points, very rarely in the range of 2, 3 and 4.

Two semis is enough  Historically, of the Hispanic Americans we always talk about, you are the only one who achieved that, what do you think about it?
I am very happy to have made it to two semi-finals in such a prestigious and respected tournament. The truth is that I feel like I said that I am doing well on this wave. I like barrels, I think it is one of my strengths in my surfing, so whenever I come I watch the Pipeline tournament. If it is on the calendar I get excited. The same with the Arica tournament and also Iquique, the only three tournaments, maybe Cloud 9, but they are tournaments where I know I can use one of my strengths, which is barreling.

Reaching two semi-finals is something very valuable, I am very proud of that result, but the idea is to reach the final, the main objective is to be on the podium and return with a trophy, win the tournament and return with the helmet. I think that some Latin American will do it soon, because there are more and more of us and we are doing better and better in this tournament especially.

How I know  Did the day vibrate from there, on the beach, with the people and friends?
It was four days straight, from the first to the fourth, as it started and ended. The first three days the sea was incredible, we were all crying because of how good the waves were, then on the last day it went down a bit, but it was an amazing experience, with all the fans, there were a lot of us, the sea was incredible, the truth is that everything was perfect.

I was able to go through a heat with Cristóbal, and I think that was one of the best moments of the tournament. It was a very positive experience.

If you could live it again, what would you do differently?
Nothing, I wouldn't do anything differently if I were to live it again, the only thing I would do in that freaking semi-final was to grab a 2.67, but everything else was excellent.

You had said that you were going to take it easy this year, but with this result you are going to get into the top 30 of the QS... Is your strategy changing?
No, my strategy is going to be the same, now let's say I'm going home and I'm not going to do New Zealand, or Australia, or Noronha, I'm not going to do any of those, I'm thinking about going to Barbados, the Easter weekend in Argentina, the QS in Chile, that's my strategy, competing in good waves, where I think I can do better and I can achieve that result and maybe this year I'll get into that triple crown, but we'll see.

What are you going to do?  now more?
I'm coming back home and I'm going to keep training for the ISA World Championships, which I think is very important, one of the most important things this year, to get that spot for the Olympic Games. I was so close, I'm right there, so I'm going to keep fighting for that, do some tournaments like I told you, continue with my projects at home, which are all more or less related to surfing, school, coaching, teaching kids in schools, so for now I'm doing that.