diff --git a/src/ring.c b/src/ring.c
index 4311bddd6..74172ce3a 100644
--- a/src/ring.c
+++ b/src/ring.c
@@ -277,37 +277,40 @@ ssize_t ring_write(struct ring *ring, size_t maxlen, const struct ist pfx[], siz
 	while (1) {
 		if ((curr_cell = HA_ATOMIC_LOAD(ring_queue_ptr)) != &cell)
 			goto wait_for_flush;
-		__ha_cpu_relax_for_read();
 
-#if !defined(__ARM_FEATURE_ATOMICS)
+		/* OK the queue is locked, let's attempt to get the tail lock.
+		 * we'll atomically OR the lock on the pointer and check if
+		 * someone else had it already, otherwise we own it.
+		 */
+
+#if defined(__ARM_FEATURE_ATOMICS)
 		/* ARMv8.1-a has a true atomic OR and doesn't need the preliminary read */
-		if ((tail_ofs = HA_ATOMIC_LOAD(tail_ptr)) & RING_TAIL_LOCK) {
-			__ha_cpu_relax_for_read();
-			continue;
+		tail_ofs = HA_ATOMIC_FETCH_OR(tail_ptr, RING_TAIL_LOCK);
+		if (!(tail_ofs & RING_TAIL_LOCK))
+			break;
+#else
+		tail_ofs = HA_ATOMIC_LOAD(tail_ptr);
+		if (likely(!(tail_ofs & RING_TAIL_LOCK))) {
+			if (HA_ATOMIC_CAS(tail_ptr, &tail_ofs, tail_ofs | RING_TAIL_LOCK))
+				break;
 		}
 #endif
-		/* OK the queue is locked, let's attempt to get the tail lock */
-		tail_ofs = HA_ATOMIC_FETCH_OR(tail_ptr, RING_TAIL_LOCK);
-
-		/* did we get it ? */
-		if (!(tail_ofs & RING_TAIL_LOCK)) {
-			/* Here we own the tail. We can go on if we're still the leader,
-			 * which we'll confirm by trying to reset the queue. If we're
-			 * still the leader, we're done.
-			 */
-			if (HA_ATOMIC_CAS(ring_queue_ptr, &curr_cell, NULL))
-				break; // Won!
-
-			/* oops, no, let's give it back to another thread and wait.
-			 * This does not happen often enough to warrant more complex
-			 * approaches (tried already).
-			 */
-			HA_ATOMIC_STORE(tail_ptr, tail_ofs);
-			goto wait_for_flush;
-		}
 		__ha_cpu_relax_for_read();
 	}
 
+	/* Here we own the tail. We can go on if we're still the leader,
+	 * which we'll confirm by trying to reset the queue. If we're
+	 * still the leader, we're done.
+	 */
+	if (!HA_ATOMIC_CAS(ring_queue_ptr, &curr_cell, NULL)) {
+		/* oops, no, let's give it back to another thread and wait.
+		 * This does not happen often enough to warrant more complex
+		 * approaches (tried already).
+		 */
+		HA_ATOMIC_STORE(tail_ptr, tail_ofs);
+		goto wait_for_flush;
+	}
+
 	head_ofs = HA_ATOMIC_LOAD(&ring->storage->head);
 
 	/* this is the byte before tail, it contains the users count */