|
| |
News
|
|
 |
| GLOBAL NEWS |
| |
 |
|
Round one recommences at La Graviere on day four of the Quiksilver Pro France.
|
QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE (Sept 24th to Oct. 3rd) presented by SAMSUNG Hossegor-Seignosse-Capbreton-Saint-Jean de Luz www.quiksilver.com/profrance
Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) www.aspworldtour.com 2004 Foster's Men's World Championship Tour (WCT)
Round One Completed; Wildcard Creates Upset
Monday, September 27, 2004 (Seignosse, France) The Quiksilver Pro in France resumed today with remaining round one heats completed. Trials winner Jonathan Gonzales (CNY) caused the biggest upset so far in the Foster's men's ASP World Championship Tournament (WCT), beating world #4 Joel Parkinson (AUS) in their non-elimination match-up.
 |
|
American Cory Lopez was relegated to round two after placing third in his round one heat.
|
Hollow 4-5ft (1.5m) waves were breaking this morning at 'La Guardians', while fun righthanders allowed the world's best surfers to cut loose further north at 'Le Penon' when the higher tide forced organizers to relocate.
Gonzales, from the Canary Islands, continued his great run over Australians Joel Parkinson (Gold Coast, QLD) and Richie Lovett (Manly, NSW). The 24-year-old advanced directly to round three with an 8.5 score to his credit, surfing a polished heat against more experienced opponents. 'Parko', who won the previous WCT event in California last week, was unable to equal the wildcard's tally, resulting in him now having to contest the dreaded 'losers' second round.
"The Trials were very hard, with the best European surfers and Dane Reynolds (CA, USA)," began Gonzales. "So to win that was very good for me, and gave me a lot of confidence. I'm so stoked to beat Joel now, as this is the best result of my life. I really want to do well in this contest. It's so important for European surfing, so we can try and raise our level to be like the Australians, Americans and Brazilians."
Reigning two-time world champ Any Irons (Kauai, HAW) edged out Quiksilver Pro wildcard Tom Curren (CA, USA), as well as Cory Lopez (FL, USA) in their opening clash. Following a couple of long backhand tubes, the current ratings leader and defending event winner created a good lead he was able to maintain. Having suffered a rare 33rd place defeat during the last tournament in California, Irons happily avoided round two in France.
 |
|
Wildcard Tom Curren put up an impressive fight against reigning world champion and current ratings leader Andy Irons.
|
Curren, a three-time world champion and former resident of France, required 9.41-points toward the end, and true to reputation found a great last wave he milked to the beach, yet scored slightly less than required for an 8.1 ride. The Californian accepted good friend Kelly Slater's offer to compete in the Quiksilver Pro, and will now face Parkinson in a highly anticipated round two battle.
"It's always a pleasure to see Tom in the lineup," began Irons, of competing against Curren. "He's one of my favorite surfers. The waves weren't that great, though, so it was a bit of a crapshoot and I ended up being the lucky one who found a few.
"The last couple of years have been really good to me here, so I'm looking forward to it," he continued of the European WCT leg. "I think losing early last event was a good thing for me. I was on such a good roll there, like six contests in a row placing fifth or better, so I think getting a 33rd has humbled me in a good way. Made me a lot hungrier for this event, so hopefully I don't make the same mistakes."
 |
|
Damien Hobgood (USA) placed second behind countryman Shane Beschen therefore having to surf in the dreaded 'losers' round.
|
Six-time world champion Kelly Slater (FL, USA) won his opening heat after the event moved to 'Le Penon', defeating local French wildcard Frederic Robin (FRA) and Pat O'Connell (CA, USA). The Floridian actually trailed Robin's early tube rides, but fought back with some solid forehand carves to advance.
"There were some fun rights out there, so I'm glad they moved the contest up here," said Slater. "Fred got off to a good start with a couple of barrels, but then I found some open faced waves and the scores needed.
"This could possibly be the most important event of the year," he added. "It's good to have a good start and find some form, and make sure my boards are working well. You've really got to stay aware of conditions in France, as things change so much with the tide and different sandbanks. The crowd support is great here though."
Brazilian Guilherme Herdy commenced his Quiksilver Pro campaign with a near-perfect 9.5 barrel ride this morning, defeating Australians Jake Paterson and Luke Hitchings. The goofy footer slotted into a deep forehand pit on a racing lefthander, emerging to cheers from the beach crowd and fellow contestants. Paterson, meanwhile, snapped his surfboard in half midday through the heat.
 |
|
Fast, hollow tubes were found at La Guardian this morning, unfortunately for Luke Hitchings that just wasn't enough.
|
"The conditions were difficult as most waves were closing out, but thankfully I was in the right position for that good one," said Herdy. "It doubled up and I tried to stay inside as long as possible, and got a really nice score. Nothing better than starting like that (laughs)."
Nathan Webster secured a great win over fellow Australians Michael Campbell and Daniel Wills. Having badly broken his leg last year, the current ratings #38 is eager to turn his luck around with a strong finish in France, and regain his competition form for the later half of this season.
"I ended up bettering scores throughout the heat, which kept the pressure on them," explained Webster. "I was pretty relaxed going into the heat, and didn't wear a legrope as I wanted to treat it just like a free-surf, which seemed to work. I love coming to France, and really hope to get back into form. I feel like I can do well, I'm just not competing up to scratch. I'm coming back from injury, trying to turn it all around."
The Quiksilver Pro France will have 5 languages for its live Internet webcast including English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Japanese: www.quiksilver.com/profrance.
Swell forecasts at: http://www.swellnet.com.au/events/quiksilverfranceforecast.htm
Quiksilver Pro France Round One Heats (1st>Rnd3; 2nd>Rnd2)
H4: Guilherme Herdy (BRA) 14.67; Jake Paterson (AUS) 10.6; Luke Hitchings (AUS) 8.0
H5: Shane Beschen (USA) 14.33; Damien Hobgood (USA) 11.5; Kalani Robb (HAW) 7.83
H6: Peterson Rosa (BRA) 14.2; Eric Rebiere (FRA) 11.67; Nathan Hedge (AUS) 11.5
H7: CJ Hobgood (USA) 12.73; Sunny Garcia (HAW) 12.27; Armando Daltro (BRA) 9.77
H8: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.67; Tom Curren (USA) 13.33; Cory Lopez (USA) 10.94
H9: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.57; Frederic Robin (FRA) 13.16; Pat O'Connell (USA) 11.1
H10: Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 14.67; Joel Parkinson (AUS) 9.0; Richie Lovett (AUS) 3.7
H11: Nathan Webster (AUS) 14.33; Michael Campbell (AUS) 11.16; Daniel Wills (AUS) 7.94
H12: Dean Morrison (AUS) 13.67; Trent Munro (AUS) 9.14; Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 7.5
H13: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.33; Taylor Knox (USA) 11.47; Troy Brooks (AUS) 7.3
H14: Michael Lowe (AUS) 13.34; Victor Ribas (BRA) 13.33; Greg Emslie (ZAF) 11.6
H15: Chris Davidson (AUS) 11.56; Marcelo Nunes (BRA) 9.67; Lee Winkler (AUS) 9.64
H16: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 12.84; Neco Padaratz (BRA) 12.6; Paulo Moura (BRA) 10.5
Further information: www.quiksilver.com/profrance
Cathy ROURRE
Mob. 06 14 04 17 16
Mathias MONGE
Mob. 06 85 01 43 14
payerne@club-internet.fr
Forwarded by
Jesse Faen - ASP International Media Manager
jesse@aspworldtour.com
Mobile: +61-(0)-407-189-289
ASP Int'l office (Aus): +61-(0)-7-5599-1550
|
|
|
