| Lay day in the 2009 Quiksilver Pro France |
| Friday, 25 September 2009 13:17 |
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With only small, two-to-three foot (1 metre) surf on offer today at Les Bourdaines, only three heats were completed today, with event organizers opting to hold for better conditions in the coming days. Ben Dunn (AUS), 23, current ASP World No. 26, surfed one of the strangest heats of the Quiksilver Pro France thus far. His opponent, Chris Ward (USA), 30, who had already missed his Round 1 heat due to scheduling confusion, overslept this morning and failed to show up until 15 minutes into the 30 minute heat. “Well, it definitely plays with your head,” Dunn said. “Wardo missed his Round 1 heat and I thought he was going to show up for today’s heat because I saw him yesterday, but he said he overslept or something. It was still pretty even when he arrived though as I couldn’t get any waves.” With half the heat remaining, Dunn would ignite, seamlessly blending high-speed floaters and rapid-fire turns on his backhand to amass the day’s highest heat total, a 14.50 out of a possible 20. “I wanted to get some scores on the board before Chris (Ward) turned up, but there just weren’t any waves,” Dunn said. “He made a couple mistakes and went right and I was able to put a few scores on the board. It’s an important event for me in terms of ratings and I’m stoked to get through to Round 3.” Dunn will face Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), 27, in Round 3 when competition resumes. Roy Powers (HAW), 28, current ASP World No. 26, faced O’Neill teammate and fellow ASP World No. 26, Tim Reyes (USA), 27, in a tightly-fought Round 2 heat today, just edging the Californian out, 11.93 to 11.16. “It’s pretty weird that we both ride for the same company and are rated the same and met in Round 2,” Powers said. “I don’t know what the odds of that are. It’s too bad for Tim (Reyes) as I know he’s having a tough year, but it’s an important result for me and I’ll take the win. Timmy looked like he was trying to pack in more maneuvers on his waves and I was focusing on adding more power and throwing more spray and I guess it worked out.” Powers will next battle Dane Reynolds (USA), 24, in Round 3 of the Quiksilver Pro France when competition resumes. Heitor Alves (BRA), 26, current ASP World No. 24, dominated the opening heat of the day, deftly navigating the lumpy beach break peaks to eliminate Jay Thompson (AUS), 26, from Quiksilver Pro France competition. “I am so happy to make that heat, I am looking to make a good result here and I am stoked things went well this morning,” Alves said. “I was looking for the lefthanders which I like surfing and I got the better ones. Today’s conditions are better with less current so it’s all good. I thank all my family and girlfriend for the great support.” Alves will take on Jordy Smith (ZAF), 21, in Round 3 of the Quiksilver Pro France. Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 9am to assess conditions for a possible Round 3 start. When competition resumes, up first will Bede Durbidge (AUS), 26, up against 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Nic Muscroft (AUS), 27, in Heat 1 of Round 3. Highlights from today’s Quiksilver Pro France will be available at www.quiksilverprofrance.com Downloadable media from today’s event available at the following FTP address: www.quiksilver-press.com The Quiksilver Pro France pres. by Orange will host the world’s best surfers from September 23 to October 4, 2009. For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS: QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 RESULTS: |
