The Quiksilver Pro France gets underway in turbulent conditions.
September 23, 2009, 11:22 AM
By: Jake Howard
Joli
Chris Ward, enjoying the finest of the greater Hossegor area.
Going into the Quiksilver Pro France—the first stint of the six-week European leg—there's a lot at stake. [Watch the video preview here.] At the start of the event Joel Parkinson fronts the world tour rankings by 936 points, which would normally be a fairly comfortable lead, but by going down in Round 2 at the Hurley Pro he left the door open for a few guys to make a run at the title...namely his good mate Mick Fanning. Mick stumbled in his Round 1 heat earlier today, but came back strong in Round 2.
"I was pretty tired out there," admited Mick, "I haven't gotten much sleep lately, but after I lost my Round 1 heat I went back, had some lunch and a bit of French coffee and that perked me right up."
What else do we know? As reported yesterday, CJ Hobgood's quiver of boards was ripped off and he's surfing on a backup board he left in France last year. The good news is that he found something he's comfortable with (and has yellow rails), the bad news is that he buckled the board in a hard-fought Round 2 heat. Talk about tough luck.
"I was down on the beach at 6:00 in the morning trying like 100 boards, so I don't know what I'm going to do now," explained CJ. "I was thinking how much worse could it get, and if the ocean hadn't turned on I think I would have had a mental breakdown."
Also worthy of note, unconfirmed reports are claiming that shortly after a good showing at Lowers Josh Kerr has destroyed his knee and not only has had to withdraw from the Quik Pro, but could be looking at the tragic end of his '09 campaign.
Chris Ward missed his Round 1 heat this morning when contest organizers adjusted the heat draw and Wardo shifted from Heat 11 to Heat 1. Needless to say, he wasn't happy and had a few choice words for those in charge.
Wardo's not the only one suffering from the quick turnaround between events. "I just got here this morning and paddled straight out for my heat," confessed Jordy Smith, shortly after advancing out his Round 1 heat. "I'm pretty jet lagged, so I think I'm going to head back to my hotel for some rest, but yeah, you just do what you can."
When it comes to wildcards, Jay Thompson is taking Gabe Kling's spot, who's still struggling with injury. Frenchman Joan Duru, Aussie Julian Wilson, and trials winner Alain Riou round out the other wildcard spots. Julian won his Round 1 heat and given his record against Slater, he could be a huge threat in the later rounds.
So there you go, a very quick down and dirty. Parko, Kelly, Damo and Dane all breezed through their heats, so it's definitely going to get interesting. The swell looks like it's going to be pretty solid tomorrow, so expect the comp to keep on running, and if things hold watch for them to run again on Friday. After that there's not much on tap, but we'll have to wait and see for sure.
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Contributors
Jon Coen
Jon is from New Jersey and continues to reside there with his wife and dog—which means occasional empty barrels and the occasional session in the snow.The state isn't as dirty as people might think, but he'll let them keep believing that.
Jake Howard
Jake lives, writes, and surfs in San Clemente, California. He spent his formative gremlin years surfing points north of San Francisco, and for the last 10 years has been contently surviving behind the Orange Curtain.
Kimball Taylor
Author of Return by Water, as well as books on Jeffreys Bay and Pipeline, Kimball drives a red hot Camero, and back in the '70s, he used to party with your Dad.
Daniel Ikaika Ito
Daniel surfs like a hippie, but dresses like a homie. The Native Hawaiian originally hails from Hilo, but now resides in Honolulu. He enjoys twin-fins, new sneakers and being ESPN's "Cuz On The Scene" in the 50th State.
Jason Kenworthy
About as majestic as a turkey vulture, when he's not shlepping his lens around the world or looking for road kill, Jason can be found at home in Dana Point tending to his growing brood.
