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Image: John John Florence (HAW) manhandling the morning Le Gardian conditions at the Quiksilver Pro France.
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| Location: | Hossegor/Seignosse, South West France |
| Holding period: | September 25 – October 6, 2014 |
| Call: | Next Call tomorrow at 7:30am |
| Conditions: | 9 – 10 ft and Clean Conditions |
HOSSEGOR/SEIGNOSSE, Southwest Coast/France (Saturday, October 4, 2014) – Le Gardian, on the border of Hossegor and Seignosse, delivered eight-to-10 foot (2.5 – 3 metre) waves for the Quiksilver Pro France today as the event completed Round 5 and the opening two heats of the Quarterfinals.
Event No. 9 of 11 on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour, the Quiksilver Pro France holds the dual importance of playing a critical role in the hunt for this season’s world surfing crown as well as existing as a crucial stop for those looking to qualify for next year’s elite tour.
John John Florence (HAW), current ASP World No. 8, proved the form surfer of the day, eliminating reigning three-time ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS) with a near-perfect 19.90 heat total in this morning’s Round 5 before besting contemporary Kolohe Andino (USA) in the Quarterfinals.
“The conditions today look amazing but can be all over the place out there,” Florence said. “I was lucky to find a rhythm in my first heat and seemed to be on all the good ones. Great waves, but you can feel the conditions changing with the onshore wind. My Quarterfinal against Kolohe (Andino) was harder to find scoring waves.”
Josh Kerr (AUS), current ASP World No. 13, delivered the upset of the event in the elimination of ratings’ frontrunner Gabriel Medina (BRA) in their Quarterfinal bout.
“Gabriel (Medina) has had an incredible year and it always pushes your surfing to come up against the No. 1 guy,” Kerr said. “I was fortunate to get him in our Quarterfinal match in Margaret River and to get another one on him today is great for the confidence heading into the last events of the season.”
Kelly Slater (USA), 11-time ASP World Champion and current World No. 2, defeated long-time rival Taj Burrow (AUS) in this morning’s Round 5 match before watching Medina fall to Kerr in the last heat of the day. Slater will not have opportunity to close the gap between himself and the Brazilian with a result in France.
“With Gabriel (Medina) falling in the Quarters, I have an opportunity to carve a few heats into his current lead,” Slater said. “It’s really on me to make headway now and make it harder for him to clinch in Portugal and hopefully bring it to Pipeline. We have two more days to really pick the eyes out of the swell for the last five heats so hopefully we see some good conditions again before the event finishes.”
Surfline, official forecasters for the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro France, are calling for:
The current WNW swell will fade on Saturday, with new WNW swell starting to build for the later afternoon and evening hours. Local wind will be unfavorable for most of the day on Saturday as onshore flow builds, with some rain possible/likely in the afternoon and evening. Solid, mid period WNW swell will continue on Sunday. We’ll see bump and likely unfavorable wind first thing Sunday, but local wind and overall conditions should improve through the morning and into the early afternoon.Monday will see decreasing swell/surf with unfavorable onshore wind likely rebuilding.
When competition resumes, up first will be Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA) in Quarterfinal 3.
Highlights from the Quiksilver Pro France will be available at ASPWorldTour.com
Quiksilver Pro France Round 5 Results (1st Advances to Quarterfinals, 2nd Finishes Equal 9th):
Heat 1: John John Florence (HAW) 19.90 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.16
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 7.34 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 6.93
Heat 3: Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.23 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 5.33
Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.24 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 5.87
Quiksilver Pro France Quarterfinal Results (1st Advances to Semifinals, 2nd Finishes Equal 5th):
QF 1: John John Florence (HAW) 16.00 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 9.17
QF 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.83 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 8.90
Quiksilver Pro France Remaining Quarterfinal Match-Ups (1st Advances to Semifinals, 2nd Finishes Equal 5th):
QF 3: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
QF 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Kelly Slater (USA)
Images from the event will be available from Getty Images. In addition a small number of hand-out images, as well as daily news feeds, will be made available for editorial use via our email distribution lists. Please contact kscholtz@aspworldtour.com (images) and srobertson@aspworldtour.com(news feeds) to be added to the lists.
