Crowd witnesses plenty of upsets during Round 3 of Quiksilver Pro France
French Polynesian surfer Michel Bourez and America’s Dane Reynolds made it through into the fourth round at Quiksilver Pro France, the seventh of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after emerging triumphant
in their respective Round 3 heats that went down at La Graviere in Hossegor, France, on Wednesday, October 3, 2012.
Bourez got the better of America’s Brett Simpson in the fifth heat to advance through into the fourth round, removing the latter from the contention for the event title.
The sixth heat featured the biggest upset of the event as Australia’s Mick Fanning succumbed to Reynolds, consequently getting eliminated from the event.
The shifty waves on offer at the primary event site during the initial rounds of the latest elite tour event prevented the surfers from really cutting loose as there were not enough juicy opportunities for them to capitalize on.
The huge crowd in attendance at La Graviere, as well as the global audience catching every second of the action through live webcast was not let down as far as entertainment was concerned as each battle turned out to be as intense as any.
The fifth heat of Round 3 pitted Bourez and Simpson against each other in a man-on-man battle for the Round 4 spot.
Both the surfers were under immense pressure as it was an elimination round, meaning a slight hiccup could result in their ejection from the contention for the event title.
The three-to-five foot waves on offer set up an interesting stage for the battle between the two surfing heavy-weights.
As the battle got underway, Simpson got down to business right away, though he only managed to extract a 2.67 off it. Things did not get any better for him as the heat progressed, with him reaping a 2.83 off his second business-wave to finish with a heat-total
of 5.50 points.
Bourez did not too comfortable in the conditions of offer either. Locking his first business-wave, he posted a 3.00 on the score-board and later added an additional 3.60 points to his account, thus jumping to a heat-total of 6.60 points.
While the performance was not his best, it proved to be just enough to keep him ahead of Simpson until the end of the heat to earn him top honours.
The sixth heat was without any doubt the most shocking contest of the day, with former ASP World Championship Tour competitor and event wildcard Reynolds taking on former two-time ASP World Champion and current No.1 on the elite tour rankings Fanning in
a battle for the Round 4 spot.
As the battle got underway, the 27-year-old American got off to a solid start and soon managed to post a 6.50 on the score-board, thus taking the lead.
Keeping the momentum going, Reynolds performed a perfect free-fall drop on his forehand, making his way through several critical sections of the peak before making a clean exit. The effort earned him a perfect 10 from the judges, taking him to a heat-total
of 16.50 points.
Fanning, on the other hand, was clearly out of rhythm and also ended up breaking his board during the course of the heat.
The Australian surfer only managed to earn a couple of scores in the one-point range to finish with a heat-total of 2.60 points.
Shocking as it was, it meant the elimination of Fanning from the competition, putting his place on top of the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour rankings in risk.
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