Jeremy Flores emerges triumphant in Round 1 of Hurley Pro – 2011 ASP World Tour
French Jeremy Flores clinched top honours in the second heat of Hurley Pro’s Round 1 that took place at the Lower Trestles in California, on Sunday, September 18.
The 23-year-old Frenchman took the win over Brazil’s Heitor Alves and Hawaii’s John Florence to secure his place in the third round. Alves and Florence got sent to Round 2 after rounding out the second and third position respectively.
Currently sitting at the tenth place on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title Rankings, Flores has been making quite an impact over the past few months. Bringing his good form to California, the Frenchman got himself an ideal start while
competing in the high-performance two-to-three foot waves of Lower Trestles.
As the three-man battle kicked off, Flores got down to business right away and locked a juicy right-hander to throw down a combination of exquisite turns and gouges, earning 8.00 points for the effort. He continued to search for another good score through
the course of the heat and eventually caught a wave in the dying minutes of the heat to add an additional 7.43 points to his account, finishing with a heat-total of 15.43 points. The score proved too much for his rivals to beat and he ended up clinching a
convincing victory.
Talking to a reporter about the heat and Florence later on, who was making his debut in the elite tour, Flores said, “I was so excited in my first event on tour, I was the same age as John John [Florence] and I’m sure he’ll beat me a few times out here for
sure. That 8 was my first wave in the heat and it was kind of fun. There was a little wind on the wave and I could kind of release my tail. My board is going good and I was just trying to fit my turns in. I’m happy.”
Alves looked out of sorts during the early stages of the 30-minute heat, but started looking more in control later on. However, it seemed that he had spent more time then he could have afforded to find his rhythm. He eventually finished in second place with
a heat-total of 14.13 points, which comprised of a 7.60 and 6.53-point wave.
The 18-year-old Florence entered Hurley Pro as a replacement for Australia’s Nicol Yadin, who had qualified for the 2011 ASP World Tour after the mid-year rotation. However, an unfortunate injury in Japan over a week ago has put Yadin out of action for the
next few months, allowing Florence to take his place in the elite tour.
It seemed that the pressure of competing in his first World Tour event proved to be too much for the young Hawaiian and he ended up finishing in third place after a disappointing performance. His heat-total of 9.43 points included a 4.00 and 5.43-point wave.
The competition is far from over for Alves and Florence despite their defeat at the hands of Flores. They both still have an opportunity of extending their life in the event through a success result in their Round 2 heat.
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