Jeremy Flores jumps straight to Round 3 of Billabong Rio Pro after a successful Round 1 result
France’s Jeremy Flores successfully confirmed his place in Round 3 of the Billabong Rio Pro, the third of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title Series, after collecting a convincing victory in the 11th heat
of Round 1 that took place at the back-up event site of Arpoador in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday, May 9.
America’s Kolohe Andino had to settle for a second-place finish, while Brazil’s Heitor Alves finished in third place. The failure to finish on top of the result table led to the relegation of both the surfers into the second round, where they were to surf
again to try and reserve a spot for themselves in the Round 3 line-up.
Even though the competition was scheduled to kick-off at the main event site of Barra da Tijuca, the promising surfing conditions prevailing at Arpoador convinced the event organisers to move Round 1 to the alternate venue with the intention of reaping the
maximum benefit off the clean two-to-four foot waves. The shift resulted in an adrenaline-pumping morning session, with very little changing during the afternoon.
The 11th heat of Round 1 saw Flores squaring off with Andino and Alves in a three-man battle for the place in the third round without the hassle and pressure of going through the second round.
Flores, current World No. 9 on the ASP World Title rankings, came down hard on his rival during the 30-minute battle, determined to continue the momentum that he had built at the previous stop of the elite tour. Getting hold of his first business-wave in
the opening minutes of the heat for a 6.67, the 24-year-old Frenchman went on to add an impressive 7.17 points to his account. The resultant heat-total of 13.84 points kept him in the lead until the end, thus sealing the fate of the three-man bout in his favour
and consequently sending him through into the third round.
The young Californian sensation Andino failed to make much of an impression during the heat, scoring a mere 4.67 and 5.50 off his best-two waves to eventually finish in second place with a heat-total of 10.17 points.
Alves finished in third place with a heat-total of 9.37 points, which included a 6.00 and 3.37-point ride. Both Andino and Alves got relegated to the second round to take another shot at a Round 3 spot.
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