Kelly Slater muscles his way to Round 1 victory at Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
The exciting surfing action continued at La Graviere in France as the latest stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro France, came to the sixth heat of Round 1, which pitted USA’s Kelly Slater against Hawaii’s
Fredrick Patacchia and Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam on October 5th.
Keeping his winning momentum going, the 10-time ASP World Champion, Slater, emerged triumphant in the three-man battle to move directly into Round 3. Patacchia finished in second place, while Boukhiam rounded out the third place to get pushed into the relegation
Round 2.
The Florida-based Slater, who is considered by many the best in the sport of surfing, managed to remind everyone of this status through his performance. With 10 titles lying on his mantle-piece already, the 39-year-old has embarked on a journey to get his
hands on his 11th ASP World Title and is doing extremely well so far, sitting at No.1 spot in the Rankings.
Coming to France straight from a victory in Hurley Pro in America, Slater was expected to be in a dangerous form. He had already collected several victories this season and another successful result would serve to cement his place on the top of the Rankings.
This gave him the motivation to hold nothing back as he took on the fellow elite ASP surfers at Quiksilver Pro France.
Facing Patacchia and Boukhiam in the sixth heat of Round 1, Slater found himself struggling to hold his own in the demanding surfing conditions that were on offer. The six-to-seven foot waves may have been very promising had they been more consistent rather
than shifty. However, the American had no choice but to put in an extra effort to get the maximum out of the waves at hand. He eventually finished with a heat-total of 10.00 points, which comprised of a 4.00 and 6.00-point wave. The score remained unbeatable
until the end and eventually saw him off to victory.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Slater said,"It was a nightmare out there. I wouldn't be surprised if they called it out there. The tide is really high. It was a bummer and not very competitive. That's the way France is sometimes though. Sometimes
it's on, sometimes it's off.”
Patacchia did not have much luck in his hunt for a good score either and only managed to collect a 2.17 and 6.83 for a heat-total of 9.00 points, missing out on victory by a deficiency of 1.00 points.
Boukhiam’s performance during the 30-minute heat was not even close to what was expected from a surfer competing in the elite tour. He merely got to a heat-total of 2.00 points, which included a 0.63 and 1.37-point wave. Apparently the conditions had proved
too much for the Moroccan to handle.
Both Patacchia and Boukhiam still have an opportunity of getting back in the race for the event title through a successful result in Round 2.
For more updates on Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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