Michel Bourez and Adrian Buchan prevail in Round 4 at Vans World Cup of Surfing
French Polynesia’s Michel Bourez and Australia’s Adrian Buchan advanced to the quarter-finals at the Vans World Cup of Surfing, the second of three events on the 30th anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, after emerging triumphant in their
respective Round 4 (Round of 32) heats that went down at Sunset Beach in Oahu, Hawaii, on Tuesday, December 4, 2012.
Australia’s Lincoln Taylor made the quarter-final cut as well after finishing behind Bourez in second place during the third heat. America’s Taylor and Australia’s Jay Thompson had to leave the competition field after rounding out the bottom-two positions.
The fourth heat saw Brazil’s Jesse Mendes accompany Buchan into the next stage of the event after securing second place. America’s Kelly Slater surprisingly finished third, while his compatriot Damien Hobgood had to settle for fourth position. Both the surfers
were consequently ejected from the contention for the event title.
The talented surfers from around the globe continued to deliver exquisite performances during the latest active day of the competition, determined to get their hands on the coveted Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) ranking points as well as a portion
of the prize purse.
Bourez got the better of Taylor, Knox and Thompson in the third heat to make his way through into the quarter-finals.
The French Polynesian surfer scored a 7.23 off his first business-wave and went on to add an additional 6.40 points to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 13.63 points.
Taylor secured his place in the quarter-finals as well after finishing in second place with a heat-total of 13.16 points, which comprised of a 7.23 and 5.93-point wave.
Knox and Thompson got eliminated from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 11.66 and 11.37 points respectively.
The fourth heat concluded in the favour of Buchan and Mendes. The two surfers advanced to the quarter-finals after registering a heat-total of 12.60 and 10.10 points respectively.
In the biggest upset of the day, the reigning 11-time ASP World Champion Slater got eliminated from the competition after delivering a lacklustre performance for a heat-total of 9.60 points which put him in third place.
Hobgood also failed to survive the heat after finishing in fourth place with a heat-total of 5.94 points.
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