Michel Bourez collects a convincing win in Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
La Graviere, France kept serving up the surfing action as Tahiti’s Michel Bourez took on Brazil’s Alejo Muniz and Miguel Pupo in the 11th heat of Quiksilver Pro France’s Round 1 on Wednesday, October 5.
Bourez came up with a pretty convincing performance during the three-man battle to clinch top honours and make his way into Round 3. Muniz finished in second place, while Pupo rounded out the third position to get relegated to Round 2, where they will to
compete for survival in the competition.
The 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour was turning out to be quite a memorable season for the young surfers, with the likes of South Africa’s Jordy Smith and Australia’s Julian Wilson among many others giving the veterans a run for
their money at nearly every event. Muniz and Pupo were included in the list of this new generation of surfers who were showing clear signs of world domination in the not-so-distant future.
The two Brazilians found themselves pitted against Bourez, the current No. 10 on the ASP World Tour Rankings, in a three-man battle for the Round 3 spot. The surfing conditions turned out to be pretty challenging, offering shifting six-to-seven foot waves
to the surfers and making it almost next to impossible for them to get their hands on a good score.
However, the 25-year-old Bourez rose to meet the challenge head-on and did extremely well to adjust to the surfing conditions. While the other surfers chose to lock numerous waves in a hope of landing a good score, the Tahitian went for a more conservative
approach and patiently waited for a juicy wave to appear. The strategy eventually paid off, allowing him to collect a 7.00 and 9.00 through a couple of spectacular waves to finish with a heat-total of 16.00 points. The score proved to be too much for his competitors
to beat, which consequently led to a rather comfortable victory for Bourez.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Bourez said, “The waves were very fun in my heat today. France is like that. The waves can be bad one minute and good the next. I got in a good rhythm and I have a really good board. It feels great to get Round 1 win
as I've had a couple of slow events. I'm hoping for a big result in France.”
Muniz and Pupo had little luck with the waves during the 30-minute showdown and failed to make much of an impact. A determined search by the Muniz only got him to a heat-total of 11.53 points, while the latter finished with a two-wave total of 7.83 points,
which included a 4.83 and 3.00-point wave.
The lacklustre performance by the two Brazilians led to their relegation to the second round, putting them in a must-win situation in order to avoid elimination from the competition.
For more updates on Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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