Mick Fanning gambles his way into Round 3 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
The eighth stop on the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro France, continued with Australia’s Mick Fanning taking on USA’s Brett Simpson and Portugal’s Tiago Pires in the third heat of Round 1 on Wednesday, October
5, at the iconic beach-break of La Graviere in France.
Fanning’s stroke of luck in the final minutes of the heat allowed him to secure victory and advance directly into Round 3. Simpson and Pires rounded out the second and third position respectively, which resulted in their relegation to Round 2.
The shifty nature of the six-to-seven foot waves had proved to be quite a nuisance during the earlier two heats of Round 1, pushing the surfers to their limit as they hunted for good scores. However, it remained to be seen how the former two-time ASP World
Champion, Fanning, would fare under such conditions.
Expectations were high and slightly unrealistic from the 30-year-old Australian considering the demanding surfing conditions on hand but he still managed to come through in the end and secured victory with a convincing margin. However, the victory did not
come easy, as Simpson gave Fanning a run for his money.
As the third heat kicked off, the 30-year-old Fanning got off to a blazing start and almost immediately caught a wave to post 8.83 points on the score-board. Not too keen to let his rival control the momentum of the battle, Simpson soon responded with an
impressive 8.00-point wave to announce himself as a formidable threat.
As the battle progressed, the American kept going through waves in search of a good score, while Fanning went for a gamble by remaining patient and conserving his energy for a juicy wave. Simpson’s determined hunt eventually allowed him to add another 7.33
points to his account, which took him to a heat-total of 15.33 points. However, there was still no hint of aggression from Fanning, though he did begin to look a little worried. The heat-clock was ticking away fast and there was still no sign of a acceptable
wave.
Just when it began to seem that Fanning’ strategy had back-fired, along came the wave that he had been anticipating. Quite aware of the fact that he needed to get a big score, the Australian gave it his all and managed to collect a 9.37, which in turn brought
him to a heat-total of 18.20 points. The timely charge served to seal the fate of the battle in his favour.
Commenting on the nail-biting showdown during his post-heat interview, Fanning said, “It was a wild end to that heat. Brett [Simpson] surfed great. He started with an 8 and got a 7 to take the lead and he was really looking in form. He pushed me deep really
deep at the end, but I saw the wave had double up and had to put the rocket boots on when I stood up. It had a great line and I was stoked to make it out.”
The contest between Fanning and Simpson completely over-shadowed the performance of the third participant in the three-man battle. The Portuguese Pires did not do much to catch the crowd’s attention and finished third with a heat-total of 12.33 points, which
included a 5.83 and 6.50-point wave.
Both Simpson and Pires got pushed into Round 2 after getting deprived of victory at the hands of Fanning in Round 1. A failure to clinch victory in Round 2 would result in their elimination from the competition.
For updates on Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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