Owen Wright emerges triumphant in Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
The latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour event, Quiksilver Pro France, continued to deliver a heavy dose of thrilling action as Australia’s Owen Wright competed again his compatriot Dane Reynolds and Australia’s Chris Davidson in
the fourth heat of Round 1 at the renowned La Graviere in France on Wednesday, October 5.
The three-man battle turned out to be a real close affair, though Wright managed to come through in the end and walked away with top honours, consequently confirming his place in Round 3. Reynolds rounded out the second position, while Davidson finished
in third place. Both the surfers got pushed into the relegation Round 2 as a result.
During the early stages of the 2011 ASP World Tour, it had been Brazil’s Adriano de Souza and South Africa’s Jordy Smith who had been making waves and giving the heavy-weights of surfing, such as America’s Kelly Slater and Australia’s Mick Fanning, a real
tough time. However, as the season progressed, the 21-year-old Wright announced himself as a formidable force and was suddenly proving to be one of the strongest contenders for the World Title.
After shining quite brightly at the Tahiti and two American stops of the elite tour, Wright entered the French waves to prove his mettle. Pitted against the likes of Reynolds, who was competing in his first ASP World Tour event of the year, and fellow countryman
Davidson, Wright had quite a challenge ahead of him.
As the fourth heat kicked off, the surfers began their hunt for waves and hence good scores. It soon became apparent that things were not easy out there in the middle, with the six-to-seven foot waves turning out to be quite shifty. While the conditions
troubled his rivals, Wright managed to adjust to them and successfully collected a 5.00 and 7.60 to get to a heat-total of 12.60 points. It looked as if the Australian had gotten himself well ahead of the pack through this heat-total. However, the 26-year-old
Reynolds had no intention of letting victory elude him without a fight.
Though he struggled to catch waves, the American remained persistent and eventually collected a 3.93-point wave to get things in motion. Finding Wright clinching a seven off his second-business wave, Reynolds’ determination seemed to have grown and he began
to put in a greater effort in his search for an adequate score. In the final minutes of the heat, he locked a wave to give it his all and collected an impressive 8.33 for it. However, it proved to be insufficient under the given circumstances and only carried
him to a heat-total of 12.26 points. The resultant 0.34-point deficit forced him to surrender victory to his rival.
The third competitor in the three-man heat, Davidson, seemed to have completely succumbed to the demanding conditions and finished in third place with a heat-total of mere 2.50 points, which consisted of a 0.50 and 2.00-point wave.
Reynolds and Davidson were relegated to the second round, where they neede to get a successful result in order to keep themselves alive and in contention for the event title.
For more updates on Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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