Ramzi Boukhiam and Jeremy Flores survive Round 2 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
The latest stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro France, continued to treat the crowd to thrilling action as Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam took on Australia’s Joel Parkinson, while France’s Jeremy Flores squared
off with his compatriot, Marc Lacomare, in the first and second heat of Round 2 respectively on Wednesday, October 5, at the beach-break of La Graviere in France.
The first heat featured one of the biggest upset of the day as Boukhiam managed to prevail over Parkinson to clinch the Round 3 spot, consequently removing his opponent from the contention for the event-title.
Flores clinched top honours in the second heat to move into the third round while eliminating his rival, Lacomare, from the competition in the process.
The opening day of Quiksilver Pro France had been full of surprises, which had a lot to do with the demanding surfing conditions. The shifting six-to-seven foot waves challenged the world’s best surfers and caused them to rely heavily on luck rather than
on skills and experience alone.
As the first heat kicked off, the 18-year-old Boukhiam collected a 4.60 off his first wave and soon added another 4.60 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 9.20 points. The two-wave total hardly seemed like a winning one, especially when having
someone like Parkinson for an opponent.
However, the Australian force found himself struggling to get a good score, with his luck quite evidently bailing on him. Despite a lengthy and determined hunt, he was forced to settle for a heat-total of 8.84 points, which included a 4.67 and 4.17-point
wave. As shocking as it was, Parkinson found himself opening the list of eliminations at the latest elite tour event.
The next heat saw the 23-year-old Flores take on Lacomare in a battle for survival. Flores undoubtedly had a stronger chance of walking away with victory, but the elimination of Parkinson in the previous heat made it quite clear that anything was possible
under the current conditions.
As the second heat got under way, Flores wasted absolutely no time in gaining control of the heat by locking a wave in the opening minutes to unload a series of exquisite manoeuvres and earning 8.00 points for the effort. He soon added another 4.67 points
to his account, climbing to a heat-total of 12.67 points.
Lacomare got off to a promising start, getting a 6.00 off his first business-wave, but was unable to follow it up with another decent score and consequently finished with a heat-total of 7.50 points. The inadequate two-wave total forced him to surrender
victory to Flores and led to his elimination from the competition.
For more updates on Round 2 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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