Shocking performances and upsets highlight Round 3 of Quiksilver Pro France
American young gun Kolohe Andino and Australia’s Bede Durbidge succeeded in securing their place in the fourth round of Quiksilver Pro France, the seventh of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, which
went down at the main event site of La Graviere in Hossegor, France, on Wednesday, October 3.
Andino got the better of Australia’s Taj Burrow in the third heat to secure his place in Round 4, while bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival.
The fourth heat turned out to be an intense affair, with Durbidge standing victorious once the dust settled while removing South Africa’s Jordy Smith from the contention for the event title.
The conditions prevailing at the primary event site had not been to the surfers’ liking, with the waves shifty in nature and thus putting the skills, experience and perseverance of the surfers.
Andino, the 18-year-old sensation from California, had not gotten off to the best of starts at the latest stop on the elite tour, faltering in the very first round to find himself competing for survival in the second round.
However, he managed to hold his own during the elimination round to successfully make in through into the third round, where he found himself pitted against one of the best surfers in the world, Burrow.
The Australian powerhouse was renowned for being able to put on a phenomenal show under any circumstances and a No.6 spot on the current ASP World Championship rankings was a prove of that.
As the third heat of Round 3 got underway, both the surfers got off to a relatively slow start. It seemed as if they were conserving their energy for the right wave, willing to take the risk of letting some ordinary waves go by without attacking them.
Burrow eventually lost his patience and squeezed a 2.50 off his first business-wave. Not quite done yet, he stepped up to unleash a flurry of exquisite tricks on his second business-wave, thus reaching a heat-total of 12.07 points.
Andino looked a bit rusty during the initial minutes of the heat, but eventually broke free of the shackles with an impressive 6.67-point ride. Keeping the momentum going, he added an additional 5.60 points to move to a heat-total of 12.27 points. The 0.20-point
lead held up until the end to see him through to victory.
The fourth heat featured a man-on-man battle between Durbidge and Smith. The Australian surfer had not been in the best of form during the opening round of the competition, struggling to find his rhythm and eventually getting defeated to find himself taking
the long road to the third round.
After making it alive through the second round, Durbidge found himself taking on Smith in a battle for the Round 4 spot.
As the battle got underway, the Australian got off to a slow start, earning a 3.27 off his first business-wave and went on to back it up with an impressive 8.57-point ride, thus getting to a heat-total of 11.84 points.
It took some time for Smith to catch his first business-wave, which earned him a 4.00. Needing a big score off his second business-wave, he gave it his all in the final minutes of the heat, but only managed to a 7.50, finishing 0.34 points short of the required
score. As a result, he got eliminated from the competition.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
Tags: