Taylor Knox and Jadson Andre prevail in Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
The opening day of the eighth Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour event, Quiksilver Pro France, got off to an exciting start with USA’s Taylor Knox taking on Australia’s Matt Wilkinson and France’s Jeremy Flores in the first heat, while
Brazil’s Jadson Andre faced Hawaii’s John John Florence and Australia’s Joel Parkinson in the second heat of Round 1 that went down at the renowned beach-break of La Graviere in France on Wednesday, October 5.
The first heat turned out to be a really close contest but the experience of Knox came into play and allowed him to clinch victory, which took him directly into Round 3. Wilkinson and Flores rounded out the second and third position, consequently getting
relegated to the second round.
Andre managed to secure a rather convincing victory in the second heat to move into Round 3, while Florence and Parkinson finished in second and third place respectively, getting dropped to Round 2 as a result.
The primary event site offered six-to-seven foot waves to the surfers during the opening round, which looked promising but were indeed challenging to control due to their shifty nature. However, the ASP elite were expected to adjust to the conditions and
give it their all in order to clinch the Round 3 spots.
As the first heat kicked off, the 41-year-old Knox got off to a relatively strong start, locking a wave in the opening minutes to post 6.33 points on the score-board. A determined hunt allowed him to add another 4.73 points to his account, moving him to
a heat-total of 11.06 points. The score remained unbeatable until the end and eventually sealed the fate of the contest in his favour.
Wilkinson and Flores had no luck with the waves either and struggled to get their hands on a good score. In the end, the Australian had to settle for a second-place finish with a heat-total of 10.77 points, while the latter rounded out the third place with
a heat-total of 10.57 points.
The next heat featured a fairly impressive performance by the 21-year-old Andre to confirm his place in the third round. As the three-man battle got underway, he got off to an outstanding start, scoring 7.50 points off his first wave to get an early advantage.
Adding another 3.67 points to his account, he finished with a heat-total of 11.17 points, which eventually carried him off to victory.
After making heads turn during the previous stop of the ASP World Tour, Florence returned to take on the heavy-weights of surfing once again. However, he failed to adjust to the challenging waves that the South-West coast of France had to offer and ended
up finishing with a heat-total of 9.13 points, consequently finishing in third place.
Parkinson is among the strongest contenders for the event title so far, but he was unable to do justice to this status during his Round 1 heat. He finished in third place after finishing with a heat-total of 8.00 points, which included a 5.83 and 2.17-point
wave.
For more updates on Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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