Kelly on his backhand at last year's Quik Pro France. Photo: ASP/Kirstin Scholtz
The 2011 Quiksilver Pro France, stop no. 8 of 11 on the ASP World Tour, has been a fan favorite event and a staple on Tour for the past decade.
“This year is the 10th Anniversary of the Quiksilver Pro France,” said Contest Director Miky Picon in a video on Quiksilver’s blog. “It’s an extra pressure because I think it’s definitely the strongest event in Europe.” Picon, a former World Tour surfer and Capbreton local, has a selection of four banks on the southwest coast of France to choose from: Seignosse, Hossegor, Capbreton, and St. Jean de Luz.
“For the past three weeks, I’ve been watching all the banks and I’ve seen some really nice waves with all the local surfers getting some really nice barrels. And, also some really high-performance waves near the shore break where you can do some big airs. So, I’m really confident that we’re going to have a really great event.” The waiting period for the contest begins October 4th and runs through the 13th, although look for a later start. Check quiksilverlive.com for news, forecasts and the live webstream.
Australians have dominated the event in recent years, with Mick Fanning doing the heavy lifting – he won in 2007, 2009 and last year. Adrian ‘Ace’ Buchan won in 2008 and Bede Durbidge won in 2006. Last year alone was dominated by Aussies, with half the quarterfinalist field from Oz, in Mick, Ace, Kieren Perrow and Daniel Ross.
This year, with the emergence of Owen Wright, Josh Kerr and Julian Wilson, we could see the trend continue, especially if Joel can find himself surfing on those finals days, as he’s been doing all year. Tour newcomer John John Florence surfed well at Lowers, in less-than-ideal conditions. I saw him surf in Huntington at the U.S. Open as well in similarly meager conditions. It’s going to be fun watching him surf Hossegor’s sandbars, which resemble his comfort zone.
Kelly Slater is the clear points leader on Tour with four events left on the calendar: the Europe leg in France and Portugal, back to the West Coast for the Rip Curl Search at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, and ending things in Hawaii at Pipeline. Owen Wright is second on the Rankings list while Joel Parkinson is third.
Depending on how things shake up (whether or not Kelly makes it to the semis), things could get interesting on Tour. Tune in here.
