A lot happened yesterday at the Quik Pro France in Hossegor, and if you’re not a either a die-hard surf fan or nocturnal, you probably missed it. In 8-to-10 foot bombing Hossegor, the world’s best faced off. Conditions were exactly what we’ve come to expect (or hope for) from the french beach break: thick, deep, sand-filled pits. Round 5 and Quarterfinals 1 and 2 continued to clear the rankings lineup, with some huge upsets.
The most notable was world number one, Gabriel Medina. In QF2, Medina found Kerr as his opponent. Kerr rolled up his sleeves and went to work against the ratings leader, starting off with an early 7.00 ride, which turned out to be the highest of the heat. Medina began to fall out of form when he blew out a fin on a bottom turn and needed a board change. After paddling back out, Medina boosted a huge aerial, but a clean landing eluded him. Kerr went on to take the heat win, and the current world number one was sent packing in fifth place.
Kelly Slater, currently number two in the rankings, came up against Taj Burrow in the final heat of Round 5. His first wave included a throaty righthand barrel that turned into a 9.07, and the pace was set for the match up. Burrow was never able to get in sync with the shifting lineup, and the highest score he managed was a 3.00. “The guys you have history with, it’s a little more interesting, the matchups,” Slater said afterwards. “With Taj, I get focused. I know I can’t go out there and tactically surf against him, I actually relax.”
