Shot to the ou's who picked Mick for the win in the ML Fantasy Surfer comp for the France QuikPro - interestingly he wasn't one of the popular choices, with peeps going for the usual suspects of Kelly, Jordy, John-John and the brazzo's. Mick sneaks in under the radar. Gavin Rother's name got spat out first by Random.org of those who chose Mick - so he scores some kiff VZ shades and a Billabong Furnace 1mm thermal long sleeve top for those dawnie summer sessions. Second name out was Gavin Rishworth - he gets a DaKine leash and grip and a Billabong hoodie. Schweeet!


Here's the official comp wrap:



LE PENON, Seignosse/France (Friday, October 4, 2013) – Mick Fanning (AUS) 32, has just won the Quiksilver Pro France in an action packed final over Gabriel Medina (BRA) 19, in 3-4Ft (1 metre) waves at the back up venue of Le Penon in Seignosse.

Stop No.8 of 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour, the Quiksilver Pro France juggled with a difficult forecast to showcase the World’s Best surfers in quality waves over the two iconic spots of La Graviere and Le Penon.

Mick Fanning (AUS) 32, clinches a historic fourth win at the Quiksilver Pro France making him the most decorated surfer of the event’s 12-year history. This result marks the first event win for Fanning this season and cements him in the pole position on the rankings.

“I’m pretty emotional, I never really got into rythmn until this morning so it feels great,” an ecstatic Fanning stated. “It just feels so good, Gabi is such an incredible kid, even with 20 seconds to go I was still under pressure, it just feels so good.”

Fanning consecutively outsurfed Hawaiian phenomenon John John Florence (HAW) 20 and Joel Parkinson on his way to the final, where he found himself backed up against the wall with Medina in the lead. The two-time World Champion sticked to his game plan and attacked a bumpy righthander with all his power to scalp an excellent 8.83 and steal the show.

“Conditions deteriorated towards the end, but I was a little lucky with that last wave I guess. Gabriel and Filipe have just been going so big, I just thought I’d stick to my game and it sort of paid off towards the end,” Fanning continued. “I watched them flipping around in the air, they have no fear and go so high it’s incredible, I wish I could start again with new ankles and try to do some airs like that.”

Gabriel Medina (BRA) 19, former winner of the Quiksilver Pro France in 2011, had a difficult season so far amongst the Elite ASP Top34 and nets in France his best result of 2013. Leader of the new generation’s charge alongside the likes of Julian Wilson and Nat Young between others, Medina confirms Europe as his winning territory and will be one to watch next week in Portugal.

“I’m really happy I made the final with Mick, it’s been a good week with a great result in the end,” Medina said. “I’m stoked, another final and now I’m off to Portugal and hopefully I can do good there again.”

Off to a great start in the final, Medina chose his waves wisely and lofted several airs to score an excellent heat total of 15.00 in the first few minutes. He unfortunately couldn’t stave off an inspired recovery from Fanning who turned the situation around with a combination of three powerful turns on a long running righthander.

“I always like to come here to France, the waves just suit my surfing. It already used to be a good place for me, but it just keeps getting better and better.”

Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18, talented natural footer from Ubatuba in his rookie season amongst the Top34, surfed the heat of his life in the quarter-finals to defeat 11-time World Champion and defending event champion Kelly Slater (USA) 41. Toledo got the better waves of the exchange and managed to surf free of any pressure to rack up an impressive heat total of 16.10 out of 20.

“It’s the best feeling for sure I’m stoked, he’s running for the tile I’m not, I’m just looking for my best result of the year so I was super relaxed and just chasing scores. I’ve just beat the best surfer ever, I can’t describe how I feel !”

Toledo was however no match to an impressive Medina in their semi-final, who took an early control of the heat and of the airspace above Le Penon, launching into huge rotations to net a near perfect 9.10 and take the win. Toledo places equal third and posts his best result to date on the WCT.

“I’m still super stoked, it’s my best result so far and in my first year on the CT,” Toledo said. “I’m stoked for Gabriel too, he started strong with a 9 and a 7, those lefts with the wind are everything he loves to go big. It’s a huge confidence boost before Portugal, and important points for the Rookie of the year race, I’d like to finish the year in the Top10. I love Europe, there’s really good beachbreaks and it’s a lot like Brazil.”

This 3rd place result propels Toledo to the No.16 spot on the 2013 WCT rankings.

Joel Parkinson (AUS) 32, surfed a solid quarter-final heat and displayed his signature power moves to edge out an in form Kai Otton (AUS) 33. Despite Otton getting the better of an early exchange, Parkinson regrouped to find an excellent peaky righthander and perform a combination of two big turns to scalp the 7.90 he required to advance into the semis.

“When we first got here it looked pretty bad, but that was fun I paddled out and it turned on, they timed it perfect,” Parkinson said following his quarter-final. “I couldn’t have another bad result, all my safety nets were gone so I needed it to be a final or a semi. Mick and Kelly have a pretty big lead over me so I felt I could surf without pressure.”

Parkinson couldn’t however repeat the same scenario when facing fellow Gold-Coaster Fanning in the semi-finals and fell short of finding the high score he needed to hinder Fanning’s road to victory. Parkinson places equal third and stays in striking distance of the World Title.

“It was just a let down I guess, I missed one wave, one opportunity.” Parkinson admitted. “I could have been a little more patient but I guess it gives Mick another boost now and puts pressure on everyone else in the race, I’ll have to do the math now.”

The Quiksilver Pro France is scheduled from September 26 – October 6 and will be webcast LIVE via http://quiksilverlive.com/profrance/2013

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE FINAL RESULTS:
1- Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.66
2- Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.00

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE SEMI-FINAL RESULTS:
SF1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.10 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.03
SF2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.87 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.93

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS:
QF1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.77 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 13.60
QF2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.00 def. John John Florence (HAW) 13.77
QF3: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.37 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 11.40
QF4: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.70 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.00

I reckon I have to stop watching Jordy's heats. Every time I watch he loses. Blame me. But damn that sucks. He was looking on track for a serious run on the title this year and that all got blown out the water in his Rd 5 match-up against Filipe Toledo. Jordy had it in the bag - with the highest wave of the heat - but he just couldn't find the back up. Actually - it did come in the form of a huge set with about 30 seconds left of the heat, but unluckily Jordy was outta position and missed the wave. And with that his title hopes went down the toilet. Bogger.

Official wrap.

LA GRAVIERE, Hossegor/France (Thursday, October 3, 2013) – The Quiksilver Pro France resumed this morning in clean 3-4Ft surf at the primary venue of La Graviere in Hossegor. A quick deterioration of the conditions forced event organizers to call competition OFF after the completion of the fifth round which determined the eight quarter-finalists still in contention for the French crown.

Event No.8 of 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour, the Quiksilver Pro France marks an important turn towards the very end of the 2013 season and will play a vital role in the World Title race and requalification campaigns of the Top34.

Gabriel Medina (BRA) 19, former winner of the Quiksilver Pro France in 2011, picked the best waves of the day and navigated through tricky and fast barrels to rack up an impressive 17.43 out of 20 and advance straight into the quarters.

“I hope I can get another win here, it’s all I’m looking for,” Medina stated. “That was a fun heat against Julian and Jordy, I got that one wave that was so good and I almost fell so I’m stoked I made it.”

Breaking a board on his second attempt at taming the Hossegor shorebreaks, Medina switched equipment and seemed to have his quiver dialed as the second board would allow him to net a near-perfect 9.93 out of 10 later in the heat.

“I broke my board right at the beginning and changed for this one which works really good,” Medina continued. “This is a Pukas 5’9, I usually surf a 5’11 but this one is a little shorter but thicker, it’s definitely different but I love it.”

John John Florence (HAW) 20, current World No.15 coming into the Quiksilver Pro France, started on a fast hollow righthander in the opening seconds of his Round 4 matchup against Mick Fanning (AUS) and Michel Bourez (PYF) 27. The talented Hawaiian exited the barrel beautifully to score an excellent 8.00 point ride which eventually won him a ticket for the quarter-finals.

“There’s no pressure for a title or anything, so I’m just trying to make a couple heats and have fun,” Florence said. “I really want to win another event, I haven’t won one since Rio so that’d be pretty sick to win another one at some point.. I’m riding a 6’0 this is the board I rode for the whole Bali event and I kind of forgot about it but I saw it when I went home and I’m surfing it here it goes really good.”

Kelly Slater (USA) 41, defending event champion here in France, won the lowest-scoring non-elimination round 4 heat this morning with only a couple of average scores on the board. Despite the deception of not being able to display what the 11-time World Champion is capable of, this quarter-final berth for Slater is a crucial result towards ameliorating his season tally in the 2013 title race.

“The waves were not really good, it’s a bummer but there’s not much we can do about it, with the tide’s pretty low it’s just closing out,” Slater explained. “The direction the wave comes in just won’t allow them to peak up anywhere, so it’s just a flip of a coin and hoping that something happens out there for you.”

Mick Fanning (AUS) 32, earned his quarter-final spot the hard way, coming out on top of a tight low scoring heat in the fifth round. Surfing at a difficult moment of the tide, Fanning engaged in two barreling rides and managed to escape just before the closing-out sections posting the required scores to advance.

“When I knew I was going to have Taj, you know he’s been in form for the last couple of events and he’s been ripping, I knew it was going to be a really big heat, but the waves didn’t really come to play,” Fanning said. “I just snuck a couple of head dips and he didn’t have much, it was really difficult out there.”

Current leader of the ASP World Championship Tour rankings, Fanning knows the importance of his win over fellow Australian Taj Burrow (AUS) 35, who is however mathematically still in contention for a maiden World Title.

“I woke up today and sort of thought, if you win that first heat it could potentially knock somebody out of the race, but you know you just have to take it heat by heat,” Fanning continued. “I’m just stoked to get through another tight one, I’ve had so many of those this year, I’m just trying to play cool under pressure.”

The biggest upset came from Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18, who eliminated current World No.3 Jordy Smith (ZAF) 25, in their fifth round encounter. One of the form surfers of the event so far, Toledo continued his dominant streak in the air to dominate the heat and hinder Smith’s situation in the World Title race.

Event officials will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7:45am for a probable final call of the Quiksilver Pro France.

The Quiksilver Pro France is scheduled from September 26 – October 6 and will be webcast LIVE via http://quiksilverlive.com/profrance/2013

UPCOMING QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE QUARTER-FINAL MATCHUPS:
QF1: Kai Otton (AUS) vs Joel Parkinson (AUS)
QF2: John John Florence (HAW) vs Mick Fanning (AUS)
QF3: Kelly Slater (USA) vs Filipe Toledo (BRA)
QF4: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs Julian Wilson (AUS)

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 9.60 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.17
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 10.17 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 5.94
Heat 3: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.73 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.64
Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.20 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 7.44

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kai Otton (AUS) 19.17, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.80, Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.50
Heat 2: John John Florence (HAW) 12.17, Mick Fanning (AUS) 8.00, Michel Bourez (PYF) 6.73
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 10.00, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 7.44, Brett Simpson (USA) 7.30
Heat 4: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.43, Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.00, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 10.77

LA GRAVIERE, Hossegor/France (Wednesday, October 2, 2013) – The Quiksilver Pro France resumed today in clean 4-6Ft waves at the primary venue of La Graviere and completed the third round of competition with the World’s Best lighting up the Hossegor peaks to whittle the field down to just twelve surfers.

Event No.8 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour, The Quiksilver Pro France was in a holding pattern for the past four days due to non-existant swell and finally recommenced today in pumping surf. This event will play a major role in the World Title race as well as requalification campaigns of the Top34.

Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18, in his rookie season amongst the Elite Top34, put on a dominant performance in Round 3 to eliminate the event’s favourite Jeremy Flores (FRA) 25. Toledo displayed his versatility opening his wave-count with a deep stand-up barrel rewarded by an excellent 8.50, before launching into a massive alley-oop perfectly executed to net the day’s highest wave score of 9.97 out of 10.

“I’m super stoked to make that heat, especially with that air and that barrel,” Toledo said. “With the tide coming up I was looking for the barrel and on the first wave I got a really good one. Then it sort of changed and I thought I was going to need to do turns, but that little wave came and I went for the alley-oop air. The Brazilian crew is great, we’re all stoked and have that positive vibe so it’s great to be here in France in warm weather and good waves. I’m feeling confident for the next round.”

Toledo will be facing defending event champion Kelly Slater (USA) and Brett Simpson (USA) in the fourth round.

Gabriel Medina (BRA) 19, former winner of the Quiksilver Pro France, was in a sizzling form, adjusting perfectly to the changing lineup on the outgoing tide late this afternoon. The talented Brazilian goofyfooter locked in a beautiful frontside barrel he exited clean and completed the wave with an impressive alley-oop to net an excellent 9.10 out of 10.

“It looks like home, I’m so stoked to make it through,” Medina admitted. “France is definitely a special place for me, I had some great results here in the past and I love to come here it’s been fun. Everyone’s hard to beat, especially Julian he surfed really good in the last couple of events, I’m really excited for the next one.”

Michel Bourez (PYF) 27, current World No.10 and recent semi-finalist in Trestles, kept the ball rolling at the Quiksilver Pro France today. The excellent tuberider hailing from Tahiti read the moving lineup at la Graviere perfectly to sit in the right spot and find two excellent waves, including a near-perfect 9.73 out of 10 on a deep righthander barrel he came flying out of.

“Those conditions are why they put the contest here, La Graviere can be really good and I’m lucky to get that one,” Bourez stated. “It’s so much fun out there, I surf to get barreled and today I didn’t even feel like I was in a heat I just wanted to get the best waves. It’s all about placement, it can be anyone’s event, if Kolohe was in my spot he would have got the scores and made the heat.”

Reigning ASP World Champion and past winner of the Quiksilver Pro France, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 32, made a smart selection of the waves on offer at La Graviere to find two good scores and advance ahead of talented Californian Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 27. Parkinson made full use of his extensive knowledge and experience in France to scour the lineup and spot the best opportunities.

“Now that there’s waves it puts such a good vibe around the event,” Parkinson said. “There’s a couple little tactics you can use to find the right ones, like try to find where the rips go out, try to get on the corners of the smooth parts, sometimes it feels like you’re paddling for nothing and it turns into a good wave.”

Hawaiian phenomenon John John Florence (HAW) 20, displayed his usual ease in the technical fast-breaking barrels of La Graviere to post a solid heat total of 15.67 out of 20 and advance into the fourth round of competition ahead of fellow Hawaiian Sebastien Zietz. Florence managed to navigate through a lengthy clean barrel and punctuated the ride with a massive lay-back snap that lit up the massive French crowds.

“I’m stoked, especially how hard it is out there, there are a lot of close-outs,” Florence commented. “Hawaiians we’re all here together, so it’s a bummer when we come up against against each other, but I’m stoked to make it through Sebastian is kind of a scary surfer. I’ve been having fun these pas few days, skating and surfing little waves, just cruising around town..”

Florence will be facing Bourez and current rankings leader Mick Fanning (AUS) in the non-elimination fourth round of competition.

Kai Otton (AUS) 33, rounded up today’s action in an exciting non-elimination round 4 battle against Parkinson and Taj Burrow (AUS) 35. Otton netted two of the highest single-wave scores of the day, an incredible 9.77 backed up with a 9.40 on two consecutive backhand deep barrels to advance straight into the quarter-finals of the event and relegate his opponents to the fifth round.

Surfers and event organizers will reconvene at 7:45am tomorrow at the main site of La Graviere to re-assess conditions and decide of the day’s schedule.

The Quiksilver Pro France is scheduled from September 26 – October 6 and will be webcast LIVE via http://quiksilverlive.com/profrance/2013

REMAINING QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 4 MATCHUPS:
Heat 2: Michel Bourez (PYF), John John Florence (HAW), Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA), Filipe Toledo (BRA), Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS), Gabriel Medina (BRA), Jordy Smith (ZAF)

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kai Otton (AUS) 19.17, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.80, Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.50

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.50 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 7.17
Heat 2: Kai Otton (AUS) 7.40 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 4.10
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.16 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 8.83
Heat 4: Michel Bourez (PYF) 16.73 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 9.50
Heat 5: John John Florence (HAW) 15.67 def. Sebastien Zietz (HAW) 10.20
Heat 6: Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.34 def. Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 10.67
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) 11.50 def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 9.37
Heat 8: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18.47 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 2.67
Heat 9: Brett Simpson (USA) 13.77 def. Adriano De Souza (BRA) 12.16
Heat 10: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.26 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.30
Heat 11: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.87 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.40
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.17 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.40

Quarters will run today for sure, after the remaining Rd 4 and the Rd 5 heats are dusted, so get your entries in asap to the ML Fantasy Surfer comp, and entries close before quarters start.
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LA GRAVIERE, Hossegor/France (Wednesday, October 2, 2013) – The Quiksilver Pro France will see action resume this morning with the third round of competition at the main site of La Graviere after four consecutive lay days due to small surf on offer. An expected 4-6Ft swell built overnight is producing quality barrels today at the iconic La Graviere in Hossegor.

Event No.8 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour, the Quiksilver Pro France will play a vital role in both the ASP World Title race and the requalification campaigns of surfers in the Elite Top34.

“We took our time this morning to really analyze the conditions,” Micky Picon, Contest Director stated. “We really wanted to make sure there are enough waves with scoring potential for both surfers out there. We saw a few really nice barrels out there, it’s going to be a lot of work but we’ve decided to start the third round and put the fourth on stand-by.”

Taj Burrow (AUS) and Alejo Muniz (BRA) will have the difficult task to jump out first this morning in Heat 1 when the event recommences at 8:35am local time.

The Quiksilver Pro France is scheduled from September 26 – October 6 and will be webcast LIVE via http://quiksilverlive.com/profrance/2013

UPCOMING QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 MATCHUPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 2: Kai Otton (AUS) vs Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 4: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 5: John John Florence (HAW) vs Sebastien Zietz (HAW)
Heat 6: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Heat 9: Adriano De Souza (BRA) vs Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 10: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs Kieren Perrow (AUS)


Think ya know who'll win?? Well then pop in an entry to the Millerslocal Fantasy Surfer comp (one entry per peep, EC locals only), and you could win a kiff stash. Winner scores VZ shades and a 1mm longsleever Furnace Thermal Billabong vest - perfect for summer dawnies and duskies. Second possie hooks a Billabong hoodie and Dakine leash & grip.
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Another day of sun tanning and eating croissants for the ou's in the QuikPro. But looks like things should be a go again for tomorrow. Forecasts show a decent swell arriving late tomorrow arvo, with some grinding 6-8ft sets pulling through on Wednesday...and then things easing off again towards the weekend.

Jordy's been beating the flat day blues by missioning down to the Wavegarden in Spain. Nothing wrong with 100m perfect peelers every 3 minutes.

Parko is gonna be doing his utmost to actually win his next heat by himself, instead of being gifted by the judges. His Rd 2 "win" against the local wildcard has the internet abuzz. Checking out the heat review one has to admit its hard to work out how on earth he got scored higher than Marc on both those waves. An 8.50 for a cutback and 2 standard snaps has gotto be a gift any day of the year. 

UPCOMING QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 MATCHUPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 2: Kai Otton (AUS) vs Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 4: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 5: John John Florence (HAW) vs Sebastien Zietz (HAW)
Heat 6: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Heat 9: Adriano De Souza (BRA) vs Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 10: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs Gabriel Medina (BRA)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs Kieren Perrow (AUS)