WSL Quiksilver Pro, France
October 3rd – 14th
The Quiksilver Pro is once again held at Landes at the region of Aquitaine which is on the south west coastline of France. Known as some of the best surfing in Europe, this coastline has over 230 kilometers of beach breaks.
Things are shaping up nicely for the last three events of the year. The standings have remained the same for the last two events with Filipe Toledo still having a small lead over Gabriel Medina. If the two Brazilians continue this winning trend we may see this year’s title be decided at Pipeline.
All eyes are on Gabriel Medina at this current time with the former number one taking out the last two events, including a win at last month’s event held at Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch. Even with the two victories, he is still behind his fellow countrymen Filipe Toledo who keeps putting in solid performances to hold is current number one spot in the rankings. The way Medina and Toledo are surfing, it’s hard to see them losing in their round one contest. Medina meets with Tomas Hermès and Ryan Callahan who snagged a wildcard spot while Toledo has a date with Connor O’Leary who hasn’t been even close to the surfer he was last year and young Frenchmen surfer Jorgann Couzinet.
Just like Teahupoo, Gabriel Medina seems to save his best for the Quiksilver Pro in France. Medina has won this event three times over his career and has two victories here in the last three years. He has also made the finals for the past eight consecutive years.
Over the last two years there has been one surfer building himself up to take out this event. Kolohe Andino has made the semi finals here in the previous two years, could this be the year he takes it home? Andino surfs in Europe almost more than anyone on tour, so you could say he’s familiarized himself with the beach breaks of Landes. Andino meets veteran Adrian Buchan and Ian Gouveia in round one.
It’s hard to talk about consistency and confidence of surfers after the Surf Ranch event last month. But one of the biggest movers in the rankings was Japanese surfer Kanoa Igarashi, who moved seven places to now be on inside the top 10. Will this be the start of something special for Kanoa?
After surfing in the last event, Kelly Slater has pulled out of the France contest. He will be joined by John John Florence and Caio Ibelli who are also sidelined. They are replaced by Wiggolly Dantas, Miguel Pupo and Jorgann Couzinet who will surf in his first WSL event. Last but not least, Mikey Wright gets another wildcard entry alongside Ryan Callahan.
Italo Ferreira to win
$11.00
