After a short spell between contests, we fly East over the Atlantic to Hossegar, France, where championship tour number nine takes place on October 3rd-13th. As always, we provide our best betting tips for the event.
Quicksilver Pro France Betting Tips
Since 2011 when he won his first Quiksilver Pro in France, Gabriel Medina has owned this leg of the tour, winning the event three times and qualifying for the finals every year since his debut win in 2011. It is truly astonishing for someone to be this consistent over an eight-year span. Medina is back once again in Hossegor, after taking out the surf ranch event in California only just over a week ago. Medina had a relatively slow start to the year, but he is now the outright leader after taking the yellow jersey off fellow countryman Filipe Toledo. Medina has now made the finals in the previous three events, and will be looking to prevail in France for his fourth overall victory in Hossegor.
After leading the pack after John Florence went down with injury, Kolohe Andino was the most consistent surfer on tour early in the season, but has dropped off and needs to regroup before the season gets away from him. Since the semi-final finish at J Bay, Andino bowed out in the third round against wildcard Kauli Vaast and then missed the finals at the Surf Ranch.
Andino has found success at Hossegor in the past, with two consecutive semi-final appearances in 2015 and 2016.
Julian Wilson always seems to be lingering within arm’s reach of a world title. Even though this year hasn’t been the year he expected, Wilson is still making inroads. The fifth place finish at the Freshwater Pro was good enough to see him slide into ninth place in the current standings. Wilson took out the Quiksilver Pro in France last year, after beating Ryan Callahan in the final. Another strong performance here could see him look beyond and into the top five. It’s hard to lock in Wilson in Hossegor because of his up and down 2019, but his history at Hossegor looks very solid.
For the last six years straight, Adrian Buchan has finished 13th at the Quiksilver Pro in France, but in 2008, Buchan took out this event when he finished the year with an overall ranking of sixth. The veteran surfer is now into his 14th year on tour and after finishing seventh at the Surf Ranch, he now has moved five places into 18th position. Buchan can easily be a threat coming into the round of 16 or the quarter finals as he has finished fifth three times this year. If there was ever going to be an x-factor at Hossegor, Buchan would be that guy.
With the Quiksilver Pro only days away, will we see Gabriel Medina grab consecutive wins or will the likes of Owen Wright or Jordy Smith continue their hot form to snatch the victory and keep the season alive?
