Heitor Alves, Roy Powers, and Ben Dunn advanced out of their round 2 heats in the Quiksilver Pro France and then officials called it for the day after running only three heats competition.
Ben Dunn (AUS), 23, current ASP World No. 26, surfed one of the strangest heats of the Quiksilver Pro France thus far. His opponent, Chris Ward (USA), 30, who had already missed his Round 1 heat due to scheduling confusion, overslept this morning and failed to show up until 15 minutes into the 30 minute heat. . . “Well, it definitely plays with your head,” Dunn said. “Wardo missed his Round 1 heat and I thought he was going to show up for today’s heat because I saw him yesterday, but he said he overslept or something. It was still pretty even when he arrived though as I couldn’t get any waves.”
Follow the jump for the rest of the story and complete round 3 match ups.
Quiksilver Pro France Called Off After Completion of Round 2
SEIGNOSSE, France (Friday, September 25, 2009) – The Quiksilver Pro France presented by Orange, Event No. 7 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, has been called off for the day, following the completion of Round 2.
With only small, two-to-three foot (1 metre) surf on offer today at Les Bourdaines, only three heats were completed today, with event organizers opting to hold for better conditions in the coming days.
Ben Dunn (AUS), 23, current ASP World No. 26, surfed one of the strangest heats of the Quiksilver Pro France thus far. His opponent, Chris Ward (USA), 30, who had already missed his Round 1 heat due to scheduling confusion, overslept this morning and failed to show up until 15 minutes into the 30 minute heat.
“Well, it definitely plays with your head,” Dunn said. “Wardo missed his Round 1 heat and I thought he was going to show up for today’s heat because I saw him yesterday, but he said he overslept or something. It was still pretty even when he arrived though as I couldn’t get any waves.”
With half the heat remaining, Dunn would ignite, seamlessly blending high-speed floaters and rapid-fire turns on his backhand to amass the day’s highest heat total, a 14.50 out of a possible 20.
“I wanted to get some scores on the board before Chris (Ward) turned up, but there just weren’t any waves,” Dunn said. “He made a couple mistakes and went right and I was able to put a few scores on the board. It’s an important event for me in terms of ratings and I’m stoked to get through to Round 3.”
Dunn will face Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), 27, in Round 3 when competition resumes.
Roy Powers (HAW), 28, current ASP World No. 26, faced O’Neill teammate and fellow ASP World No. 26, Tim Reyes (USA), 27, in a tightly-fought Round 2 heat today, just edging the Californian out, 11.93 to 11.16.
“It’s pretty weird that we both ride for the same company and are rated the same and met in Round 2,” Powers said. “I don’t know what the odds of that are. It’s too bad for Tim (Reyes) as I know he’s having a tough year, but it’s an important result for me and I’ll take the win. Timmy looked like he was trying to pack in more maneuvers on his waves and I was focusing on adding more power and throwing more spray and I guess it worked out.”
Powers will next battle Dane Reynolds (USA), 24, in Round 3 of the Quiksilver Pro France when competition resumes.
Heitor Alves (BRA), 26, current ASP World No. 24, dominated the opening heat of the day, deftly navigating the lumpy beach break peaks to eliminate Jay Thompson (AUS), 26, from Quiksilver Pro France competition.
“I am so happy to make that heat, I am looking to make a good result here and I am stoked things went well this morning,” Alves said. “I was looking for the lefthanders which I like surfing and I got the better ones. Today’s conditions are better with less current so it’s all good. I thank all my family and girlfriend for the great support.”
Alves will take on Jordy Smith (ZAF), 21, in Round 3 of the Quiksilver Pro France.
Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 9am to assess conditions for a possible Round 3 start.
When competition resumes, up first will Bede Durbidge (AUS), 26, up against 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Nic Muscroft (AUS), 27, in Heat 1 of Round 3.
QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 14: Heitor Alves (BRA) 13.06 def. Jay Thompson (AUS) 11.93
Heat 15: Roy Powers (USA) 11.93 def. Tim Reyes (USA) 11.16
Heat 16: Ben Dunn (AUS) 14.50 def. Chris Ward (USA) 3.60
QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Nic Muscroft (AUS)
Heat 2: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 3: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Phillip MacDonald (AUS)
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Greg Emslie (ZAF)
Heat 6: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Dustin Barca (HAW)
Heat 7: Mick Campbell (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Patrick Beven (FRA)
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 11: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 12: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
Heat 13: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 14: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 15: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 16: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)
