Day one of the 2012 Quiksilver Pro, France

Opening day of the 2012 Quiksilver Pro was short and furious, much like the conditions at La Graviere. A stretch more than a shorepound, the French beachbreak offered excellent barrels to those who chose carefully. “In these kind of conditions, one wave can change the heat and you just hope you’re on that one,” said Mick Fanning, who looked electric in victory. “When they come through, there are great, little barrels to be had.”

Dane Reynolds, event wildcard, won his heat against Joel Parkinson and Bede Durbidge. Can you believe it! “The waves were pretty fun out there when they came through,” said Dane. “It’s nice and spread out so Joel and Bede were kind of down on their own peak and I was up on my own peak which is always nice. I’m not much of a hassler. Competition is fun for me and I don’t put pressure on myself to do well. I do like to see how I perform in this environment though and that’s why I do these.”

Kelly Slater, unsurprisingly, won his round one heat and will no doubt be looking to clock a keeper result in Hossegor. “Well I didn’t back-up my result in Fiji with one in Tahiti,” said the enigmatic Floridian. “It’s tough at this level. There’s no doubt about that. I always enjoy France though. I’ve been coming here for so long that it really is like another home for me and I feel really comfortable out there. I was surfing on that same quad I surfed in the final at Lowers last week and it’s been feeling really good so if it stays like this I may stay on it.”

Catch round one’s remainder (and hopefully round two) tomorrow, here. That is, if the conditions stick around.

All photos courtesy ASP

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.16, Kai Otton (AUS) 11.03, Taylor Knox (USA) 7.00
Heat 2: Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.04, Adriano De Souza (BRA) 8.70, Damien Hobgood (USA) 8.20
Heat 3: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.70, John John Florence (HAW) 11.67, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 6.86
Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 12.06, Dusty Payne (HAW) 7.74, Tiago Pires (PRT) 4.16
Heat 5: Dane Reynolds (USA) 10.66, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 9.90, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 5.40
Heat 6: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.50, Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 12.10, Travis Logie (ZAF) 8.56
Heat 7: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 14.83, Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.97, Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.00
Heat 8: Brett Simpson (USA) 11.67, Yadin Nicol (AUS) 10.70, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 7.83,
Heat 9: Michel Bourez (PYF) 10.43, Owen Wright (AUS) 8.30, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 5.77

REMAINING QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 10: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Heitor Alves (BRA), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 12: Gabriel Medina (BRA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)