The deafening return of John John Florence, Cloudbreak

… And we’re in. Kinda. Today is a lazy day at the Volcom Fiji Pro, no heats will be run ’cause the surf’s building, jumbled, of a low quality five to eight feet surf, whipped by onshore SW-shifting South wind. And, can y’believe three competitors have withdrawn from the event due to injury? Owen Wright has pulled out due to a back injury he’s been battling since Bells, and with Tiago Pires and Raoni Monteiro also out, the spots have allowed a start for Yadin Nicol, Heitor Alves and new wildcard Alex Gray.

So there’s that. Then, of course, you have the marvellous return of Mr John John Florence, pictured here inside Cloudbreak when it was doing its thang a coupla days ago. John John missed Bells and then Rio after blowing his ankle out on a full-rote to the flats on the Gold Coast, in a Quik Pro Expression Session. He’s been rather quiet since, though now we find him anything but subtle at da Thundercloud. Expect him to come back swinging at this event.

Keep an eye (or two) on updates here. We know you will. And in the meantime, you can watch this.

VOLCOM FIJI PRO ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS), Travis Logie (ZAF), Yadin Nicol (AUS)
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Mitch Coleborn (AUS)
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Alex Gray (USA)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Aca Lalabalavu (FIJ)
Heat 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Kai Otton (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 8: Julian Wilson (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 9: Josh Kerr (AUS), Filipe Toledo (BRA), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Glenn Hall (AUS)
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (FRA), Nat Young (USA), Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 12: Adrian Buchan (AUS), John John Florence (HAW), Brett Simpson (USA)