This year is whipping though at an incredible pace and the first two events of both the men's and women's tours are already done and dusted.
In event one for the girls, the 2008 Roxy Pro Gold Coast, last year's world runner-up Sofia Mulanovich (PER) beat Samantha Cornish (AUS) at Australia's Snapper Rocks. However, just a few days late, in the final of the Rip Curl Women's Pro at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia, reigning ASP Women's World Champion, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) came from behind with five minutes remaining to defeat Sofia, claiming her second consecutive Rip Curl Women's Pro title and jumping from 9th to 2nd in the tour ratings. A mere 600 points behind leader Sofia Mulanovich.
The 2008 ASP Women's World Tour now takes a breather until July, when the top 17 female surfers will do battle again in Brazil.
The guy's tour opened in sensational style with eight-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) beating reigning ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS) at his home break of Snapper Rocks. This put Kelly in the number one slot of the ratings for the first time since claiming his last ASP World Crown in 2006. Proving that the win was not a fluke, he then proceeded to take the Rip Curl Pro at Bells beach. Launching a huge air, he earned a last minute score and beat Bede Durbidge (AUS) in the final. 36-year old Slater, has now claimed his 36th event win and rung surfing's bell for the third time but even more significantly, has cemented his position as the world's number one surfer.
The next event on the men's ASP World Tour will take place in Teahupoo, Tahiti from May 8-18, 2008.
Labels: 2008, ASP World Tour, Australia, Bells Beach, Kelly Slater, men's, Snapper Rocks, Sofia Mulanovich, women's
It seems that at Snapper Rocks, Australia, the home advantage is a powerful factor; just like the women's ASP event, the first event of the 2007 men's ASP World Tour has gone to a local surfing hero. Mick Fanning (AUS) won the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Samsung at his home break of Snapper Rocks for the second time in three years.
Beating fellow local and unsponsored surfer Bede Durbidge (AUS) in barrelling 1.5 to 2 metre (5 to 6 foot ) waves, Fanning slotted himself into a series of deep barrels and executed some of his patented searing turns to emerge from the water victorious much to the delight of the 10,000 plus strong crowd.
Many of the top names were slow to show their form and rookies and wild cards played havoc in the Snapper Rocks surf, leaving many champion surfers in the lower half of the rankings table. Men's rankings after one event are:
1 Mick Fanning(AUS) 1200 points
2 Bede Durbidge(AUS) 1032 points
3 Kelly Slater(USA) 876 points
3 Taj Burrow(AUS) 876 points
5 Joel Parkinson(AUS) 732 points
5 Michael Campbell(AUS) 732 points
The Foster's ASP World Tour will now head south to the colder waters of Bells Beach for the Rip Curl Pro, which will kick off April 3, 2007.
Labels: 2007, ASP World Tour, Australia, Durbidge, Fanning, Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, result, Snapper Rocks, winner
