Well, that didn't take long. On day one, just four heats into Round Two of the Quiksilver Pro France, a pair of World Title hopefuls have already seen their chances diminished significantly. Perhaps the sharpest blow was dealt to World No. 3 Julian Wilson who, just eight weeks ago following his victory at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, was the hottest surfer on Tour. Wilson pulled an unfortunate draw in Round Two, facing local wildcard Marc Lacomare, who used local knowledge (specifically, the opposite side of the sandbar) to take the win. The loss will do significant damage to Wilson's World Title aspirations.
The local French standout puts a huge dent in Wilson's World Title aspirations.
World No. 7 Filipe Toledo, on the other hand, was hampered in his Round Two defeat to Miguel Pupo by a painful rib injury caused, innocuously enough, by picking up his toddler. WSL physio, Dr. Chris Prosser, had Toledo's back covered with structural tape, described by Ronnie Blakey as looking like a "human hashtag," but the Brazilian was clearly in significant discomfort despite putting up a good fight against Pupo, who's ranked No. 30. Toledo's early exit probably ends any chance at capturing his first World Title in 2017.
Filipe Toledo - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Filipe Toledo and Julian Wilson Eliminated from Quik Pro France
Brad Drew
Well, that didn't take long. On day one, just four heats into Round Two of the Quiksilver Pro France, a pair of World Title hopefuls have already seen their chances diminished significantly. Perhaps the sharpest blow was dealt to World No. 3 Julian Wilson who, just eight weeks ago following his victory at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, was the hottest surfer on Tour. Wilson pulled an unfortunate draw in Round Two, facing local wildcard Marc Lacomare, who used local knowledge (specifically, the opposite side of the sandbar) to take the win. The loss will do significant damage to Wilson's World Title aspirations.
World No. 7 Filipe Toledo, on the other hand, was hampered in his Round Two defeat to Miguel Pupo by a painful rib injury caused, innocuously enough, by picking up his toddler. WSL physio, Dr. Chris Prosser, had Toledo's back covered with structural tape, described by Ronnie Blakey as looking like a "human hashtag," but the Brazilian was clearly in significant discomfort despite putting up a good fight against Pupo, who's ranked No. 30. Toledo's early exit probably ends any chance at capturing his first World Title in 2017.
Julian Wilson
Featuring Filipe Toledo, Italo Ferreira, Liam O'Brien, Molly Picklum, Julian Wilson, Rio Waida, Griffin Colapinto, Bettylou Sakura Johnson,
The wildcard antics of Julian Wilson were far from over on the Gold Coast, boasting an 18.00 heat total over standout Marco Mignot.
The 2018 Gold Coast Pro winner Julian Wilson is back among the world's best as a wildcard and sending shockwaves through Burleigh Heads
Former World No. 2 Julian Wilson has set his sights on returning to the elite-level Championship Tour, hoping to re-qualify as soon as
Featuring Callum Robson, Griffin Colapinto, Adriano de Souza, Italo Ferreira, Gabriel Medina, João Chianca, Carissa Moore, Leonardo
Quiksilver Pro France
The World Title Race crashes the shores of coastal France.
Top scores and waves from 2017.