The young Frenchman Marco Mignot who grew up in Mexico blasted his way through the Round of 96 with amazing turns on his backhand, bringing a lot of variety and progressive moves to post a solid 15.07 total, the second highest of the day. Mignot advanced ahead of Championship Tour surfer Matthew McGillivray, eliminating hopefuls Billy Stairmand and Sheldon Simkus in the process.
"I want to thank Quiksilver first of all for giving me this opportunity and believing in me," he said. "I just got these three waves and fell on my first but I managed to get two really good ones and finish them strong. We didn't have many opportunities this year so to be able to compete on the Challenger Series in France is amazing."