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Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle
Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle
Stop No. 3 of 8 on the 2008 ASP Women’s World Tour
Hossegor, France
August 28 – September 1, 2008
Gilmore Wins 2008 Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle – Takes ASP Women’s Ratings Lead
Pictured: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 20, reigning ASP Women's World Champion, regained the ratings lead on the 2008 ASP Women's World Tour with her impressive victory over former sevent-time ASP Women's World Champion Layne Beachley (AUS), 36.
SEIGNOSSE, France (Friday, August 29, 2008) – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 20, reigning ASP Women’s World Champion, has claimed the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle title, defeating fellow finalist Layne Beachley (AUS), 36, in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves at Les Bourdaines in Seignosse, and regaining the ratings lead in the hunt for the 2008 ASP Women’s World Title.
Event No. 3 of 8 on the 2008 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle was treated to two full days of action, culminating in the stunning Final between the two Australian icons.
Gilmore exercised discretion in the Final, slotting herself in picturesque French barrels and executing critical turns to net a solid 16.66 out of a possible 20 while her compatriot Beachley searched for waves that didn’t offer sufficient scoring potential.
“I was fortunate to get those few waves out at the beginning that allowed me to get a few maneuvers in,” Gilmore said. “It was really tough out there – really fast and racy and not easy to get scores. Unfortunately for Layne, she wasn’t able to find a wave she could really open up on.”
Despite a disappointing 9th place finish in the season opener at home on the Gold Coast, Gilmore has since rebounded, claiming her second event win in a row and rocketing into the ratings lead in the race for the 2008 ASP Women’s World Tour.
“I’m absolutely fired up,” Gilmore said. “I had a bit of a wobbly start to the year, but I’ve had two really good events in a row and to be back on top is an amazing feeling. It’s my second year on tour and I’m looking to defend my title. I’m excited to be where I’m at heading into the next few events.”
Beachley, former seven-time ASP Women’s World Champion, was disappointed that she was unable to pull out the win, but her runner-up finish moves the phenomenal natural-footer from 5th to 3rd on the ASP Women’s World Tour rankings, putting her well within striking distance of the 2008 ASP Women’s World Title.
“I’m really proud of Steph – she’s been the form surfer all event and she deserved the win,” Beachley said. “I’m just happy that I can still hang with the young girls and to finish in the Final and move up to third is a great place to be heading into the back half of the season.”
Lee Ann Curren (FRA), 19, winner of the Rip Curl Pro Junior and wildcard into the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle, was in sterling form all event, first upsetting former ASP Women’s World Tour No. 1 Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 25, and then taking down Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS), 22, in the Quarterfinals before falling short against Beachley.
“Winning the ASP Pro Junior event the other day and gaining entry into the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle was one of the best wins of my career,” Curren said. “To be able to compete against the best girls in the world and to finish third is the best finish of my career. I wish things could have gone the other way in that heat but they didn’t and I am still very, very happy to finish third.”
Silvana Lima (BRA), last year’s ASP Women’s World No. 3, shoots up to ASP World No. 6 from 11 with her equal 3rd place performance, despite falling short to eventual winner Gilmore in the Semifinals.
“There wasn’t anything I could do out there,” Lima said. “Steph (Gilmore) got two waves and there wasn’t really anything else that came through. I’m still happy with a 3rd and I feel like I’m surfing good so I’m happy with my finish here and the next event’s in Brazil so I’m happy to head home.”
Highlights from the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle is being webcast LIVE via http://www.ripcurl.eu/?promademoiselle_home with Round 1 commencing at 12:15am.
The next stop on the 2008 ASP Women’s World Tour will be the Billabong Girls Pro Rio from September 10 – 28, 2008.
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com
Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle Final Results:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.66
2 – Layne Beachley (AUS) 11.00
Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle Semifinals Results:
Semifinal 1: Layne Beachley (AUS) 14.33 def. Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 5.84
Semifinal 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.33 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 2.20
Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle Quarterfinals Results:
Quarterfinal 1: Layne Beachley (AUS) 15.50 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 11.87
Quarterfinal 2: Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 13.50 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 8.00
Quarterfinal 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 18.40 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 5.33
Quarterfinal 4: Silvana Lima (BRA) 14.20 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 13.17
Current ASP Women’s World Tour Ratings After Event No. 3:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 2760 points
2 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 2532 points
3 – Layne Beachley (AUS) 2280 points
4 – Samantha Cornish (AUS) 2076 points
5 – Amee Donohoe (AUS) 2064 points
6 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 1272 points
7 – Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 1284 points
8 – Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 1272 points
8 – Megan Abubo (HAW) 1092 points
10 – Julia De La Rosa Toro (PER) 1092 points
12 – Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 1080 points
12 – Nicola Atherton (AUS) 1080 points
14 – Melanie Bartels (HAW) 912 points
14 – Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 912 points
16 – Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) 900 points
16 – Karina Petroni (USA) 900 points
16 – Serena Brooke (AUS) 900 points
Defending champion Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) was eliminated in the first shock upset of the RipCurl Pro Mademoiselle taking place at Les Bordaines, Hossegor, France today.
Photo Credit: ASP Cestari © Covered Images
In Round 3 Mulanovich was pitted against 17-year old local favourite Lee Ann Curren (France) who had won and entry into the main event with a wildcard after winning the RipCurl Pro Junior yesterday. Mulanovich is currently the ratings leader on the ASP Womans World Tour and with her early elimination the other woman will be looking for solid performances to reduce her ratings lead.
The RipCurl Mademoiselle Girls Festival is the third of eight stops on the ASP Women's World Tour and includes the world's top 17 full-time touring female professional surfers plus one wildcards. The event has a six day waiting period but requires only two full days of competition to be completed. Sofia Mulanovich is the defending champion.
http://www.aspworldtour.com
Rip Curl Pro Junior
ASP Grade-2 Women’s Pro Junior event
Stop No. 7 of 8 on the 2008 ASP European Women’s Junior Tour
Les Bourdaines, Seignosse – France
26-27 August, 2008
Lee-Ann Curren Claims the ASP Grade-2 Rip Curl Pro Junior Mademoiselle
Photo: Lee-Ann Curren (FRA) reached her third consecutive final today and eventually took the win at the ASP Grade-2 Rip Curl Pro Junior Mademoiselle
SEIGNOSSE, France (Wednesday, August 27, 2008) – Lee Ann Curren (Biarritz, FRA), 19, claimed the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Grade-2 Rip Curl Pro Junior Mademoiselle today at Les Bourdaines in Seignosse. Curren, who defeated Justine Dupont (FRA), Pauline Ado (FRA) and Marie Dejean (FRA) in a 100% French final, took the best out of the good hollow four foot (1.2 meter) waves in the seventh event of the season.
Lee Ann Curren, reigning ASP European Women’s champion, who advanced through four heats in two days to reach the final encounter, won with a low 11.50 point score tally (out of a possible 20) after getting through three rounds in a row in the solid conditions. Posting a good 6.75 point ride (out of a possible 10) en route to victory, Curren led the final all the way to the end.
"I am super stoked," Curren said. "It took me some time to find a good wave but finding the good option was the key to win. There was a lot of current so I chose to ride a bigger board to paddle out faster. It was fun to try barrels and different moves."
With this victory, Curren wins the precious wildcard to compete against the ASP Top 17 in the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle, Stop No. 3 of 8 on the ASP Women’s World Tour, and jumps to 2nd on the regional ratings.
"I placed 2nd and 3rd in the last events and I really wanted to win this one," Curren said. "I am stoked to win the wildcard to compete in the Women’s World tour event. This is a fantastic opportunity!"
Runner-up Justine Dupont (Lacanau, FRA), 17, put an excellent effort in her final battle but was unable to find the scores needed to claim the title. Dupont posted a low 6.10 point heat tally (out of possible 20).
"I really enjoyed the conditions today," Dupont said. "Some waves were very big and gave me an adrenaline rush. I chose the outside section and I think it was the best option to score better but I paddled most of the 30-minute final."
Dupont is now No.4 one the ASP Junior ratings and increases her chance of qualifying for the 2009 ASP World Junior Championships (WJC) in Narabeen, Australia, where the end-of-the-year regional Top 2 will surf.
"I felt very good today because it was my birthday!" Dupont said. "To win this event would have been the best present I could get ! I am still very happy with this result because I get closer to the ASP Junior Top 3."
Pauline Ado (FRA), 17, who was very consistent this year, placed 3rd in the final and remains well in position on the regional ratings. Ado will still be chasing big results if she wants to stay in the race with ratings' leader Alizee Arnaud (FRA).
Arnaud, 18, could not counter fellow French surfers Lee Ann Curren and Justine Dupont and was eliminated in Semifinal 1 finishing with an unusual low 2.60 point heat tally (out of a possible 20). Arnaud will need a big result in the last Pro Junior in Carcavelos next October to secure her leading place in the regional ratings.
Europe’s best under-21 competitors will meet next at Carcavelos in Portugal from October 17 to 19 for an ASP Grade-2 Pro Junior, final event of the 2008 ASP European Women’s Pro Junior tour.
The ASP Top 17 will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, August 28 for the kick off of the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle at Les Bourdaines in Seignosse.
All results, news and photos available at www.aspeurope.com
FINAL
Heat 1: Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 11.50 pts, Justine Dupont (FRA) 6.10 pts, Pauline Ado (FRA) 4.10 pts, Marie Dejean (FRA) 2.70
SEMIFINALS
Heat 1: Justine Dupont (FRA) 10.65 pts, Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 9.20 pts, Bianca Buidentag (ZAF) 8.00 pts, Alizée Arnaud (FRA) 2.60 pts
Heat 2: Marie Dejean (FRA) 15.80 pts, Pauline Ado (FRA) 6.85 pts, Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 6.15 pts, Nikita Robb (ZAF) 5.00 pts
QUARTERFINALS
Heat 1 : Justine Dupont (FRA) 14.00 pts, Bianca Buidentag (ZAF) 13.35 pts, Marjolaine Ado (FRA) 5.10 pts, Cannelle Bulard (FRA) 4.10 pts
Heat 2 : Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 7.00 pts, Alizée Arnaud (FRA) 6.90 pts, Raine Jackson (AUS) 6.25 pts, Merril Delanne (FRA) 1.90 pts
Heat 3 : Nikita Robb (ZAF) 14.75 pts, Pauline Ado (FRA) 12.00 pts, Francesca De Santos (PRT) 1.00 pts, Alix Cranet (FRA) 0.00 pts
Heat 4 : Marie Dejean (FRA) 10.50 pts, Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 9.25 pts, Laetitia Sudre (FRA) 3.50 pts, Leticia Canales Bilbao (EUK) 0.20 pts
Photo: Canelle Bulard (REU), current Top 5 ASP European Women's Junior surfer, facing one of the beautiful waves of Day 1
SEIGNOSSE, France (Tuesday, August 26, 2008) – The ASP Grade-2 Rip Curl Pro Junior Mademoiselle got underway today at the world famous beachbreak of Les Bourdaines with Round 1 and 2 being completed in good quality four foot (1.2 meter) waves and under beating sun.
With all favorites not surfing in Round 1, unknown surfers and locals were able to enjoy their time out before big names started firing.
Bruna Schmitz (BRA), 18, current No.6 on the ASP WQS ratings, was the best performer of the day posting an excellent 18.50 point heat tally (out of a possible 20) including solid 9.50 and 9.00 points ride (out of a possible 10).
"I feel very relaxed," Schmitz said. "The surfing conditions are very good and it is sunny and warm. I took many waves but two were pretty good and I am stoked to score that big."
Schmitz got through two rounds today dominating all her opponents en route to Quartefinals.
Schmitz, who has had an excellent year among the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Qualifying Series (WQS), has no pressure.
"I don’t have any specific goals," Schimitz said. "I am in Seignosse to spend some time with my boyfriend who lives here and I have decided to enter this competition just for fun."
Schimitz will now face experienced under-21 surfers Laetitia Sudre (FRA), Marie Dejean (FRA) and Leticia Canales Bilbao (EUK) in Quarterfinal No. 4 tomorrow morning and could create some serious upsets when competition resumes.
Alizée Arnaud (FRA) 18, current regional leader, was in good form today as well defeating Marjolaine Ado (FRA), Idoia Meabe (EUK) and Ana Morau (FRA) in Round 2. Arnaud secured her Quarterfinal ticket posting a solid 7.75 point ride (out of a possible 10) and will go for an unprecedent third consecutive event win tomorrow.
"I am stoked," Arnaud said. "I had two sets to secure enough points to take the lead then I tried many maneuvres and it was a lot of fun."
Arnaud who has won two events this year, including the ASP Grade-2 Kana Miss Cup in Hourtin, France and the ASP Grade-2 Billabong Pro Junior in Ericeira, Portugal, is in top form and feels confident.
"I was critically ill at the beginning of the year and it has given me a real boost to surf my best in competitions," Arnaud said. "I would really like to win the event and get the wildcard for the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle."
Arnaud is currently leading the regional ratings and will go for her maiden regional championship this year.
Lee Ann Curren (FRA), 19, reigning ASP European Women’s champion and ranked No. 3 on the ASP Junior ratings was one of the crowd’s favorites today and ended up winning the heat posting an average 11.25 point heat tally (out of a possible 20).
"It was a tough heat," Curren said. "The tide was high and sets were not frequent. There were some good waves but I was not in the timing. I will surf this afternoon to adapt to the conditions and surf better tomorrow."
Curren, who reached the final of the last three events in Lacanau, Hourtin and Ericeira, showed her intention to claim this Grade-2 event.
"I am stoked I placed 2nd and 3rd in the previous contests," Curren said. "I would really like to reach another final but even better win it! I will try to find the good strategy depending on tomorrow’s surfing conditions and let’s see what will happened."
Alizée Arnaud and Lee Ann Curren will surf in the same heat in Quarterfinals.
Pauline Ado (FRA), 17, won Heat 5 scoring a good 14.25 point heat tally (out of a possible 10) but was not very satisfied with her today’s performance.
"I did not surf my best," Ado said. "I did not take the best waves and show what I can really do. I hope I will improve my surfing. Swell predictions are looking good for tomorrow so it’s going to be fun."
Ado, ranked No. 2 in the ASP Junior ratings, who got back-to-back excellent results in France – a win at Lacanau and a runner-up finish at Hourtin – is another of the regional favorites to be in good form.
"I want to keep the pressure away so I just take one heat at a time," Ado said. "I will try to go as far as possible and give my best to qualify for the ASP World Junior Championships in Australia."
All 16 competitors will meet at 9.30 AM (GMT+2) tomorrow, Wednesday, August 27, and the Rip Curl Pro Junior champion will be crowned by the afternoon.
All results, news and photos available at www.aspeurope.com.
UPCOMING QUARTERFINALS
Heat 1: Cannelle Bulard (FRA), Justine Dupont (FRA), Bianca Buidentag (ZAF), Marjolaine Ado (FRA)
Heat 2: Lee Ann Curren (FRA), Merril Delanne (FRA), Alizée Arnaud (FRA), Raine Jackson (AUS)
Heat 3: Pauline Ado (FRA), Francesca De Santos (PRT), Alix Cranet (FRA), Nikita Robb (ZAF)
Heat 4: Bruna Schmitz (BRA), Laetitia Sudre (FRA), Marie Dejean (FRA), Leticia Canales Bilbao (EUK)
ROUND 2 RESULTS
Heat 1: Cannelle Bulard (FRA) 15.65 pts, Merril Delanne (FRA) 6.00 pts, Maud Lecar (FRA) 5.25 pts, Rachel Wadoux (FRA) 2.80 pts
Heat 2: Bianca Buidentag (ZAF) 13.25 pts, Raine Jackson (AUS) 9.35 pts, Lea Mengual (FRA) 6.75 pts, Ravi Bailleux (FRA) 6.40 pts
Heat 3: Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 11.25 pts, Justine Dupont (FRA) 9.75 pts, Maliisa Pichaut (FRA) 5.30 pts, Loiola Canales Bilbao (EUK) 3.10 pts
Heat 4: Alizée Arnaud (FRA) 14.75 pts, Marjolaine Ado (FRA) 7.75 pts, Idoia Meabe (ESP) 6.75 pts, Ana Morau (FRA) 5.55 pts
Heat 5: Pauline Ado (FRA) 14.25 pts, Laetitia Sudre (FRA) 8.25 pts, Maeva Akbi (FRA) 4.85 pts, Edith San Seundo (EUK) 3.30 pts
Heat 6: Alix Cranet (FRA) 10.00 pts, Leticia Canales Bilbao (EUK) 8.25 pts, Joahnne Defay (FRA) 6.65 pts, Beth Mason (GBR) 6.50 pts
Heat 7: Bruna Schimitz (BRA) 14.25 pts, Francesca De Santos (PRT) 8.50 pts, Joanna Giansanti (FRA) 7.35 pts, Lucia Martino (EUK) 4.10
Heat 8: Garazi Sanchez (EUK), Marie Dejean (FRA), Nikita Robb (ZAF), Lore Eizaguirre (EUK)
Pictured: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), former ASP Women's World Champion and current No. 1 on the 2008 ASP Women's World Tour, warming up for the Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle.
The waiting period for the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle runs from August 28 through September 1, 2008.
The Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle will be webcast LIVE via http://www.ripcurl.eu/?pro_mademoiselle
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com
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