Tim Boal Rip Curl Pro Zarautz champion : photo Aquashot/ASP Europe
Red Bull Surfing Team News
Tim Boal wins WQS 5-Star Rip Curl Pro at Zarautz and secures place on elite tour for 2009
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 15 September, 2008 : - - Zarautz, Spain - French surfer Tim Boal has capped off an incredible European leg of the WQS tour by winning the 5 star Rip Curl Pro held in Zarautz, Spain and almost definitely booking himself a berth on the elite top 45 ASP World Tour for 2009.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Boal afterwards. “It’s actually been an incredible couple of months, ever since I made the final at the US Open at Huntington. In that final I was a little nervous and ending up falling on one wave and losing. At this event though, I was more confident and determined not to make the same mistake. I really wanted to win this.”
Boal dominated the final, against fellow Frenchman and good friend Joan Duru, and after the five minutes the result was never in doubt. “He absolutely dominated the final, he was brutal,” said Red Bull Rising coach, Andy King. “There was times throughout the event where he had his back to the wall, but time and time again, he flared up and blew his opponents out of the water. He is now sitting on 11888 points, safely in the top 5 in the WQS rankings and, in my opinion, is a lock for the 2009 elite tour.”
Tim Boal : photo Aquashot/ASP Europe
Al Hunt, the ASP Tour Manager agreed with King’s opinion. “While there are events remaining, I see the cut off point being 11,000 points for qualification, and anyone above 11,500 is a 99 per cent chance of qualifying. With Tim already well above that, I’d say he’s pretty much a definite.”
“Well, it looks pretty good,” said a more circumspect Boal. “But I’m not just about to give up am I? Right now I’m going to have a celebratory dinner, then drive home, pick up my girlfriend and have a party with my friends. I’ll have a break, sleep a lot, and then focus on the rest of the year. I am nowhere near finished yet.”
Another Red Bull Rising athlete that is nowhere near finished is Tahiti’s Michel Bourez, who backed up his second placing in the previous event with a semi-final place here. Michel was beaten by his good friend and traveling partner Boal in the semi final, but is now back on track for qualification.
“I’m now sitting back in the top 15 and have the confidence in my surfing and in myself to get the 2000 points I need to qualify,” said Bourez, otherwise known as Spartan. “With the Rising, we have set goals and have a program in place now, with events in the Canaries and Hawaii, which suit my surfing, to move forward and make those goals happen. All the hard work is starting to pay off.”
Tim Boal after another successful heat : photo Aquashot/ASPEurope.com
“Michel’s surfing was at another level,” said King. “One ten point ride earlier in the event was the most powerful two-turn combination I have seen from any surfer all year. Look, we’ve just had nine events back to back, and a lot of surfers on tour are burning out, but Michel, and of course Tim, are just getting stronger and stronger.”
Michel now heads up to France, where he has secured a wildcard for the Quiksilver Pro, giving himself a chance to test himself against the best surfers in the world. After a grueling ten weeks of back-to-competition, covering four continents, the Red Bull Rising athletes now have a few weeks to rest and recuperate, before training and refocusing for the climax of the tour.
For insights into the Red Bull Rising Program and each individual athlete’s life on tour, head to www.redbullsurfing.com Downloadable versions of the web clips, free all for editorial use, are available on Red Bull Digital Video Archive (RBDVA) an online, searchable database of Red Bull moving image productions.
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Ben Mondy
Red Bull Surfing - Surfersvillage |
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