Michael Picon and Aritz Aranburu return to the new format WQS Tour
The European Surfers of Team Quiksilver, Michael Picon and Aritz Aranburu will return to the WQS (World Qualifying Series) this season.
For Miky Picon, the experienced European pro, this season has two goals: to try to requalify for the elite by taking part in the main WQS events (as he did previously in 2006 and 2008) but also to begin to work professionally at the centre of the Quiksilver group. As his sponsor and supporter for a long time, Quiksilver has committed to collaborate with Miky in order to make him one of its main ambassadors, to put his great experience and his network to use within the company.
For Aritz Aranburu, the objective is to regain his place in the elite of the ASP World Tour by the end of the season. The challenge is sizeable as the elite ASP circuits and WQS are changing format in 2010. In order to make the two tours more competitive, the ASP will tighten the elite Tour to just 32 surfers in the course of the season (after Tahiti). Consequently, the early events of 2010 will be crucial for Jérémy Florès. He must place inside the world’s Top 32 before the Tahiti cut off point, in order to challenge at events such as The Quiksilver Pro France, in September, which will only include the Top 32 surfers .
The arrival of best 13 surfers of the WQS in September will again make the events even more competitive and will toughen the process of qualification for the elite Tour the following season.
BEN HOWARD REACHES 4th ON THE iTUNES DOWNLOAD CHART!
BEN HOWARD REACHES NUMBER 4 ON THE ITUNES ALBUM CHART
Quiksilver Musician Ben Howard reached number 4 in the itunes album chart after a great performance on French TV Programme "One Shot Not" (French version of Jools Holland). Ben Howard's EP "These Waters" was the 4th most downloaded album last week, coming just behind the Black Eyed Peas. It's an amazing result for Ben! He'll be on tour supporting Australian Musician Xavier Rudd across Europe this month.
Check out www.myspace.com/benhoward for ticket info.
Tour Dates
8th Feb: Dublin Academy, Dublin
9th Feb: O2 ABC, Glasgow
11th Feb: Academy 2, Manchester
12th Feb: Princess Pavillions, Falmouth
13th Feb: 02 Shepherds Bush Empire, London
15th Feb: Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
16th Feb: Paard, Den Haag
17th Feb: Paradiso, Amsterdam
18th Feb: Effenaar, Eindhoven
20th Feb: Bataclan, Paris
21st Feb: Bierhubeli, Bern
22nd Feb: Kaufleuten, Zurich
JAMIE NICHOLLS GETS RESULTS AT THE BEO!
Jamie Nicholls is going from strength to strength during his first full season competing on the TTR circuit. After making the finals at the O'Neill Evolutions six star event in Davos on a very challenging couse Jamie backed that up with a 13th place at the premier European event of the season; The Burton European Open. To pu this achievement in perspective Jamie had to come through two rounds of qualifications just to get into the semi finals, competing against 119 other riders. Here the 32 invited riders joined the competition. Jamie qualified 10th for the final beating fellow Quiksilver rider and Olympic bronze medalist Markku Koski. The standard in the finals was rediculous with 10s and 12s and double corks going down, the top 10 riders all scored in the 80's out off 100 which as a TTR judge I can tell you is unusual. Check out Jamie's semi final runs below. It's only a matter of time before we see him on the podium!
Maxime Huscenot Takes Out ASP World Junior Championships
Quiksilver Team rider Maxime Huscenot (REU), 17, and Roxy Team rider Laura Enever (AUS), 18, have claimed their respective ASP World Junior Titles, dominating the punchy two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves on offer at North Narrabeen for the final day of the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships fueled by Monster Energy.
Huscenot, who received entry into the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships as an ASP International wildcard, wowed spectators and surfers alike today, besting an in-form Jadson Andre (BRA), 19, in the hard-fought Final to claim the ASP World Junior Title.
“This is the biggest day of my life and it’s absolutely unbelievable,” Huscenot said. “It feels like I just won a heat, not the ASP World Title – it’s incredible. Jadson (Andre) is an amazing surfer and the whole Brazilian team rips so hard. I cannot believe it is my day. I am at a loss for words.”
A relative unknown at the international level prior to this year’s showdown at North Narrabeen, Huscenot bested a bevy of the world’s hottest up-and-coming surfers to take the prestigious title and emphatically announce himself as a force on the world surfing stage.
“I knew I was not a big name coming here,” Huscenot said. “Jadson was the best surfer, doing massive air reverses that I cannot even dream of doing. But I just surfed the best I could and I guess the judges appreciated it. I never dreamed I would be here. I was injured in October and couldn’t surf for a month. But I trained hard and got the wildcard here and once I made it past the fourth round, I knew it was going to be a good event for me. It feels amazing to be the first Frenchman to claim the ASP World Junior Title.”
Candide Thovex: Winning return to competition
The icon of the Quiksilver ski team, Candide Thovex (France) clinches the second edition of the Redbull Linecatcher 2010 in Vars.
Candide Thovex’s victory marks a stunning return to competition after a long absence.
Originally from Clusaz, this super talented freestyle skier, three-times winner of the X Games, had to put his career on hold after a serious injury and focused instead on directing and producing images for ‘Candide Kamera’, showing his exploits in a more free and creative arena.
The evolution of Freeride competitions, that currently favour backcountry freestyle (tricks done on natural parks) has motivated Candide’s return to competition.
Following this victory, he has confirmed that he will participate in the first stage of the Free Ride World Tour in Krasnaya Polyana in Russia on the 21st of January.
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