In pumping 10 foot-plus surf at Sunset Beach yesterday, Michel Bourez (TAH) claimed the Vans World Cup of Surfing title ahead of the Hawaiian trio; Dusty Payne, Ian Walsh and Sebastian Zietz.
Michel Bourez was stoked on his win at the Vans World Cup of Surfing.
Victory at Sunset was the Spartan’s third event win of the season, adding to his two WCT victories earlier in 2014. “I knew that I was going to make the final, but to win it was amazing” claimed the confident Tahitian on the podium. And that’s the kind of self-assuredness you need to not only take on one of the world’s most powerful and tricky waves, but to beat a field consisting of some of the world’s best surfers. And beat them he did with a solid 18.13 heat total, the final day’s highest.
Michel clinched the title with this grinding tube in the final.
Jordy Smith impressed during Round 4 when he scored a near-perfect 9.93 to grab the heat win and advance to the quarter finals. Beyrick De Vries wasn’t quite so lucky in the same heat meanwhile, only managing a 2.63 heat total as he searched for a wave in the four man match-up. Needing to finish at least runner-up in the event to qualify for the Dream Tour, Beyrick will be disappointed to have been eliminated in Round 4. But his performance at Sunset Beach in 2014 adds to the strong reputation he has built up at the heavy North Shore break after last year’s heroics.
Jordy tore this Sunset wave apart in Round 4 to secure a spot in the quarter finals.
In the quarter finals, Jordy couldn’t find the high-scoring sets he did in the previous round and was eliminated in fourth place behind Chris Ward (USA), Jonathan Gonzales (CNY) and Dusty Payne. Dusty then went on to dust his opponents in the semis, before finishing second in the final to secure his re-qualification for next year’s Dream Tour. The Hawaiian also leads the Vans Triple Crown ahead of Michel Bourez and will be looking to clinch the crown at Pipe to finish his year with a bang.
Go to aspworldtour.com to check out all the heat reviews, results and photos from the Vans World Cup of Surfing.
