Taking place in two to 2.5 metre (six to eight foot) conditions at La Graviere, and with the early elimination of Kelly Slater (USA) in the quarter finals, Irons put the pedal to metal to defeat Damien Hobgood (USA) in the 35 minute battle royale, defeating him 17.00 out of 20 to 12.83.
Irons went straight to work from the onset of the final, notching up small scores but really drove it home after 12 minutes, scoring a 7.67 on a strong left breaking wave. Hobgood meanwhile had yet to catch a wave.
Irons then paddled straight back into the lineup and launched into a huge backhand attack hitting the lip numerous times to notch up a 9.33. Hobgood was still yet to score and was well and truly behind the eight ball.
Hobgood tried to peg Irons back with a 7.50 for a deep tube with 19 minutes remaining but it was too late as the Irons stagecoach had run away. “I love this event!†shouted Irons who danced on the podium while tipping Foster’s all over the huge crowd gathered in front. “I can’t believe that I’ve won here again. I want to move here! I love the people I love the food and I love the waves! I’m just so stoked and Kelly is going to have to wait to pop the champagne cork for a little longer.â€
Irons paid tribute to the thousands of fans who lined the beach and cheered him every step of the way and was pleased with the tactic he used to defeat Hobgood who he knew would be looking for the tube.
“The French are such diehard fans,†he said. “They were on the beach when it was raining. It was such a unique vibe and it really pumps you up to get a really good score. I saw it was a little crumbly out there and I knew that Damien would be looking for the barrel and luckily he only got that one. On my waves I just did as many turns as I could and it paid off. Bring on Brazil!â€
Hobgood, who was the form surfer going into the final was obviously disappointed with his finals performance and was unavailable for comment.
It was a tremendous day of surfing all round as conditions early morning were nothing short of perfect at La Nord, located 500 hundred metres south of the finals stage at La Graviere, with organisers opting to move to La Graviere after round four.
In his earlier round four heat, Irons defeated Mark Occhilupo (AUS) in what was a truly memorable showdown. With both scoring deep tube after deep tube, Irons claimed that he will remember that heat as his favourite of all time.
Occhilupo even invited Irons to catch a wave with him after the heat and they “high-fived†as they rode to the shore.
Although hanging on by his fingertips, Irons is still in the running for his fourth Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour Crown and another situation like today in the next event will see Irons breathing down Slater’s neck come the grand finale at Pipeline, Hawaii.
Heading through the Quiksilver Pro France finishing gates in equal third place was tour stalwart Victor Ribas (BRA) and Australian Taj Burrow.
For Ribas, it was his best result for the year and a much needed placing that will move him up the ratings and help him maintain his place on the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour. The flyweight Brazilian was very proud of his result and will gain extra confidence for the next event in front of his fellow countrymen.
“The conditions were very tough out there,†said the quietly spoken Ribas. “It was very different at high tide with the wind and it was very bumpy. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the good waves today but I’m very happy to be up there with all the good surfers like Damien and Andy. I’m stoked with my third placing because it will help me a lot. Surfing is my life and not to be on the WCT would be devastating for me. Everybody is going to be stoked in Brazil for sure and I can’t wait to get there to surf in front of all the support.â€
Taj Burrow, who scored his second event third placing in succession, was disappointed as expected, but like Ribas is eager to get to Brazil as he won there last year. In losing to Irons he struggled to find quality waves and was washed around by the current and the backwash. He also admitted that his tactics may have been wrong.
