2005 Rip Curl Search WCT Reunion Island: Trials

An intense day of Trials competition at Reunion Island's picturesque Saint Leu break today saw the final four wildcard entrants for the inaugural Rip Curl Search WCT event decided.

In clean one metre waves, Spain's Pablo Gutierrez was clearly the outstanding competitor today, winning the four-man Optique Bourbon/Rip Curl Eyewear Trials final from Saint Leu local David Grainville, with Australian Travis Lynch third and Moroccan Abdel El Harim fourth.

The 16-man Trials field featured 10 Reunion Islanders and six Rip Curl team riders from five countries, who each surfed three times against different opponents in four-man heats. Gutierrez, a 23-year-old from Santander in Spain, was the only Triallist to win each of his three heats during the day and was a narrow victor in the Trials final, his best two waves producing a heat score of 12.75 points (out of a possible 20 points). Grainville's final heat score was 12.25, Lynch 10.00 and El Harim 7.50.

Gutierrez said after the win: "This will be only my second time in a WCT event, so I am really stoked, it's like a dream for me to surf against those guys. Saint Leu is a really good wave and hopefully it will be perfect for the WCT. Whatever happens, it will be a good learning experience for me."

Grainville was also excited at his first chance to take on the world's best, saying: "I am so stoked, but I will need to be lucky. I know it will be very difficult against the WCT guys, but I have no pressure on me, so I will just do my best."

Lynch, like Grainville, in his first WCT event, said: "Saint Leu is quite a tricky wave and I'm really glad to have had the chance to surf in the Trials to help me prepare for the main event. I'm happy to have made it and just see how I go against the top guys."

El Harim is in the same position as Lynch and Grainville, qualifying for his first WCT event. "I'm really happy to be in the main event, it is a dream for me."

Meanwhile over the past 72 hours, injury, illness and impending fatherhood has forced a record-equalling nine withdrawals by Top 45 surfers from the US$270,000 Rip Curl Search WCT event. The Top 45 surfers who have withdrawn are:

- CJ & Damien Hobgood (current world # 3 & # 7 respectively, CJ impending father, Damien injured)
- Chris Ward (current world #14, injured)
- Neco Padaratz (current world # 22, injured)
- Sunny Garcia (current world # 33, ill)
- Tim Curran (current world # 35, ill)
- Shane Beschen (current world # 37, impending father)
- Shea Lopez (current world # 38, injured)
- Toby Martin (current world # 42, injured)

Source: Surfing Magazine

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