The Roxy Pro and a chat with Steph

With the Roxy Pro poised to kick off tomorrow morning, we shoved Sammy towards an upbeat and confident Steph Gilmore for a quick chat about France, surf, and Led Zeppelin.

Wavelength: Hi Steph. How are you and when did you arrive here in Hossegor?
Steph: Hey, I’m good thanks. I only just got here last night all the way from Trestles, so I’m feeling pretty jet lagged and surreal that I am here.

Wavelength: Is Hossegor one of your favourite stops on the tour?
Steph: I love competing in France, as the waves are so varied and I love the culture and the people here.

Wavelength: Is it one of your favourite places to surf in Europe?
Steph: I guess it is but I actually haven’t surfed all of Europe. I would love to surf more of the Mediterranean spots. I have been to London and Newquay though.

Wavelength: How did you find Newquay?
Steph: It was definitely interesting, the people love to party. The one thing that really sticks out is seeing battered meat pies being sold.

Wavelength: Are you doing anything different this year on tour than the previous ones?
Steph: I am. Previously I always used to ride the same board in every event, as it was kind of a superstitious thing that it was my lucky board. But this year I have used a different board in each event to suit the type of wave I am surfing.

Wavelength: And finally my last question. What has been the best question that you’ve been asked since you got here?
Steph: I haven’t been asked any outrageous questions; I guess just what type of music I’m listening to at the moment.

Wavelength: What was your answer to that?
Steph: I’ve been listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin at the moment.

We’ll be harassing more WCT super stars as the week goes on…

Roxy Pro France Reignites Red-Hot World Title Race for World’s Best Surfers

The world’s best female surfers have converged on the Southwest Coast of France to contest Stop No. 8 of 10 on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, the Roxy Pro France, from September 23 – 29, 2014.

The Roxy Pro France, held in the idyllic beachbreaks of Hossegor and Seignosse, will recommence this season’s race for the ASP World Title with Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Carissa Moore (HAW) leading the 18-woman field.

Fitzgibbons has been in sterling form this season, posting back-to-back wins in Rio de Janeiro and Fiji as well as a Runner-Up finish at Trestles last week, as she contends for a long-elusive maiden world crown.

The say the ASP World Title race is a ‘marathon’ and not a ‘sprint’ and that’s definitely proving the case this season,” Fitzgibbons said. “I’m in a good position, but I’d love to put a few more wins on the board before the year is finished. I had a good run here in France last year and I’m looking to repeat this season.”

Gilmore, a five-time ASP Women’s World Champion, kicked off the 2014 season with a big win at home on the Gold Coast and put on a blistering performance last week at Trestles to put her back in the hunt for a sixth title.

“I’m feeling good after the win at Trestles,” Gilmore said. “I think I finally got to surf the way I wanted on quality waves and I think it’s given me a good momentum heading into the last few events of the season. I love France and it looks like we have good surf on the horizon.”

Moore, the reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion, opened up the season with a number of impressive finishes including back-to-back wins at Margaret River and the Gold Coast, but has struggled in recent events. The phenomenal Hawaiian will look to realign her 2014 campaign here in France.

“France is my opportunity to rebound,” Moore said. “I really wanted to do well at Trestles, but it didn’t happen for me and I’ve moved on from it. The girls are all surfing really well so I’m looking forward to this event and hopefully we get more good surf.”

Surfline, official forecasters for the Roxy Pro France are calling for: Fading swell Tuesday. New swell due to fill in through the day Wednesday and continue through the end of the week. Possible reinforcing swell for the weekend 9/27-28.

Event organizers will convene tomorrow morning at 7:30am (local time) to assess conditions and make a call for the day.

The event will be webcast live via www.aspworldtour.com and www.youtube/ASP.