It’s been a good year for you so far, what’s the secret?
Preparation. I did a lot of work in the offseason and throughout this year. This is my third year on tour now and I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of it. There are so many good surfers on tour that it takes a lot of work to stay at this level.

What’s your take on France?
It’s probably the best beachbreak in the world. I’ve had the biggest win of my career here, it was when I was on the WQS, so it would be nice to win a ‘CT here too. There are so many peaks and they’re always changing. You know, it can change so much in 30 minutes, so you always have to pay attention to what the conditions are doing, but that’s always what makes it interesting. I love it here.

After Europe you head back to Brazil, it must be nice to come home for a contest?
There’s a lot of pressure. I’m the highest rated Brazilian on tour and I feel like I’m carrying a lot of the country on my shoulders. I want to do good for everybody. Before I was on tour I got a couple wildcards into the event, so I’ve had more experience surfing that event than any other on tour.

Round 2 Quiksilver Pro France Results:
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) 15.50 def. Ricky Basnett (ZAF) 11.90
Heat 6: Jihad Khodr (BRA) 9.93 def. Andy Irons (HAW) n/s
Heat 7: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.5 def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 11.83
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.17 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 7.10
Heat 9: Kai Otton (AUS) 12.26 def. Leonardo Neves (BRA) 11.34
Heat 10: Mick Campbell (AUS) 12.66 def. Bruce Irons (HAW) 2.10
Heat 11: Luke Stedman (AUS) 15.43 def. Ben Bourgeois (USA) 14.84
Heat 12: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 13.00 def. Luke Munro (AUS) 10.23
Heat 13: Chris Ward (USA) 12.43 def. Royden Bryson (ZAF) 10.93
Heat 14: Tiago Pires (PRT) 15.50 def. Tim Reyes (USA) 14.84
Heat 15: Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.67 def. Jay Thompson (AUS) 13.17
Heat 16: Heitor Alves (BRA) 15.17 def. Mikael Picon (FRA) 4.77

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