Steph Gilmore Wins Rip Curl Pro Mademoiselle,

BACK IN ACTION: Steph Gilmore Wins Event Three Of ASP Women's World Tour
by Janna Irons
Copy Editor
Check out how your Women's Fantasy Surfer team fared.

If it seems you haven’t heard much about the Women’s World Tour, it’s because you haven’t. While the men’s tour busily hops from location to location, the women were granted a summer vacation of sorts: a five-month break between the second and third events of the season. Some rusty, some well rested, and some especially fired up, the girls came to Hossegor, France, for the Rip Curl Mademoiselle event raring to re-launch the season and re-order their rankings.

In 3- to 4-foot sloppy conditions, the event ran quickly, finishing in just two days. “The conditions can be amazing here in France, but it hasn’t been so kind to us today,” remarked eventual champ Steph Gilmore. By clinching a win against seven-time ASP Women’s World Champion Layne Beachley in the Final, Gilmore boosted herself into the leading position in the 2008 tour ratings above last year’s champ Sofia Mulanovich.

Now with two back-to-back wins under her belt, she’ll be brimming with confidence going into the next event, the Billabong Girls Pro Rio in Brazil in less than two weeks. “A lot of the girls have been competing on the WQS while the WCT has been on hiatus, so most of the girls have kept their competitive edge sharp,” says WCT surfer Nicola Atherton. “I think everyone is fired up because we all want a good start to for this next string of events—it’s pretty much back-to-back from here on.”

With the conclusion of the France event, the Women’s Tour has still yet to reach its halfway point. The remaining five events leave plenty of time for a mix-up in the ratings. It’s not too late to pick your Women’s Fantasy Surfer teams, so log on to Women.FantasySurfer.com, tune in to the event, and get in the running to win prizes.

Remaining Events in the 2008 Women's WCT Season

Sep 10-18 Billabong Girls Pro Rio
Barra da Tijuca/Macumba,Rio de Janeiro,RJ-Brazil

Oct 9-14 Beachley Classic
Northern Beaches,Sydney, NSW-Australia

Nov 3-8 Movistar Mancora Peru Classic presented by Rip Curl
Lobitos,Mancora,Piura-Peru

Nov 24-Dec 6 Roxy Pro
Sunset Beach,Oahu-Hawaii

Dec 8-20 Billabong Pro
Honolua Bay,Maui-Hawaii