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\nLIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com <\/p>\n
Billabong Pro Tahiti
\nStop No 3. of 10 on the 2007 Foster\u0092s ASP World Tour Teahupoo, Taiarapu, Tahiti May 4-14, 2007<\/p>\n
\nLIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com <\/p>\n
FANNING IN EARLY TO KILL TEAHUPOO HOODOO <\/p>\n
TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Monday, April 23rd, 2007) \u0096 Australian surfers Taj Burrow (AUS) and Mick Fanning (AUS) will enter the Billabong Pro Tahiti ranked equal 1st in the world when the Foster\u0092s ASP World Tour heads to Tahiti from May 4-14, 2007. <\/p>\n
Fanning and Burrow dominated the Australian leg of the tour claiming events at Snapper Rocks and Bells Beach respectively, but neither has earned ultimate honors at Teahupoo, the third of 10 stops on this year\u0092s tour.Fanning, who has claimed elite tour victories in Australia, Brazil and South Africa, has never won an event in the South Pacific, in fact, he finished dead last in the Billabong Pro Tahiti in 2006. <\/p>\n
A stellar start to his 2007 title campaign prompted Fanning to fly to Tahiti for the past week to get in some extra practice, the only tour surfer to do so. Landing into a perfect 3m swell, the skillful natural footer clocked up some invaluable tube riding experience at the nerve racking break. <\/p>\n
He will return to Australia tomorrow morning, while the Billabong Pro Tahiti\u0092s precursor, The Air Tahiti Nui Von Zipper Trials get underway. (April 24th-29th)<\/p>\n
\u0093I think to win in Tahiti would be an ultimate,\u0094 Fanning said.\t\u0093There are a few places that you dream of winning as a kid and I am sure this is one of them for every surfer.\u0094 <\/p>\n
\u0093I have never really done well in Tahiti,\u0094 he said. \u0093I feel comfortable there but maybe I have never backed myself at the location. <\/p>\n
\u0093This year I feel a lot better about the place and hope all the bad results I\u0092ve had there end this year.\u0094<\/p>\n
Burrow is coming off an equal 3rd finish at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast and a win at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and is looking to continue his momentum as the Dream Tour ventures into the South Pacific.<\/p>\n
\u0093I\u0092m stoked with my start to the year, but now its time to focus on Chopes,\u0094 Burrow said. \u0093It is a tough contest to win \u0096 there are a lot of guys who specialize there. <\/p>\n
\u0093I’ve had some really good results in the past with a 2nd and a 3rd but winning Chopes is what counts, and that\u0092s what I’ll be going for. <\/p>\n
\u0093I think I can do it, I will just go into the event taking all the experience and balls that I have and go for it.\u0094<\/p>\n
Long touted as Australia\u0092s big hope to regain the Foster\u0092s ASP World Title from the American and Hawaiian dynasties, Burrow admits that the fire still burns within to capture surfing\u0092s most sought-after crown.<\/p>\n
His recent string of results and level of surfing has been attributed to a return to focus in training and diet, something absent in the 28-year-old\u0092s previous title campaigns. <\/p>\n
\u0093Well as far as the title goes, it would mean the world to me if I was the next Aussie world champ,\u0094 Burrow said. \u0093That\u0092s what I’ve been fighting for my whole career.\t<\/p>\n
\u0093It is a huge task to win a world title, but it\u0092s there for the taking and that\u0092s what I’m aiming to do this year.\u0094<\/p>\n
Widely considered one of Mother Nature\u0092s most dangerous creations, the barreling beast has seen American surfers secure victories in seven out of eight elite tour events held there. <\/p>\n
Last year, Californian rookie Bobby Martinez (USA) won the contest. Former ASP world champions Kelly Slater (USA), CJ Hobgood (USA) and Andy Irons (HAW) as well as tour stalwart Cory Lopez (USA) dominated proceedings in years prior.<\/p>\n
Australian Mark Occhilupo won the inaugural ASP World Tour event in Tahiti in 1999 \u0096 the same year he went on to secure the ASP World Title. An Australian has not won in Tahiti or earned an ASP World Title since.<\/p>\n
Irons, former three-time ASP World Champion, won the Billabong Pro Tahiti in 2002, but hasn\u0092t featured in a final there since.\tIrons finished a disappointing 33rd in the first event on the 2007 Foster\u0092s ASP World Tour, but bounced back to earn runner-up honors at stop No. 2 in Bells Beach, Australia. <\/p>\n
The former champ will be eager to maintain that momentum and keep himself in title contention at the Billabong Pro Teahupoo. He currently sits an uncharacteristic 10th in the ratings.<\/p>\n
\u0093I can\u0092t wait, I\u0092m really looking forward to Tahiti,\u0094 Irons said. \u0093Teahupoo is one of my favorite events on tour and this year the pressure is on the guys at the top. I<\/p>\n
\u0093I\u0092ll just be sneaking around, hovering in the back 10 and hopefully making some more ground.\u0094<\/p>\n
The Air Tahiti Nui Von Zipper Trials will begin tomorrow, Apr. 24, 2007, and will be an event in itself. The six-day trials will feature an 80-surfer draw consisting of 40 local Tahitian Teahupoo specialists as well as 40 respected international invitees. <\/p>\n
The Air Tahiti Nui Von Zipper Trials will award two highly-coveted wildcard entries into the Billabong Pro Tahiti to the winner and runner-up on Apr. 29, 2007.<\/p>\n
The third official event wildcard will go to Hira Terinatoofa (PYF), the dangerous Tahitian who has a penchant sticking it to the world\u0092s best.<\/p>\n
The waiting period for the Billabong Pro Teahupoo begins May 4, 2007. Early swell predictions indicate a high level of activity in the South Pacific, meaning promising conditions for the idyllic location of Teahupoo, Tahiti.<\/p>\n
The Billabong Pro Teahupoo will be webcast on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com. <\/p>\n
PAST BILLABONG PRO TEAHUPOO CHAMPIONS:
\n2006: Bobby Martinez (USA)
\n2005: Kelly Slater (USA)
\n2004: CJ Hobgood (USA)
\n2003: Kelly Slater (USA)
\n2002: Andy Irons (HAW)
\n2001: Cory Lopez (USA)
\n2000: Kelly Slater (USA)
\n1999: Mark Occhilupo (AUS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Billabong Pro Tahiti Stop No 3. of 10 on the 2007 Foster\u0092s ASP World Tour Teahupoo, Taiarapu, Tahiti May 4-14, 2007 LIVE on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com FANNING IN EARLY TO KILL TEAHUPOO HOODOO TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Monday, April 23rd, 2007) \u0096 Australian surfers Taj Burrow (AUS) and Mick Fanning (AUS) will enter the Billabong Pro Tahiti … Continue reading “BILLABONG PRO TAHITI \u0096 WORLD\u0092S HEAVIEST WAVE NEXT STOP ON ASP TOUR”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}