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American crowned in thrilling finale
by George Mojo
13/08/2007:// American Ben Bourgeois has been crowned the UK Rip Curl Boardmasters champion after winning a thrilling final in Cornwall.
In tricky 2-3ft waves, the form WCT surfer defeated Brazil's Heitor Alves at Newquay's Fistral Beach to win the title.
For Bourgeois, the win launches him to second on the WQS Ratings, just 24 points behind WQS Tour leader Portugal's Tiago Pires.
Newquay's Russell Winter has slipped down to 59th place in the rankings with 5813 points after the 31-year-old bowed out in round four of the tournament.
"I haven't won a contest in so long, so just being up there and getting that feeling is so awesome. I'm stoked," said Bourgeois after the presentation.
"I've been on a little roll lately and I just wanted to keep it going here in England. I was just trying to take it heat by heat and it all came out my way at the end. I'm so happy."
Bourgeois took control of the 35-minute final from the very start, locking in 5.33 and 7.33-point rides on his first two waves.
The North Carolina-born surfer then posted an 8.67 on his fourth wave to cement his spot in first with a two-wave combined score of 16.00 points.
Alves fought hard to come back, but the high-scoring waves he continually found all week eluded him when the time mattered most this afternoon.
"I am disappointed to not win the final, but I am so happy to finish second to Ben here in Newquay," said Alves.
"I think I surfed well this week, but just didn't get the right waves today in the final and missed the opportunities."
The Brazilian's road to the final was no easy task, facing current WQS No. 3 Jay Thompson in the semi-finals and Foster's ASP World Tour surfer Dayyan Neve in the quarters.
The small, fast conditions were perfectly suited with his radical style though and the goofy-footer overcame both hurdles with ease.
Thompson was happy to place equal 3rd today and take some winning momentum into the Sooruz Lacanau Pro, which starts in two days time.
"I was pumped coming into this event, because I really wanted to get another big result before heading to France for Lacanau and the Super Series," said Thompson.
"I planned to do well at the start of the year and I think the confidence I got from that has helped me get straight into the European leg. There are still plenty of big events left, so I hope to get a good result in France when the pressure is on."
Unlike the other finalists, Bourgeois flew under the radar for most of the contest, but stepped up to the mark on the final day of competition.
After eliminating European sensation Hodei Collazo in quarter-final two, we defeated current World No. 32 South African Royden Bryson in the semi-finals.
Bryson failed to find any rhythm in the semi-final, posting a low 8.97 two-wave combined heat score to all but give Bourgeois the win.
"This heat wasn't easy and neither of us got any great," said the South African.
"It's definitely a good result as it is the first and smallest event of the European summer leg. I love coming to Newquay, I have friends here and we've had a really good time," he said.
"This event is a warm-up and I am definitely looking forward to the two 6 Star WQS and the Super Series. I hope I can do good there as well."
The fifth place finish for Collazo has moved him up into the WQS Top 50 and cements his position as one of Europe's best surfers on tour right now.
"I'm a little bit disappointed, because I wanted to keep the good feeling rolling and get into the final," said Colllazo. "I never expected to reach a man-on-man quarter-final here, because it's always hard to surf these small tricky waves, so this result makes me so happy."
The 23-year-old Spanish Basque surfer moves to 4th on the 2007 European Pro Surf Tour with this result.
The 2008 Beachley Classic got underway this morning, completing Rounds 1 and 2 as well as the opening two heats of Round 3 at nearby Freshwater Beach in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves
Layne Beachley (AUS), 36, has officially announced her retirement from full-time competition, effective at the end of the year
Former Exeter University student Josh Lewin first heat at the Ocean and Earth Pro in the Canary Islands has been delayed because the 2ft surf was deemed uncontestable
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