Stephanie Gilmore Wins the Rip Curl Pro riding FCS
Stephanie Gilmore Wins the Rip Curl Pro riding FCS.In solid 4 to 6 foot clean conditions 2007 women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore claimed victory at Bells Beach riding FCS performance core DHD-2 fins. In an amazing seesawing battle Steph carved and snapped her way to victory by defeating the current ratings leader Sofia Mulanovich who was riding FCS PG-3’s.
The final was a high scoring battle with solid sets consistently pouring through the Bells Beach line up and as the heat ticked away it looked like Sofia would claim victory for the second time in as many events.
However in the final minutes Steph took off on a set wave and showed perfect technique and timing executing a long floater followed by two huge top turns to score a 9.33 and claim the Bell.
It was not an easy road to the final for Steph who came up against 7 times World Champion and FCS team rider Layne Beachley in the semi final. The semi was a close affair with both surfers pushing themselves to the limit, but it was Steph who found the better waves and utilised her flowing style on the long Bells walls.
Steph’s equipment obviously played a key roll in securing the victory.
In the lead up top the event she tried a number of different boards but it was not until she grabbed a fresh DHD fitted with FCS that she knew she’d found the magic board. With a winning smile Steph commented:
” I tried about six different boards before the event and they were going really well, then I tried this one with FCS and I knew straight away it was going to be a magic board. I used my DHD-2’s at Bells last year so I knew they would work out here today”.
Runner up and current ratings leader Sofia Mulanovich was also riding a board fitted with FCS throughout the entire event. Sofia rode FG-3’s and PC-3’s in the earlier rounds while the waves were smaller but decided to change to PG-3’s as wave heights increased for the final day.
Former WCT competitor and FCS Brand Ambassador Richie Lovett was on hand at the event and remarked, “The girls were absolutely ripping today.
Steph was doing some huge turns and she looked really comfortable on her board. Sofia was working on her fin selection throughout the event as the conditions changed and it obviously paid off, she was ripping all week”.
The majority of girls on the WCT choose to ride FCS fins in their boards as it gives them the flexibility and freedom to change their fins to suit a variety of different surf conditions.
For more information on all FCS fins visit: www.surffcs.com
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