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Australian wins first title at Bells
by George Mojo
12/04/2007:// Australian Taj Burrow rang in the changes to clinch his first ever Rip Curl Pro title at Bells Beach.
The Billabong team rider defeated fellow squad member Hawaiian Andy Irons in the final - three years after coming runner-up in the event.
The result catapults Burrow into second place in the World Championship Tour rankings behind Mick Fanning.
“It just feels too good to be true, I’m just so happy,” said Burrow after his victory. “This is my pick of any contest that I would like to win, so it just feels unbelievable. I’m so happy to get my name on the trophy with all of the other guys’ that have won the event. I’ve put a bit more work into this year so it’s good that I’m seeing some results.”
Burrow came from behind to beat Irons with just two minutes left on the clock when he scored a 9.00 point ride in the dying minutes of the final.
“I knew I had to ride it well because it was such a good wave,” said Burrow. “I was trying not to think about finishing the wave and everything around me or how many people were watching and how much pressure was on me. I just rode the thing to the end. Halfway through it I knew I had the score so I just started thrashing it around a little more and trying to put more into each of my turns. I just had that feeling where I went ‘Yes, I just nailed it!’ in the last few seconds and it felt unbelievable.”
It was Burrows first WCT victory since winning in Brazil in 2004.
“It feels unreal just to ring that thing finally,” Burrow said. “Having rung the little one, the big one’s a lot louder.”
Burrow is out to win his maiden world title this season.
“It’s early days and there are a lot of hungry guys out there for it, but I’m just stoked to have such a good start to the year,” said Burrow. “It’s unreal, it feels like a little changing of the guards, so I’m stoked to be a part of it.”
Irons, who was the Rip Curl Pro Champion in 2002 and 2003 as well as runner-up to Trent Munro in 2005, led for much of the final, but without a solid scoreline to buffer Burrow’s charge, was left defenseless and unable to answer back in the dying seconds of the heat.
“You never have it in the bag, especially in a final with a guy like Taj,” said Irons. “I knew there was another set coming in, I just wasn’t sure if it was a good one. There were two waves in my set but I don’t think that I would have got a 9.00 on my wave. I think Taj surfed well and smart in the end so he nailed it.”
The three-time world champion’s Rip Curl Pro Final berth was especially important after finishing last in the first event of the year on the Gold Coast.
Despite finishing second today, Irons was pleased to share the podium and Bell ringing responsibilities with Burrow.
“I’m stoked for him,” said Irons. “I’ve got two runner-ups and two wins at Bells and that’s not bad. Everyone writes you off as soon you I get a bad result so it feels good to show that I am still here and I’m not going anywhere.”
Irons, who is chasing his fourth world title this year was first to acknowledge that the Australians, Burrow and Fanning in particular, are anxious to make a charge.
“They’re hungry, they’re really hungry,” said Irons. “The last Aussie world champ was Occy in ‘99 so I’m sure that they are definitely going to have a big push this year. They’ve have always been up there, it is just a matter of putting the whole year together. There’s only been two events so will see how they do when it comes to the 10th event.”
Irons eliminated Fanning, who won the Rip Curl Pro as a wildcard in 2001, in the Semifinals. Fanning’s Round 3 wave and heat totals were the highest of the event.
Tom Whitaker, from Australia, currently rated 8th in the world also earned an equal 3rd result at the Rip Curl Pro. Whitaker finished in the Top 10 on last year’s Foster’s ASP World Tour ratings but still manages to sneak under the radar most of the time.
Whitaker earned his semifinal berth at the expense of eight-time world champion and defending Rip Curl Pro Champion American Kelly Slater, who now sits equal 4th in the ratings.
“I just need to sit down and think about where my head was at,” said Slater after his loss to Whitaker. “I generally don’t get that rattled in heats but I felt a little physically weak – I'm getting healthy again and I felt a little jittery. I fell on three or four different waves out there. There was one where I fell on my third turn and had I made that it could have been a different story. Tom played a good heat and he played the conditions just right.”
Teahupoo, Tahiti is the next stop on the Foster’s ASP World Tour. The world’s Top 45 surfers will reconvene there in early May.
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Cornwall's Ruebyn Ash put in a superb performance to reach his second European Pro Junior final of the season
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