La Sauzaie (Monday, April 25, 2011) -- Tim Boal (Anglet, FRA) 27, has won the<br />Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Protest Vendee Pro<br />defeating Alain Riou (Tahiti, PYF) 27, in a close fought Final that saw the<br />lead swap several times in 3ft (1m) shifting peaks at the main event site of<br />La Sauzaie.<br /><br />Boal, who won the Vendee contest in 2007, led early with two solid rides<br />before Riou turned the tables on the former Asp Dream Tour member with a<br />long deep barrel and a succession on turns to score an 8.43 out of 10, the<br />highest of the Final and place Boal on the ropes.<br /><br />"It was fun for sure that Final but not when Alain got that 8.50.(laughs) I<br />thought it was going to be won with maximum two sevens because the waves are<br />getting really inconsistent and it is hard to get the good waves. Then I saw<br />that wave of his and thought 'There goes my plan'", commented Boal on his<br />opponents excellent barrel ride. <br /><br />With less than 10 minutes remaining, a mistake on priority by Riou was<br />capitalized upon by Boal who laid down three forehand smashes to claim 7.50<br />out of 10 and secure the lead and the narrowest of wins by only 0.03 of a<br />point. <br /><br />"He let me go on that last one and I wasn't sure if I had the score or not.<br />I was expecting him to paddle for it but I needed a high score and it didn't<br />look that good at first so in his position I would have left it too. In the<br />end it turned out to be a good wave and it went my way I guess."<br /><br />Boal, who claimed the Asp 5-Star event held in Gran Canaria last November,<br />has gained even more confidence leading into the upcoming all important Asp<br />Prime rated events scheduled for the first half of the season.
