| Winter Wins Animal British Cup |
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| Tuesday, 16 October 2007 | |
  Britain’s top surfer Russell Winter dominated the waves of his home break at Fistral Beach to win the Animal British Cup in September.The ‘British bulldog’ took time off the WQS Tour and displayed flawless talent to prove that he is still the number one power surfer in the UK. Contest organizers and Animal made the call to move the event from Tolcarne to Fistral to gain the near perfect conditions. Early standouts were Sam Lamiroy, Tom Butler and Animals riders Alan Stokes and Mitch Corbett. The man on man format was welcomed by the competitors allowing them to concentrate of their surfing rather than hassling for waves in a four man heat. The semi finals were held in classic A-frame low tide peaks and the level of surfing was unbelievable as Russ raised the bar. Johnny Fryer applied the pressure but not even a spectacular no hands punt air from Fryer could stop the Bulldog as he consistently tore apart set waves lifting buckets of spray to draw nines and tens from the judges.  The other semi saw two of the hottest young talents battle it out for the right to face Russ in the final. Oli Adams laid some big turns down but couldn’t match the intensity of Matt Capel who just edged him out. The final was almost textbook for Russ who opened with an 8.12 and backed it up with a 9.33. Young gun Capel clawed his way back with a series of massive air manoeuvres that had the crowd on the beach gasping. But it was not enough to stop the ‘bulldog’ from winning the British Cup. The second half of the British Cup concluded on Sunday with everyone still buzzing from the previous days action. The surf had dropped a bit in size but was being groomed by a light offshore wind making for perfectly formed and zippy little waves ideally suited for the Longboards, Women and Junior sections. British Longboarding boasts a wealth of talent at the moment and not surprisingly it was European Champion Elliott Dudley who pushed the World number two Ben Skinner all the way in the final with Skinner ultimately coming out on top. The women’s division was dominated by the young new crew and three girls under 16 made the final but none were strong enough to beat Animal team rider Easky Britton. The Junior competition was cut throat as usual with tough heats right from the first round. Jayce Robinson came out on top by laying down some massive turns in the now tiny waves at the end of the day. Bookmark this item              |