A mixed day for the Dream Tour’s Euro boys at Jeffrey’s Bay today with Boal, Lipke, Aranburu and Tiago Pires all going out in the first round. Tim Boal and Micky Picon kicked things off at the Billabong Pro this morning, with a close fought heat that saw Picon take the win by just one point.

Aritz Aranburu and Michel Bourez put on an outstanding display of attacking surfing in heat 13, with Aranburu looking to have done enough, only for Bourez to storm through into round two with a blinding 8.5 point wave in the heat’s dying moments. Tiago Pires failed to find form against Australia’s Ben Dunn.

Micky Picon looked comfortable early on against CJ Hobgood in the first heat of round two, after defeating Boal in the first round. Having taken an early lead it seemed Picon had done what it takes to make the cut. However a late surge by Hobgood left Picon needing a 7.18 wave score to go through. In the dying seconds it looked like Picon had done enough, pulling out some super smooth floaters and powerful turns. He scored a 7.10, missing out by just 0.08 points, much to the surprise of those present, including Hobgood himself.

Jeremy Flores and Michel Bourez are the remaining representatives and will be looking to go far, with Flores eyeing a place in the World Tour’s top ten and Bourez desperate to reach his potential.