The 2009 ASP tour is shaping up to be a tale of two seasons. That's certainly how Mick Fanning, Kelly Slater and CJ Hobgood are viewing it now after Joel Parkinson exited stage left early over in France today.

Parko lost to local boy Patrick Beven, who is surfing in his hometown. While Beven looked comfortable in the small beachbreak conditions, Parko's tender ankle--despite his denials--looked to be hampering him.

Joan Duru seemed determined to back Beven up in the very next heat against Kelly Slater. He opened their match up with a 9.0 score. But Slater kept his composure and came firing back with one of his most inspiring performances of the season, destroying the small stuff on his little 5'10".

Mick Fanning looked laser sharp, too, while disposing of highly-touted wild card Julian Wilson in the small stuff. Fanning, hot off his Trestles win, is best positioned to catch Parko since he's currently in the number 2 slot in the rankings. He faces Jordy Smith next.

It's not a good time to be Parko with the Fanning and Slater threats are looming.

Slater will face Michel Bourez next, and payback will be fueling his fire since he lost to the Tahitian here two years ago. But Kelly is also trying to break through a mental barrier of sorts, because he's only won in France one time, and that was eons ago. Slater won his first ever ASP event at Hossegor way back in 1992 (do the math on that) defeating Gary Elkerton in the final of the Rip Curl Pro Landes. For what it's worth, Bourez was six at the time.

With the swell dropping word on the street is the event will finish tomorrow in more lackluster conditions, so advantage seems to be tilting toward the Floridians like Slater and Hobgood. But if we've learned anything this year it's that nobody can be taken lightly.


QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 2: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 4: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Patrick Beven (FRA)
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 6: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 8: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)