Joel Parkinson is crispy black and smoking about now, and he needs help, because he's been struck by lightning twice in the past two weeks. Somebody needs to yank his ass inside and batten down the hatches--and quickly-- if they want to keep his title hopes alive. Because Mick Fanning, the man behind that lighting storm, is still looming, and right about now it looks like Parko just put a metal driver in his hand as the clouds are growing darker.

Fanning just won again at the Quiksilver Pro in France, defeating his mate Bede Durbidge in the Final with the same laser-sharp attack he's been bringing all year. While early on this season Mick's flashes looked pretty out there on the horizon, they weren't threatening anything or anyone. Up until last week Fanning had gone without a win since 2007, the year he won his title. But after back-to-back direct hits at Trestles and Les Bourdains in the span of a week, he's jolted this season's title race back to life with only three events left to go.

"It's back on for sure," says Fanning. "I'm just phsyced on heading into the rest of the season."

Fanning has pulled away from the rest of those giving chase with his wins, making it a two horse race now. Fanning was trailing Parko by more than 900 points heading into France, he now trails him by a scant 146 points as the tour heads to Spain.

Both CJ Hobgood and Kelly Slater were dealt serious blows today by failing to capitalize on Parko's second-straight early loss. Hobgood lost to Ben Dunn in the fourth round. Slater, meanwhile, made it to the quarterfinals, where Portugal's Tiago Pires--a frequent thorn in his side--defeated him in a close one.


Tiago is one of the only surfers who actually beat Slater last year during his amazing title run. Before his loss today, Slater was cautiously optimistic after Parko's loss on Saturday, "I don't smell blood yet," he said. "I'm still trying to find him in the forest."

Slater looked rattled by the loss. He knows now some clear-cutting will be necessary in Mundaka if he wants to keep his title hopes from fading to total blackness. Both he and CJ Hobgood have had success at Mundaka in the past, but the problem now is they're both chasing two surfers instead of one. The Australians must have a total meltdown for either to get his foot in the door.

In the meantime, Parko and Mick will be trying to slam it on each other.

Things just got a lot more interesting.

Results of Quiksilver Pro France 2009

1. Mick Fanning
2. Bede Durbidge
3. Patrick Beven, Tiago Pires
5. Ben Dunn, Bobby Martinez, Kelly Slater, Taj Burrow

CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10 (After Quiksilver Pro France):

1 - Joel Parkinson (AUS) 5896 points

2 - Mick Fanning (AUS) 5750 points

3 - C.J. Hobgood (USA) 4872 points

4 - Bede Durbidge (AUS) 4792 points

5 - Kelly Slater (USA) 4638 points

6 - Adriano de Souza (BRA) 4573 points

7 - Taj Burrow (AUS) 4417 points

8 - Damien Hobgood (USA) 4384 points

9 - Bobby Martinez (USA) 4314 points

10 - Taylor Knox (USA) 4216 points