Sunday, June 5, 2005 (Hossegor, France): Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore won the Rip Curl Venus Festival trials in offshore, 4 to 6 foot (1 to 1.5m) conditions in Hossegor, France today. The victory earns the 17-year-old her third wildcard entry into a main event on the 2005 Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT) this season.

She will meet reigning world champion Sofia Mulanovich (AUS) and Samantha Cornish (AUS)in round one of the Rip Curl Venus Fesitval WCT.

Gilmore put Marie Pierre Abgrall (FRA) in a combination situation after adding a 9.70 – the score awarded by the judges for her series of critical hacks on a huge, open-faced left – to the 8.25 she’d earned early in the heat.

“I’m loving it. The waves are good and I think the best part of it was actually winning it going left. It’s something I need to work on, and this has been the perfect place to do that,” said Gilmore, who surfs predominately right-hand waves at home on the Gold Coast.

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“It’s awesome to have the opportunity to visit places like Hossegor and surf against local girls and win a place in a ‘CT again.”

Local girl Abgrall, who in 2002 became the first-ever French woman to compete on the WCT, surfed well in previous heats but was no match for Gilmore in the final. The young Aussie was so confident about her impending victory that she exited the water three minutes before the heat ended.

“The waves changed with the high tide. They were fatter and it was hard for me against Stephanie because she’s so very good,” Abgrall said. “I’m happy for her though.”

Abgrall, who currently sits in 24th on the World Qualifying Series (WQS), beat Jessi Miley-Dyer, the No. 2 ranked WQS surfer and winner of the wildcard awarded at Bells Beach earlier this year, in the semifinals. Miley-Dyer was seeded first going into the semis.

“There were really good waves, but Marie had two great scores really early, and that’s always a bad situation to be in,” Miley-Dyer said. “I was just sitting out there waiting for the bomb sets, because when someone’s got a 9.5 and 7.0 - two unreal scores – you know you’ve got to do something good to get anywhere near them. I waited for a good wave, got that 8.0, but that wasn't enough.”

Gilmore gained admission into the final after beating Julia Christian (USA) in the semis. Christian, like Abrall, surfed on the WCT in 2002 but failed to earn a spot the following year. The Californian is now trying to requalify via the WQS.

“It was a little frustrating in the last heat because the waves got a little bit funky, but that’s alright,” Christian said. “I think if I get a couple of decent results on the ‘QS… maybe get into a few finals, I’ll requalify for the ‘CT. Right now I’m in 13th, even missing an event, so I’m hanging in there.”

Christian and Miley-Dyer will surf the trials at Rip Curl’s Malibu, California contest in October.

“I like Malibu because it’s close to home and I feel comfortable there. They have the trials at Leo Carillo and it’s a fun wave, so I’m stoked, I love rights,” Christian said.

If conditions hold, it’s likely that rounds one, two and possibly three, of the Rip Curl Venus Festival WCT will run tomorrow. A call will be made at 8:00 local time. Log on to www.aspworldtour.com and www.ripcurl.com/venusfestival to catch all of the action LIVE.