RYAN Callinan will return to the scene of his breakthrough performance on the championship tour looking to get his promising campaign for a top 10 finish back on track. The 27-year-old from Merewether takes on Brazilians Deivid Silva and Peterson Crisanto in the seeding round of the France Pro, which appears likely to start on the opening day of the contest window on Thursday. Overhead peaks are forecast for the competition area, which takes in Capbreton, Hossegor and Seignosse in southern France. Callinan dropped a spot to 12th on the CT with a 17th place at the Freshwater Pro at Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch in California last month. That followed another 17th place at the Tahiti Pro. Before that, Callinan was ninth on tour and the top-ranked Australian in the battle for a Tokyo 2020 Olympics berth. He now sits behind Owen Wright (seventh) and Julian Wilson (ninth) among Australians. Although recently slipping slightly in the standings, the goofy-footer has come a long way since his last time at the France Pro. In 2018, Callinan came to the event as an injury replacement following his major victory on the qualifying series at the Ericeira Pro in Portugal. The win at the 10,000-point contest all but secured his return to the CT, where he competed for one year in 2016. Surfing with freedom and confidence, Callinan was a giant-killer in France, downing Wright, Filipe Toledo, Adriano De Souza, Willian Cardoso, Jordy Smith and Conner Coffin before going down 15.34-14.23 to Wilson in the final. READ MORE: Callinan runner-up in France | photos, videos With the goal of finishing in the top 10 this year, he maintained that form to make the semi-finals at Bells Beach, the quarters at Margaret River and round of 16 at Bali and J-Bay.
THROUGH THE ROOF: Merewether's Ryan Callinan smashes the lip during his memorable run at the France Pro last year. It is the ninth stop of the 11-event championship tour. Picture: WSL
RYAN Callinan will return to the scene of his breakthrough performance on the championship tour looking to get his promising campaign for a top 10 finish back on track.
The 27-year-old from Merewether takes on Brazilians Deivid Silva and Peterson Crisanto in the seeding round of the France Pro, which appears likely to start on the opening day of the contest window on Thursday.
Overhead peaks are forecast for the competition area, which takes in Capbreton, Hossegor and Seignosse in southern France.
Callinan dropped a spot to 12th on the CT with a 17th place at the Freshwater Pro at Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch in California last month. That followed another 17th place at the Tahiti Pro.
Before that, Callinan was ninth on tour and the top-ranked Australian in the battle for a Tokyo 2020 Olympics berth. He now sits behind Owen Wright (seventh) and Julian Wilson (ninth) among Australians.
Although recently slipping slightly in the standings, the goofy-footer has come a long way since his last time at the France Pro.
In 2018, Callinan came to the event as an injury replacement following his major victory on the qualifying series at the Ericeira Pro in Portugal. The win at the 10,000-point contest all but secured his return to the CT, where he competed for one year in 2016.
Surfing with freedom and confidence, Callinan was a giant-killer in France, downing Wright, Filipe Toledo, Adriano De Souza, Willian Cardoso, Jordy Smith and Conner Coffin before going down 15.34-14.23 to Wilson in the final.
With the goal of finishing in the top 10 this year, he maintained that form to make the semi-finals at Bells Beach, the quarters at Margaret River and round of 16 at Bali and J-Bay.
