quiksilver-europe.com

With their ranks having swelled from four to seven in the space of just a season, the European surfers in the Top 45 have made history, and have now got surfing's traditional powerhouse nations looking over their shoulders. Jérémy Florès has been in the Top 45 the longest of any of the Europeans.

Rookie of the year in 2007, 10th in 2008 and current world n°16 (after the South African leg), he's having a good start to the season, despite his rapidly evolving technique and physique. The Frenchman, born in Madagascar and raised in Reunion, is the natural leader of a group that boasts talents including: Miky Picon from south-west France, the Portuguese Tiago Pires, Euskadi's Aritz Aranburu and three newcomers: Michel Bourez (Tahiti), Marlon Lipke (Germany) and Tim Boal (France) who have taken their first successful steps into the world of the elite.