Air strikes, canceled flights, lost boards. Matt Banting had to work a little magic to get to France but never flinched. It's somewhat fitting given the story of his year to date, grinding away on the QS to capture multiple contest wins and finding himself on top of the WQS ratings going into his Pro France wildcard debut.

After finally arriving on the balmy southwest France coastline, Matty flexed his pro-surfer carte blanche muscles and went straight to Euroglass to load up some new sticks. He then of course got busy warming up before the circus arrives to the normally sleepy town of Hossegor.

The ASP had this to say on Matt's climb to #1 on the WQS this year:

"Fresh-faced Banting broke out this year with a few big wins that shot him to the top of the QS. He kicked off 2014 with a win at the 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro, beating seasoned surfer and tube-master Nathan Hedge with a pair of nine-point rides in the Final. His next title win was the Los Cabos Open of Surf, another high-rated event, where he ousted World Championship Tour (WCT) campaigner Dion Atkinson(AUS).

Banting cemented his place atop the QS the next month by taking the Prime-rated Vans US Open Junior Pro in a four-man Final. Poised for a spot on the 2015 elite Tour, the French contest will be a good time to get acquainted with him. In Round 1, he's matched up against Kelly Slater(USA) and fellow Aussie Matt Wilkinson."