Stephanie Gilmore out, Sally Fitzgibbons, Tyler Wright advance at US Open

AUSTRALIAN Stephanie Gilmore has been dislodged from her podium position in the world title race after her shock second round elimination at the US Open.

Aussie surfer Stephanie Gilmore‘s bid for a seventh world title has suffered a setback

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AN out-of-sorts Stephanie Gilmore has been dislodged from her podium position in the world surfing title race after her worst result of the season saw her a shock second round elimination at the US Open.

The loss, at the hands of a French wildcard at Huntington Beach, is a major blow to Gilmore’s bid to win a record equalling seventh world crown and will see her concede third place in the title race.

Australia went into women’s world tour event dominating the world rankings with world champion Tyler Wright leading from Sally Fitzgibbons and Gilmore.

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Both Wright and Fitzgibbons advanced directly into the third round with first up wins at the US Open to keep alive their quests to stay top of the rankings heading into the second half of the season.

Australian Stephanie Gilmore has posted her worst result of the year in the US.

And while former world champion Carissa Moore and one of the favourites for the 2017 crown, Courtney Conlogue, managed to navigate out of the elimination second round, Gilmore did not.

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Gilmore was taken out by French surfer Maud Le Car, ranked 29th on the world qualifying series, in punchy conditions at the famed Huntington Beach Pier.

“My positioning in round one was really bad,” Gilmore said.

Stephanie Gilmore failed to find her groove at the US Open.

“I was too close to the pier, so my plan this time was to really stay up a bit and maybe find a right.

“I don’t know, I couldn’t really find them and the lefts are pretty hard to surf — super fast and steep.

“I was a little confused out there. Disappointing result, for sure.”

The loss opens the way for both Wright and Fitzgibbons to extend their leads but also for the likes of Conlogue to move up the world rankings with a top result in the event.