Second, second, third, second; that’s the consistency Bianca Buitendag has shown over the last four events on the 2015 Women’s Championship Tour. It makes you believe that her first Dream Tour victory will come sooner rather than later, and it has placed the Vic Bay local firmly at number four in the rankings following what can now be considered a slow start to the season.
Thanks to her home break and hard work, Bianca’s backhand is one of her strengths.
Carissa Moore (HAW), meanwhile, claimed the win over Bianca in the final of the Swatch Women’s Pro at Trestles, which moved her to first on the Jeep Leaderboard. Courtney Conlogue (USA) dropped to second and Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) lies in third – just 2050 ahead of Bianca. All three competitors above her in the rankings have recorded at least one event win this season, so to be in with a shot at a world title at the end of the year, that’s what Bianca will need to achieve.
She has been working hard towards it too. Straight after finishing third at the Vans US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, Bianca spent some time in France getting her fitness up and dialling in some good boards ahead of the event at Trestles:
Bianca also worked on her French while in France.
And the hard work appears to be paying off; “I love that Pottz,” said Rosy Hodge to Martin Potter in reference to Bianca’s improved repertoire on display in the semi-final against Lakey Peterson. “You mention how she is drifting the tail now. She’s adding that bit of variety that is giving her that extra edge.”
Now we’re amped to see how Bianca will perform in the next event in Portugal at the Cascais Women’s Pro between 22 – 28 September.
Mick’s surfing was faultless at Trestles.
In the Men’s title race, Mick Fanning (AUS) defeated Adriano de Souza (BRA) in the final of the Hurley Pro at Trestles – claiming the yellow jersey in the process as he jumped to first on the Jeep Leaderboard. Mick is notoriously strong through the European leg of the tour, so it’ll be up to the chasing group to stop the ‘White Lightning’ from achieving his fourth world title. That’s going to be tough to do considering Mick has appeared steely-focussed since before his encounter with a shark in the final of the J-Bay Open, but even more so since. With perennial challengers like Kelly Slater (USA) and Joel Parkinson (AUS) having already admitted defeat, and last year’s world champ all the way down the rankings in seventh place, Smart money would be on Fanning taking his fourth title.
It’s still tight at the top with less than 10 000 points (the total for winning an event) separating the top five – which is rounded out by Julian Wilson (AUS), whose back-to-back 13th place finishes suggest he hasn’t responded as well as Mick following their dramatic final in Jeffreys Bay.
Carissa Moore was unbeatable at Trestles and jumped to first in the world rankings.
Go to www.worldsurfleague.com to watch all the heat reviews, check out all the results, and see some photos of the action from the Hurley Pro and Swatch Women’s Pro at Trestles.
2015 Women’s Championship Tour Rankings:
1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 53,000pts
2 – Courtney Conlogue (USA) 48,600pts
3 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 42,800pts
4 – Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 40,750pts
5 – Lakey Peterson (USA) 39,000pts
See full rankings here.
2015 Men’s Championship Tour Rankings:
1 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 44,700pts
2 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 42,950pts
3 – Filipe Toledo (BRA) 39,700pts
4 – Owen Wright (AUS) 38,400pts
5 – Julian Wilson (AUS) 34,950pts
See full rankings here.
