Today the waiting period for the Billabong Rio Pro kicks-off and the forecast is looking good. Hearing that Brazil might be getting some decent surf for the start of the event helps with the motivation, because it has been hard to get excited about the next stop on the Dream Tour – especially after two events that were only peppered with real highlights, plus more controversial judging calls.
The reigning champ will be fired-up after his recent loss at Bells.
Jordy’s measured response in his post-heat interview after his loss to Julian Wilson in a tough encounter at Bells Beach perhaps only tells half the story, so we’re also excited to see how the reigning Rio champ delivers his response on the beachbreak peaks of Barra Da Tijuca.
Also, current world rankings leader, Gabriel Medina, will be spurred-on by the home support to widen the gap at the top before the tour moves to Fiji. With his formidable repertoire of hacks, punts, and other wonderful trickery to unleash, the webcast could be rather exciting.
With this perfect 10 in Rio last year, Gabriel proved he knows his way in and out of a tricky barrel too.
If he comes up against one of the top seeds, it’s a good bet that Travis Logie may cause a big upset. He has done it plenty of times in the past (ask Kelly, Parko and Jordy) and his heats will be worth tuning-in for. It’s when he comes up against the lower seeds that Travis, by his own admission, finds it more difficult to surf his best, so lets hold thumbs that he faces one of the big guns in Brazil.
One of the most-inspiring short surf films released online recently featured our Southern Cape surfing champ, Bianca Buitendag, who is currently sitting at a solid 5th place in the world rankings in only her second year on tour. The surfers ahead of her are no push-overs, so it will be interesting to see if the tall Vic Bay local will keep the pressure on the leaders with another stellar performance like she delivered on the Gold Coast.
‘Disguised in Nature’ featuring Bianca Buitendag and Johanne Defay is an inspiring short film.
The Billabong Rio Pro will be webcast LIVE via www.aspworldtour.com from 7 – 18 May.
