While watching Jordy’s opening heat at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, we couldn’t help but think about the reigning J-Bay WCT champ’s forthcoming ‘reunion’ with Supertubes. You’d be hard-pressed to find a match for Jordy’s approach to long walled-up point break waves, and his blend of effortless power and drawn-out lines proved too much for his opponents in Round 1 as he notched up the day’s second highest heat tally. Victory in Round 1 sees Jordy jump straight to Round 3, where he awaits his opponent from those advancing from the do-or-die Round 2 heats.
Jordy was looking sharp during Round 1 at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.
Other top performers from Round 1 include – Bede Durbidge, who grabbed the day’s highest heat score and also shines in similar waves to the kind Jordy does; Owen Wright, who looked the most radical goofyfoot; and Mick Fanning, who is more often than not among the finalists at Bells Beach. They all jumped straight to Round 3 with solid victories in their opening heats.
Owen Wright delivered one of the day’s few standout performances.
Despite not recording a high heat total, Gabriel Medina eased his way into Round 3 as well. The current world rankings leader is looking the part so far this year and it will be interesting to see if he can keep up the momentum through Bells and put together a title-challenging performance on tour in 2014. We already know that he can win events, it was always just consistency where the Brazilian dynamo fell a little short. With victory in Round 1, Gabriel relegated Travis Logie to Round 2, and the Saffa fans will be hoping to see a strong performance from Trav as he looks to join his compatriot in Round 3.
Kelly Slater gets psyched before paddling out into a tricky Bells lineup.
Conditions were tough in Round 1 at Bells Beach and offered just enough for Kelly Slater to grab two scores and jump to Round 3 as well. With a bit more swell and offshore winds, things should get exciting at the Rip Curl Pro – which surf fans are hoping for, because apart from a few standout performances Round 1 was low on highlights.
For all the results, heat reviews and photos – check out aspworldtour.com
