There are waves that make a surfer feel at home, and then there are waves that remind him what he is capable of. For João Chianca, Portugal has always been a little of both.
He’s already won at Supertubos, a wave that has plenty in common with the beachbreaks of Saquarema, where he grew up surfing. It’s the kind of wave he knows well; where he feels comfortable and believes he can compete with anyone.
“It’s where I feel most comfortable and where I don’t have to think too much,” Chianca told The Inertia. “I grew up training in conditions like that in Saquarema, and I’ve surfed in waves like the ones we get in Portugal countless times. I might even say I prefer those conditions to a perfect heat at Pipeline or Teahupo’o. Beachbreak barrels really have my heart.”
This week, as the Championship Tour returns to Portugal, Chianca has more on his mind than just another good result. After a difficult couple of seasons, he wants to get back into the world title conversation. He’s also become more willing to say that out loud.
“I choose to live my years on the Tour by expressing that desire,” he said. “That ambition I have to become a world champion one day.”
In 2023, he had a taste of what that could look like. He wore the yellow jersey and fought for the world title until the WSL Finals. Then came the accident at Pipeline in December of 2023, and things changed.
Chianca’s physical recovery was remarkable. Getting back to where he wanted to be mentally has taken longer. Portugal could be a good place to start.
The Part People Didn’t See
Anyone who followed Chumbinho’s recovery in 2024 will remember how quickly he got back on his feet, quite literally. After the accident at Pipeline, he had to learn to walk again. By July, he was back in the water at the Paris Olympics, putting up an 18.10 heat total at Teahupo’o.
From the outside, it looked like an incredible comeback. But getting back in the water and getting on with his life didn’t mean he had left the accident behind.
During a frustrating 2025 season, Chianca found himself thinking about what might have happened if the accident had never occurred.
“It was difficult, really difficult,” he remembered. ‘It was like a rope I tried to hold on to for a long time. But thankfully, I managed to let it go, because I would never have been able to move forward if I hadn’t.”
Working with his psychologist helped him see things differently. The accident would always be part of his story, but he didn’t want it to become the reference point for everything that followed.
“I shouldn’t let the accident be the marker of my career,” he explained. “I have to give it the importance it deserves, but not more than that.”
That’s easier said than done, especially when results aren’t coming. Chumbinho is still working through the consequences of what happened, but he’s also back competing, healthy, and looking ahead.
This season hasn’t been easy, either. He admitted that there were events when he felt frustrated with judging, even though he knew he wasn’t surfing as well in competition as he was in freesurf.
“It was difficult because it was a double-edged sword,” he said. “I complained about judging at some events, but I knew I wasn’t surfing anywhere near the level I was surfing in freesurf. I have my share of responsibility, too. Maybe the biggest share. As a professional athlete, I think we’re entirely responsible for our mistakes and their consequences.”
Saquarema was an important moment in his season. The Brazilian stop had been a difficult one for him in the past, but this time he surfed well and left with a result that gave him some momentum. Fiji and Tahiti brought positives, too, even if he felt he could have done more at other events.
But Fiji also brought an injury. Chumbinho broke his foot there but still competed at Trestles before heading home to recover. When we spoke, he had just returned to surfing and was confident he would be back to 100 percent for Portugal — and his recent freesurfing footage suggests he’s made it.
The Courage to Dream
Portugal is a familiar place for Chianca, and Supertubos is the kind of wave where he knows he can do well. But this isn’t about proving he can compete with the best. He did that in 2023. Now, he wants to get back there, and he’s learning to be more open about saying it.
“You have a desire, you work every day thinking about it,” he told The Inertia.
“Why should you be the only person who gets to think about it? Let people know.”
Chianca knows there are no guarantees on Tour, but he also knows what he wants and he’s no longer afraid to say it. “The only thing that’s impossible is staying alive forever, because no one stays alive forever,” he said.
For Chumbinho, there’s no reason to spend his years on Tour keeping that ambition to himself. And Portugal is the next chance to start chasing it again.
