We sort of knew what we were getting before it all went down. An iffy beach break was bound to produce something, but what? No one could be completely sure. The resulting conditions left something(s) to be desired, but the world’s best, as they often do, made the mediocre conditions look at least halfway fun.
Those who came out on top were Michel Bourez and Sally Fitzgibbons in fantastic fashion. In possibly the surprise of the event, Kolohe Andino fought til the bitter end and took out Kelly Slater on his way out the door, where the Spartan to clashed with Taj Burrow and ultimately slayed both Burrow and Andino on his way to another 2014 World Tour win – his second after Margaret River. This win puts him at fourth overall for the year.
Sally Fitzgibbons bested the world champion powerhouse Carissa Moore who got off to an intimidatingly quick start blasting three huge turns for an excellent 8.50. Sally Fitz countered with a 9.27 to put Moore on the ropes and the back and forth continued until Moore couldn’t respond with a big enough score.
As the event wrapped, the two deserving yet underdog competitors edged out their respective wins. For Bourez, the men’s tour now heads to Fiji then J-Bay and Teahupoo – three locales which favor his style of power surfing. For Fitzgibbons, she’s headed to Fiji, Huntington then Trestles – two of the three are new to the women’s tour so it’s anyone’s game.
For more coverage of the Billabong Rio Pro, head to aspworldtour.com.
