Billabong Rio Pro 2014 – Round 1
De Billabong Rio Pro is in volle gang en inmiddels is men al bijna toe aan de kwartfinales. Hieronder kun je het verslag van de eerste dag lezen, de hoogtepunten hebben we voor het gemak op een rijtje gezet. De organisatie van de Billabong Rio Pro deelde deze wedstrijdverslagen met ons.
Daarnaast kun je ook nog even een aantal heats bekijken. Alle andere heats kun je uiteraard checken via de website. Het vervolg van de Billabong Rio Pro is bovendien live te volgen via de webcast op de site.
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Heat 1: Tiago Pires (PRT) 9.70, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.60, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 6.40
Opening day of the Billabong Rio Pro kicked off with 2011 event winnerAdriano de Souza (BRA), 2013 Quarterfinalist Sebastian Zietz (HAW) and Portuguese standout Tiago Pires (PRT) in the water first in clean conditions at the powerful beachbreak of Barra Da Tijuca.
The international standouts got off to a quick start, all logging small scores on the board throughout the first half of the heat. Pires established a lead with the first substantial ride of a 6.33 for two solid turns. Both De Souza and Zietz fought hard to battle back, catching a flurry of waves, but the Portugues Tiger held on to the lead, advancing directly to Round 3.
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Heat 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.53, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 10.17, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 8.87
Current ASP World No. 1 and crowd favorite Gabriel Medina (BRA) wasted little time to open his Billabong Rio Pro campaign, etching a pair of 6-point rides to start. Fellow countryman Raoni Monteiro (BRA) answered back, notching a strong 7.50 of his own while Adrian Buchan(AUS) picked off a few small rides.
Medina built momentum, blending his polished technical approach and his aerial game on both his forehand and backhand, strengthening his lead over the pack. Medina held on for the win, advancing directly to Round 3.
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Heat 5: Mitch Crews (AUS) 13.07, Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 8.53, Kelly Slater (USA) 8.64
Eleven-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) established an early lead over rookie Mitch Crews (AUS) and wildcard Peterson Crisanto(AUS), with a 4.43 and 3.67 on his forehand.
Crews quickly battled back, making a critical barrel on his forehand for a 7.57. The Australian quickly backed up his efforts on another right-hander, lofting a clean frontside air for a 5.50, placing both Crisanto and Slater in need of excellent scores.
Slater and Crisanto would hunt the lineup, but were unable to find the waves needed to surpass Crews’ score. Crew took Round 1 and advances directly to Round 3.
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Heat 6: Kolohe Andino (USA) 13.10, David do Carmo (BRA) 10.30, Mick Fanning (AUS) 10.07
Kolohe Andino (USA) took full advantage of the no-wave-limit adjustment, hitting a keeper score with a draining barrel ride for a 6.17. With Mick Fanning (AUS) and wildcard David do Carmo (BRA) just trying to make the most of the subsiding swell, Andino worked his aerial game, posting a 6.0 with a clean grab.
Fanning and do Carmo scrambled for mid-range scores, but with just a few minutes remaining Andino added to his heat total with a 6.93, wrapping up the heat with the win after almost 20 scores.
