10 surfers in sight at Rip Curl Narrabeen Classic

The third round of the world championship has just started at Narabeen. While there is not much to say about conditions that we will qualify as correct, we were interested in the performances of 10 surfers today. Ranking leaders, French surfers, and surprises of the day, this is how their first round went …

THE GIFTS

Reigning world champion, leader of the 2021 ranking after winning the last event, Italo Ferreira followed by the biggest total of the first day of the Rip Curl Narrabeen Classic. His explosive airs and floaters quickly sent the revenant back Mick Fanning towards the draft round.

-Not everyone likes Gabriel Medina, but no one can deny the efficiency of their surfing. The ease with which he sent a huge backside spin to a right was still enough to make the difference today.

-Less inspired this time, John John Florence has chained the falls throughout the series … Before swinging this little air in the very last seconds to avoid going through the repechage.

Carissa Moore took the time to find a valid wave in his series. As she is able to score a 5 on a single maneuver, she easily dominates Laura Enever to qualify … But it is Nikki Van Dijk who won the series!

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THE FRENCH

While Sally Fitzgibbons increased the only total to more than 10 thanks to a dynamic and precise surf, Johanne Defay found only a rolling wave. But there is no doubt that she will dominate Brisa Hennessy or Isabelle Nichols to get out of the “elimination round”.

-Not spoiled by the conditions, Jeremy Flores only took two small waves in his streak. He will have to beat Fanning or Connor O’Leary in repechage to continue his journey.

–Michel bourez was patient too, but was able to show off his power in two waves that qualified him for the third round.

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THE SURPRISES

Benefiting from an invitation, Amuro Tsuzuki was the first Japanese surfer to participate in a WCT since 1996. All the cameras on her, Amuro managed to qualify thanks to good streaks.

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– See Filipe Toledo Exploding a beachbreak is never really a surprise, but finding it at its best to clinch the 2nd total of the day with super-fast carves deserves a place in this top 10.

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On the other hand, we did not expect to see the wildcard Reef Heazlewood send that huge air to win in front Jordy Smith and Adrian Buchan. A real highlight of the day!
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