As the world’s best surfers prepare for the start of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach this week, the regular footers will be hoping a wave which has historically favoured their stance can push them higher up the rankings, while at the bottom of the table it is crunch time for the competitors who sit below the mid-season cut line with only two events remaining for them to secure their safety for the rest of the season.
The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach event window starts tomorrow and marks the beginning of the Australian leg on tour, with the Western Australia Margaret River Pro to come next month.
Thousands are expected to descend on Torquay for the historic event at Bells Beach which is one of the longest running events in competitive surfing.
On the men’s side, Griffin Colapinto sits at the top of the tree following his victory in Portugal. In previous years the San Clemente surfer has had a mixed bag of results at Bells, achieving a 5th place last year and a 17th in 2022. While it is hard to pinpoint any weak areas in Griffin’s game, given his consistency on rail and his progressive approach in the air, you’d think that his surfing may be slightly more suited to Winkipop, the back-up venue to Bells which is often used when the waves are smaller and tends to lend itself to a slightly more high performance approach.
Hot on Griff’s heels following a runner-up finish in Portugal is event favourite and last year’s Bells champion Ethan Ewing. The Australian’s smooth, powerful and consistent rail game is a match made in heaven for the open walls of Bells and he will be hoping to make it a repeat of last year’s success.
Out of the current top ten in the men’s rankings, all of them bar Connor O’Leary are regular footers and they will hoping to follow in the footsteps of previous winners like Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson who have all contributed to the regular foot domination at the event throughout the years.
All eyes will also be at the bottom of the rankings with only two events left until the dreaded and controversial mid-season cut. Having skipped Portugal to get barreled at Kirra on the Gold Coast, Kelly, who recently announced he is going to become a father for the second time, will need a significant result at a venue where he was won four times previously to push him anywhere near the cut off line.
CT newbies Kade Matson, Eli Hanneman and Cole Houshmand will be making their competitive debuts at Bells and will hope that they don’t need to rely solely on beginners luck to secure a good result that will push them above the cut off line.
In the women’s draw, back-to-back Bells winner Tyler Wright will be hoping to make it a three-peat and she will be brimming with confidence following a second place finish in Portugal which has currently left her 8th in the rankings.
Following their cumulative charge during the Hawaiian leg of the tour, young hungry chargers Molly Picklum and Caitlin Simmers will be hoping to reignite their success following an ever so slight dip in Portugal where the pair both picked up 9th place finishes.
However, Molly still wears the weight of the yellow Jersey coming into Bells and will be aiming to one up her second place finish from last year’s event.
Below the cut line, Australians Isabella Nichols, Sally Fitzgibbons and India Robinson will be hoping that some home crowd advantage will help boost them to safety.
Following the culmination of the Rip Curl Pro trials, Tully Wylie and George Pittar will take the local wildcard spots for the men’s event, while Ellie Harrison has earnt a spot in the women’s draw.
The waiting period for the event starts tomorrow and ends on 5th April.
Potential standout heats in round one:
John John Florence vs Seth Moniz vs Kelly Slater
Gabriel Medina vs Liam O’Brien vs Cole Houshmand
Molly Picklum vs Isabella Nichols vs Ellie Harrison
