The Trials event for the 10th annual Capitulo Perfeito powered by Billabong took place today in pumping conditions at Carcavelos Beach, Portugal. Local surfer Tiago Stock claimed the top honours in the final to qualify for the main event.
It was an exciting event for all trialists, with a healthy dose of Atlantic Ocean swell serving six-foot set waves throughout the morning. With an outstanding performance that saw him score the two best waves of the competition (7 pts in the first round and 8 pts in the final), Stock secured the local wildcard after overcoming his home mates Santiago Graça (2nd), João Kopke (3rd) and António Lacrau (4th) in the last heat.
Having proved he can perform at the highest level, Stock will be a threat in the main event, where his combination of local knowledge and natural barreling expertise will no doubt come in handy against the 15 previously confirmed tube riding specialists in the heat draw – Anthony Walsh, Aritz Aranburu, Balaram Stack, Bruno Santos, Dylan Graves, Francisca Veselko, João Maria Mendonça, Michael February, Nathan Florence, Nic von Rupp, Pedro Boonman, Rob Machado, Salvador Vala, Tiago Pires and William Alliotti.
The Capitulo Perfeito event is designed to showcase world-class tube riders in the best day of waves of the European Winter. It boasts a two-month waiting period that extends from Jan 9 to March 9 and once the event is called ‘On’ an all-star cast assembles for a barrel duel that is run and won in a single day. This year’s designated location is Portugal’s Carcavelos, a playing field of hollow A-frames that is considered one of the best beach-breaks in Europe when it turns on.
Viewers will be able to watch the Capitulo Perfeito live-stream on Tracksmag.com
The stellar contingent will be ready to go as soon as the main event gets green-lighted, which will only happen when the forecast indicates a consistent swell and strong enough offshore winds. This year there’s 40,000 Euros on the table plus 7,500 in performance awards.
Check out last year’s highlights via the clip below.
