Next up however is the Hurley Pro Trestles, and if ever there was one surfer who was coming in strong for this contest, it would be Jordy Smith. He’s the current Jeep Leaderboard number one, so will be coming into this event with the yellow jersey on. To add to his credentials for this tournament, he’s the defending champion, and rates Trestles as one of his favourite high performance waves of all time. But wait! There’s more! Mr Smith also has the 2014 title to his name. He’s no slouch when it comes to Trestles, and it would be easy to say that he would want to bank another win at a venue that fits into his comfort zone during this back half of the tour. He’s coming off an amazing result at Teahupo’o as well! It was a performance where he displayed both nerve and maturity to secure a very credible and bankable third place result.
The other three surfers with wins at Trestles over the last five years of competition are Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning and Taj Burrow, so there’s also that.
Mick won the event in 2015, and is still surfing at the top of his game. There are, however, a few little chinks in the armour, the main one being his mention of retiring in the next two years. Currently placed 12th on the Jeep Leaderboard, Mick would have no problem getting back into, and remaining in the top 10 for a number of years to come, but he seems to be looking for a dignified exit. His retirement references seem to fit in with his business dealings. He recently joined the ownership group of the Creatures Of Leisure brand, and is already a founder of the Balter craft beer company. He’ll still be a contender at this event, but his form is more volatile than in years past.
Taj Burrow won the event in 2013, and we all know what he’s been up to. Well, kinda. He is a retired surfer now, and living the life of a retired surfer by entering specialty events and still winning some of them like this one
Taj is one of the most popular surfers of all time, and is recognized as one of the best surfers to have never won a world title. He’s enjoying life post Championship Tour, and leaves an inspiring record of victories and good times behind him.
Kelly Slater won the Trestles event in 2012 and like Taj, he’s another surfer who is not going to be around at this event unless he’s in the commentary booth. A simple close-out barrel while free surfing at the Boneyards section of Supertubes resulted in some serious bone breakage in his foot, and forced a bye for the next couple of events. He started off the year looking like he was on a mission, but after the extent of the JBay injury was revealed it became apparent that we might never see him in the WSL no 11 vest ever again, which will be a shame. Which brings us back to Jordy…
The Hurley Pro Trestles has a waiting period from September 06-17. More here
