Rip Curl Pro Bells Preview

It's been too long since we last saw the boys in jerseys (for a World Tour event at least).  I can't be more excited for the Bells event.  The other week, the guys went mad down at Margaret's River and young John John took the top prize after an epic final between him and fellow Hawaiian Olamana Eleogram (who had quite a showing this past winter at Sunset Beach and his memorable 10 point ride).

Bells is always a special event on tour due to its historic meaning to the surfers and fans.  The forecast is looking perfect, and if all goes well we could finish this up in the first few days of the waiting period.  It is always a hard event to pick fantasy teams for and picking a victor.  I feel that I put together a solid fantasy surfer team.  It consists of Kelly, Julian, Kolohe, John John, Michel Bourez, Taylor Knox, CJ and Jadson Andre.  A pretty wide range of surfers here.  Obvious notes for Kelly, his strong power surfing is the best of all time and it will show on the big, long walls of Bells.  Julian is a pick of mine to win the world title next to Taj and Kelly.  I think that he will have a good result here and could end up in the quarters or semi's possibly the final if he can stick the strong turns he has shown.  John John was a pick out there that could end up well or it could be a mistake.  He is coming into the event fresh off of a major win.  We know his for his barrel-riding and airs but he is known to have powerful turning ability as well.  Kolohe is also known to be more of an arial surfer, but his power surfing is extremely underrated.  Michel Bourez is a sleeper of mine, he has arguably the best turns on tour next to Taylor Knox, Kelly and Jordy which is a reason that I also picked TK.  We saw what Taylor did last year in San Francisco in big waves with his turns.  I expect him to get far in this event.  CJ is always a favorite of mine to watch in an event.  His backhand is one of the best in history and he is lethal with it in heats.  Jadson was a pick of mine who is a steal for the price in the right event.  He has shown over the past few years that he can hang with the boys. He hasn't had as many results as he would've liked but he can turn like the best of them and pull off some radical maneuvers.

I'm hoping that I picked the right team, I feel that it could turn out really well for me if the forecast is what they say it will be.  Here is my team and the official trailer for the event which goes from April 3 - April 14.  This will also be an emotional event after the unfortunate passing of surfing legend Michael Peterson who won the first three Rip Curl events at Bells.

Rest In Peace MP - always a legend