Billabong Pro Rio

Well, I am back (temporarily)... I have been trying to finish up the last month or two of school, but I have had a ton of work.  So I would first just like to apologize for not posting anything recently.

As some of you may know, the Billabong Pro Rio kicked off the other day.  So far the Men are through Round one and the Women are through Round two.  Day one for the mens saw some supreme surfing from the favorites and then some upsets were pulled off as well.  Julian Wilson, who has lacked to post results in the past few contests, reassured us why he was picked to be a World Title contender this year.  Local Gabriel Medina, fresh off of a stellar win at Lowers, couldn't pull off the win in his first round heat and will be under pressure to win in the win-or-go-home Round two.  He will be facing local wildcard Peterson Christiano. It will be no easy feat for Medina, they both have very similar styles and Christiano is also known for his high flying antics so in punchy beachbreak, its anyones heat.

In the rest of Round 1, we saw many of the favorites winning their three-man heats.  These were the heat winners for Round 1: H1-Josh Kerr, H2-Jordy Smith, H3-Owen Wright, H4-Adriano de Souza (Winner in 2011), H5-Taj Burrow, H6-Joel Parkinson, H7-Julian Wilson, H8-Ace Buchan, H9-Mick Fanning, H10-Miguel Pupo, H11-Jeremy Flores, H12-Alejo Muniz.  Notable loses in Round 1 were John John Florence (3rd H12), Gabriel Medina (2nd H8).

I must note, that Kelly Slater had to pull out of the contest last minute due to a foot injury sustained surfing between Bells and Rio.  A piece of coral went into his foot and cannot menuver well.  He will be back for the Volcom Pro Fiji.

We saw some amazing surfing out of the Women so far this event.  Round 1 had some major upsets as Steph Gilmore AND Sally Fitzgibbon AND Courtney Conlogue lost their Round 1 heats.  Round 1 winners were: H1-Lakey Peterson, H2-Tyler Wright, H3-Alessa Quizon (sponsor wildcard and a world junior ripper from Hawaii), H4-Rebecca Woods, H5-Carissa Moore, H6-Malia Manuel.  Notable Round 1 loses, besides Sally, Courtney and Steph were Coco Ho (H5) and Laura Enever (H6).  In Round 2 there was a good chance that the two World Title favorites would go down early; both prevailed as Sally overcame her heat with Brazilian Jaqueline Silva and Steph beat Melanie Bartels.  Coco Ho, and Courtney Conlogue and Laura Enever were also able to escape elimination.

Round 2 for the men is sure to bring some excitement and early departures for surfers that some picked to go far in this event.  Heats to look out for are H1-Gabriel Medina vs Peterson Chrisanto (two Brazilians wanting to perform in front of their fellow countrymen), H3-John John vs Willian Cardoso (although I strongly believe that Florence will win this heat), H6-Brett Simpson vs Jadson Andre (Jadson, a previous winner here in the Juniors and a WT winner at the Santa Caterina Pro in 2010; and Brett coming off of a good result at Lowers), H7-Bede Durbidge vs Fred Pattachia (Freddy needs a good result as does Bede, I see this heat blowing up), H11-Kierren Perrow vs Kolohe Andino (Kolohe has yet to advance well into an event, a result here will put him back on the map and prove he can hang with the big boys..I think there is not better event to do so than Rio.  He can join the CT club of the highflyers such as Kerr, Medina and Owen by posting scores with those airs we all know he can do).  All of the Round 2 heats should be exciting, watch them all!

This event could be a turning point with Kelly out; it could allow for surfers like Adriano to pull away in the ranking with a win or let the lower guys jump up.  With todays style of surfing and the type of wave Rio is, I wouldn't be surprised if a John John, Owen or Josh Kerr won this event.  It will certainly make this year interesting, especially heading into Fiji (a barrel wave that will separate the men from the boys if a swell can generate waves that we saw last year when Kelly skipped J-Bay to surf Cloudbreak, Fiji).

Here are my Fantasy Surfer Rosters for the men and women.  I am a little nervous for Men's round two, it could make or break the event for me with 4 surfers in Round 2.  My roster for the women is looking strong right now.

Here are the video recaps from day's 1 and 2 for the men and women.  Keep checking back on Worn Trails after each day for news, recaps and opinions!

You can follow the action live at http://wctbrasil.com/

Day 1

Day 2 (no video for mens)

Remember to CHECK BACK IN AFTER EACH ROUND for up to date info on the event.  Spread the word about Worn Trails.  

For those who check in for environmental news, I have some great stories in the process of being put together including pieces that I've written for my college courses.  

Also, please leave comments on this blog, it only makes me try and improve it for you all.  Leave comments about the posts (who your picks are for the event, criticism on my picks, etc), and best opinions will be reposted as "viewer responses"!