Matt Wilkinson’s clash against Kolohe Andino and Miguel Pupo was a defining heat in round one. The current world number one and two met in a premature super-heat because the seeding is based upon carry-over results from the previous year and the first event of 2016. After taking his first ever CT win at Snapper, a stumble at Bells would ultimately take a little shine off the result. Against a feisty and fired up Kolohe the goofy-footer delivered a confidence building win.
“He [Kolohe] is always going to be a tough competitor and that was a pretty slow heat. We were all catching waves then sets would come and we’d all be on the inside. So it was a tricky heat and I thought I made a few good choices,” commented Wilko.
“I’m on the same board as Snapper and have some really good back ups and I’m feeling good. I’ve always loved surfing Bells and I feel like my backhand suits it. It’s an unpredictable wave and I feel like I can read it as good as anyone. I’ve been coming here for a very long time and I’m pretty psyched.”
When it comes to the yellow jersey, Wilko has no plans on giving it away. “This bad boy’s pretty silky [Laughs]. Hopefully I can keep it for a while.”
The clash of the round however was between two juggernauts, John John Florence and Jordy Smith. The South African looked heavy, sticky through transitions and fell on his final opportunity to turn the heat. While John John relied upon is power hacks, skated through dead sections and blew that tail, leaving know doubt in the result and sending Jordy to do-or-die round two.
“I love this wave a lot. It’s pretty similar to Hawaii … in a lot of ways it’s a smaller version of Sunset,” said John John after the win. It’s got shifty peaks and a lot power in it. It’s different to Snapper. Here [at Bells] I’m on pretty much the same boards I ride in Hawaii and it’s nice to ride them again.”
The Hawaiian, who has adopted a distinctly more professional approach this year, acknowledged that previous event winners, Mick, Taj and Parko had all gone on to win the event with big turns on the Bells bowl.
“This type of wave calls for big turns all day. If someone does three big turns out the back you know they’re going to get a big score. So I’m looking for that more than airs but you always stand up and see what the wave is offering you.”
In other results, Kelly Slater looked very out of sorts against Kai Otton and Alex Ribeiro. The 11x world champion rode a design from a “mystery shaper”, fell on most of his waves and finished with a 7.10 heat total. Meanwhile Joel Parkinson looked silky smooth defeating Hawaiian Sebastian Zietz and Taj Burrow with a 15.33 heat total. Parko stuck to his repertoire of flowing carves while Seabass attacked the lip and dropped the manoeuvre of the day.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 2 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs Tim Stevenson (AUS)
Heat 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs Mason Ho (HAW)
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) vs Timothee Bisso (GLP)
Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs Alex Ribeiro (BRA)
Heat 7: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs Sebastian Zietz (HAW)
Heat 8: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 9: Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Heat 10: Stuart Kennedy (AUS) vs Matt Banting (AUS)
Heat 11: Conner Coffin (USA) vs Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 12: Keanu Asing (HAW) vs Michel Bourez (PYF)
