That knee injury of John’s certainly looks to be a thing of the past. The guy is back to his brilliant best, taking two wins from four contests and banking another keeper to go with it, and he’s barely pulled in or boosted yet.
Very quickly, in fact, he’s made a case for himself as the most powerful surfer on tour.
And, more importantly, put himself in a great position to push for a third world title.
But when’s Gabby going to make his move?
Except for the year he won his first title, the guy has been a pretty slow starter. Last year was no different, and we saw how that ended. It’s like he needs someone running out in front of him so he can put that radar on their back and hone in.
But right now he’s 15,000 points off the pace and has already racked up two throwaways. He started well enough, with a pair of quarter-final finishes in the first two events, but since then he’s fallen in a bit of a half-interested heap. Not surfing bad, not losing by much, but not surfing with that terminator-style intensity that makes him easily the most entertaining competitor on tour to watch.
Hell, even Mitch Coleborn managed to get the better of him in Krui.
Leaving his run a little too late has probably been his biggest weakness in the past. Have a look at the back ends of his 2015 and 2017 campaigns and it’s hard to believe someone that consistent could lose, but in both cases he failed to rundown the start he gave his opponents.
Interestingly, despite his celebrity status in his home country, he’s never done better than a third in Brazil. You’ve got to imagine that’s something he’s going to want to rectify sooner rather than later.
It’s hard to picture anyone beating him at the Surf Ranch. At Chopes too he’ll once again be a force to be reckoned with. Europe is always a strong point for him. And Pipe, well, a win and two runner-ups is a hard record to argue with.
But he needs to make a move soon.
If you were going to put a sly punt on, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that move come at Saquarema.
