Full coverage of Rip Curl Pro Portugal
Supertubos cranked throughout the daylight hours of Tuesday to allow contest director Damien Hardman to make history in completing the first ever ASP World Tour event, start to finish, in under three days. As the Rip Curl Pro Peniche 2011 climaxed shortly before sunset at Supertubos, it was Adriano de Souza chaired up the beach before a frenzied crowd of local Portuguese surf fans and compatriot Brazilian competitors, many of whom were literally convulsing with a combination of national pride and jubilation.
That De Souza was never really a standout at any point during this shimmering, pulsating contest that will surely go down in the record books as an absolute classic, mattered little. He was the one
that picked up the $70,000 ahead of Kelly Slater, who had the mojo throughout the event — and yet perhaps spent his supply of magic beans before the heat that mattered most.
What this means is that statistically, Kelly only has to get through a few rounds in San Francisco in order to clinch his unprecedented 11th World Title.