The TUDOR Nazaré Big Wave Challenge unfolded in epic, 30-to-40 foot waves at the world-famous Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal. Surfers woke up to a glorious day of high-performance, tow surfing with light winds and very clean wedges across the various peaks of the Nazaré lineup.
While the bigger sets were a little slow in the morning, forcing competition to go on hold for a couple of hours, the action got underway just after noon as massive crowds assembled on the headland and around the iconic lighthouse.
A little under five hours later, competition wrapped in fantastic fashion in massive waves and with enthusiastic crowds cheering on the world’s best big wave surfers at the awards ceremony on the headland.
Gabeira Secures Second Title At Nazaré
Brazil’s Maya Gabeira (BRA) successfully defended her title at Nazaré, a break she has dedicated most of her life to. Gabeira teamed up with local rising star Antonio Laureano (POR), and used the first session to fine tune their strategy.
“We realized that the judges were rewarding turns because the size is not that big, so we have to look for those smoother walls in our second session,” Gabeira reflected after their first heat.
Michelle des Bouillons (BRA) was right behind her after a busy first session with her tow partner Ian Cosenza (BRA). Despite focusing their efforts on Des Bouillons catching the best waves in the second heat, she couldn’t improve on her scores from the first session.
The energy and swell intensified in the second session and Laureano had one job, and that was to get Gabeira on the best waves. The start was a bit shaky, and Gabeira had to deal with a big wipeout on her first ride. Laureano scooped her up and she took a moment to reset, before swinging for the next set on the third peak. With a decent score on the board, she stayed patient and finally found the smooth gem she was looking for. It stretched out ahead of her as she made a committed cutback before going down the line and riding out safely, getting her best score and the Women’s Best Performance Award.
“I’ve been injured for what seems like forever now so it was great to compete again and to get the win is a great way to come back,” Gabeira added. “Teaming up with Tony, the youngest one, was special. Even after getting injured he continued to drive me and stayed focused and drove me into the waves I needed. Today was a very difficult day to surf and especially to perform rail surfing. And to do that under a time pressure is tough, normally in the free surf when you’re tired you rest, here you have to go and you tend to take more risk than you probably should. It’s very difficult but so very rewarding in the end.”
The TUDOR Nazaré Big Wave Challenge ran today and was broadcast LIVE on Red Bull TV, WorldSurfLeague.com, and the free WSL app. Watch highlights and replay all the action on worldsurfleague.com.
