De Sousa takes the Rip Curl Pro Portugal
Lets start with Jordy and Trav. They put up a good show and it’s Jordy’s first event back after his rib injury. Unfortunately he’s not in contention anymore for the world title this year, but this will allow for some very entertaining surfing for the rest of the year. Travis actually put up a great fight and looked the better of the South Africans going into round 3, only to be beaten by the in form De Sousa in that round.
De Sousa went on to beat Durbidge (no knockout round), Bourez (quarters) and Durbidge again in the semi’s to line up against Kelly Slater for the final. Kelly beat Alves and Taj Burrow to get to the finals. De Sousa displayed some excellent technical riding to take the title, but Kelly’s edging towards his 11th World title. He only has to make the fourth round in the next event (San Francisco Rip Curl Search event) to take the title, but there are still a few contenders with an outside chance. Chances are slim though…
See the final heat for Portugal below:
