Doninos Pro day 1
Source: www.ibaworldtour.com
posted by Terry McKenna on 3rd September 2008
The third and final leg of the IBA European events got underway today at Doninos Beach in Ferrol and the waves at this stage are shaping up well with lots of swell forecast for the four day window.
Along with the Men's event the first round of the 2008 IBA World DK Tour will be contested with US$5000 and 1000 championship points up for grabs.
Hawaiian Dave Hubbard is fired up to do well in both disciplines and is stoked to see the IBA DK World Tour finally taking shape.
"Yeh I am really happy that the guys at Surfusiom are leading the way with an International event"
"There's a lot of guys still ripping around the Globe on the knee and they deserve a dedicated World Tour" said Dubb.
The Men's Tour event is also shaping up well with most of the title contenders heading to Ferrol to gain any points they can as the race for the 2008 IBA World Crown tightens up.
Tour leader Uri Valadao (Brazil) was eliminated early at Sintra and now some of the other front runners are closing in with Guilherme Tamega (Brazil) Pierre Luis Costes (France) and Ben Player all still positioned well for a title shot.
Guilherme Tamega would have to be considered as the most complete and consistent rider in the world at the moment after being victorious at Arica in Chile in 10 feet surf and then backing up at Sintra winning in weak 1-2 footers.
"Bring it on ... I am ready" said Tamega who is currently ranked number two on the IBA Rankings for 2008.
In stark contrast Frenchman Pierre Luis Costes is the "Quiet Achiever" sitting at number three.
His carefree attitude and playful approach to competition has positioned him to within striking range of his first World Title.
"Yeah whatever. I haven't really thought about it. Top 5 would be good eh", was his typically laid back response to the possibility of him being World Champion.
Australian Ben Player is the reigning World Champion and is also keen on reclaiming the Title.
"Making the final at Sintra has helped me get back to a decent position. The title will most likely be decided at El Confital as this last event has 1500 points up for grabs" said the Champ.
The event got under way at 11am local time (Wednesday) and with clean 3 footers it was an awesome day.
R1 saw very few surprises and most of the riders in Red & White went 1/2 into the second round.
In round 2 the action heated up and one of the highlights was a last minute comeback from England's Darren Halse. Darren went from 3rd to second after the hooter thanks to a solid score on the countdown.
Heat winners from this round included David Perez (Spn), Bernardo Alvim (Port), Tiago Silva (Port), Hugo Nunes (Port), Marcellos Freitas (Brz), Fabio Rodriguez (Brz), Tainan Monte (Brz) & Goncalo Campos (Port).
All results can be found on the
event site and watch it online live via the
webcast.
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