TEAMS ANNOUNCED FOR NAZARÉ TOW SURFING CHALLENGE

There will be three Portuguese in the competition, with two of them making up the only fully national team.

The Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge is back, almost two years after the last edition. The waiting period for the Portuguese event officially started this Monday and the teams that will be competing on the giant waves of Nazaré have already been announced by the World Surf League. A total of 9 teams will be in action in the Portuguese competition, with a fully national team and a total of three Portuguese surfers among the chosen ones.

After being initially appointed to start on the 1st of November, just 15 days later the official launch of that start appeared. The organization has until March 31 to put the test in the water in the biggest and most perfect conditions possible. João de Macedo and António Silva, who form a team, and Nic von Rupp, who is teaming up with Brazilian Pedro Scooby, will be the three Portuguese players in the competition.

Invited teams:

Among the invited teams, the Hawaiian Kai Lenny and the Brazilian Lucas Chumbo, who were the winners of the last edition of the Nazarene event, stand out. In relation to this competition, emphasis is placed on the absence of the team formed by the Portuguese Alex Botelho and Hugo Vau, who provided a moment of great tension, with the former suffering an accident that almost took his life.

Reference is also made to the presence of a female trio in the competition. The usual Maya Gabeira, who teams up with Sebastian Steudtner, and Justine Dupont, who shares the stage with Pierre Rollet, is joined by Brazilian big rider Michelle des Bouillons, who teams up with Ian Cosenza.

Team 1: Kai Lenny (HAW), Lucas Chianca (BRA)
Team 2: Nic Von Rupp (PRT), Pedro Scooby (BRA)
Team 3: Rodrigo Koxa (BRA), Eric Rebiere (FRA)
Team 4: Andrew Cotton (GBR), Will Skudin (USA)
Team 5: Axier Muniain (EUK), Francisco Porcella (ITA)
Team 6: João de Macedo (PRT), António Silva (PRT)
Team 7: Maya Gabeira (BRA), Sebastian Steudtner (DEU)
Team 8: Justine Dupont (FRA), Pierre Rollet (FRA)
Team 9: Michelle des Bouillons (BRA), Ian Cosenza (BRA)

Regarding the competitive format, it is explained that the teams will be divided into three groups, with each group going to dispute a heat with fifty minutes duration, in a total of six heats that will have the event. Something that will reduce the “traffic” on the line up compared to the last edition. Each team will surf a total of two heats, with the surfers alternating between the board and jet ski driving during the 50 minutes of each heat.

Then, to determine the winners, the two best waves of each surfer will be added between the two heats surfed. The better of the two waves will be counted double, making each surfer’s maximum scoring potential 30 points. This will be a test of just one day and that, in addition to the final triumph, will have several categories in the competition.

The organization will closely monitor all winter swells that will reach the Portuguese coast, giving the green alert for the start of the race 72 hours in advance, if the conditions are in line with the demanding standards. This period will allow surfers to travel to Portugal in time for the race and have all the logistics in place.

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