More major upsets on Rip Curl Pro's second day

DAY two of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy has seen another massive day of action.

Competition on stop four on the World Surf League (WSL) 2024 Championship Tour (CT) moved to Winkipop, where there were semi-clean three-to-four-foot waves on offer.

The second straight day of competition saw the completion of the women’s Elimination Round and Round of 16 as well as five heats of the men’s Round of 32 with mixed results for some of surfing’s biggest stars.

World No.1 Molly Picklum (AUS) will have to wait another year for her chance to ring the Bell after she was taken down by 2024 CT rookie Sawyer Lindblad (USA) in the Round of 16.

Picklum was hoping to find some form after falling into the Elimination Round and only just sneaking into the Round of 16, but Lindblad had other ideas, posting the equal highest heat total of the day, a 15.67 (out of a possible 20).

Lindblad looked sharp on her backhand and has guaranteed her best result at the elite level as she looks to move above the Mid-season Cut line with a Quarterfinals berth.

“It feels really good; I was really fired up after my loss in Portugal, it felt good to know that I can get scores in the 7’s and 8’s so I came into this event really excited,” Lindblad said.

“This is only my third time surfing Winkipop, and it’s such a sick wave. It reminds me of Trestles at home.

“I’m honestly just really happy to make it out of the Round of 16. I’m not really thinking about the Cut. This is my first year on tour, and I don’t really feel that much pressure, to be honest. I just want to keep surfing and getting high scores.”

Local Trials winner and Barwon Heads resident Ellie Harrison (AUS) continued her charge through the draw, overcoming reigning two-time Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach winner Tyler Wright (AUS).

Wright and Harrison went back and forth in the back end of the heat, with the lead changing several times.

With Wright leading on the buzzer, Harrison made it to the beach and waited for her last score, which was enough to get the lead and leave the two-time world champion with an equal ninth-place finish.

“When I saw the heat draw come out, I was like ‘oh no’ – I look up to Tyler so much, she’s the nicest person in the water, gives me compliments, she’s such a cool girl,” Harrison said.

“I went into that heat with the mentality that I’ve got nothing to lose. I tried to keep my cool, so I was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to find where the sets were coming in and try to get a big score.

Then I got another one, and I wasn’t sure if it was going to be the score, but I was so glad I got through.

“It’s a dream come true surfing at Bells, walking out with all my family and friends cheering for me on, it’s something I’ve thought about every year, and now it’s real. It’s a little weird, I don’t know how to act.”

Injury replacement Morgan Cibilic (AUS) continued the theme of upsets today, putting on a strong performance to defeat World No. 4 Jack Robinson (AUS) in the tough conditions.

Cibilic will take on form surfer and fellow Novacastrian Ryan Callinan (AUS) in the Round of 16.

“It feels amazing, I’m just so stoked to be here and grateful for the opportunity to be able to compete in another CT, and it makes it so much sweeter to make a few heats and put a couple of waves together,” Ciblic said.

“It’s been so good. Coming down to the home of Rip Curl and getting to surf the bowl pumping yesterday was kinda a dream of mine.

“Getting to surf against Jack man-on-man was pretty sick. I’m pretty good mates with him, so it was good to have a little battle and epic to come out on top.”

Reigning world champion Caroline Marks (USA) was the standout performer of the Round of 16, posting the equal highest two-wave total of the women’s event to overcome an in-form Sophie McCulloch (AUS).

Marks’ backhand looked on point at Winkipop, smashing massive critical turns to earn a two-wave total of 15.67 (out of a possible 20).

Marks will take on Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) in the Quarterfinals when the competition resumes.

“That was really fun. I love surfing Winkipop. It’s a different wave, and I rode a different board, so it was cool to change things up,” Marks said

“You are always aware of what’s going on around you and who is dropping out of the draw, but I’m really trying to focus on myself.

“There hasn’t been a female goofy-footer win this event for so long, and I’d love to break that streak – this has always been an event I’d love to win with so many of my heroes having won it. There is a long way to go before I get close to that, though.”

Samuel Pupo (BRA) put on a dominant performance, posting the highest wave of the day with an 8.50 and the highest heat total of the Round with a 15.23, ahead of Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA).

Before Bells, Pupo sat well below the mid-season cutline, but a good result here will be valuable for him as he tries to secure a place for the rest of the tour season.

“It means so much, still pretty early in the contest, really but this Round of 32 has been getting the best of me, a lot of close heats,” Pupo said.

“This whole trip has been really tricky for me mentally and emotionally, having some rough nights of sleep. It’s hard to stay calm with all these bad results I’ve been getting; you wonder if maybe you’re doing something wrong.

“It’s hard to keep doing the same thing and believing it’s going to work at some point. I don’t want to leave it to Margaret’s, so I’m stoked to make this heat.”

World No. 2 and reigning Bells event winner Ethan Ewing (AUS) narrowly dodged a major upset, taking a last-minute win over the in-form Rip Curl wildcard George Pittar (AUS).

After much deliberation from the judges, Ewing was left to hear the final scores on the shoreline, scoring a 6.43 to jump Pittar after the buzzer.

“I felt pretty good about that last wave; it felt better than my other wave, to be honest, but yeah, it was challenging conditions out there,” Ewing said.

“George is such a good surfer, and I made some mistakes but I’m stoked to get through.

“I did see there were a lot of upsets today, but I try to just focus on myself. Like I said, I’ve got a lot of things to work on, and I’m looking forward to improving.” E

Bells Beach hasn’t just attracted the world’s best surfers over the opening two days of competition. Spotted on site have included Matildas players Chloe Logarzo and Elise Kellond Knight, coming to cheer on their good friend India Robinson (AUS), alongside surf fan and 10-time world champion cliff diver Rhiannan Iffland.

Two-time Olympic Medalist and nine-time XGames Medallist snowboarder Scotty James met with fellow Red Bull team rider Jordy Smith (RSA) to talk Bells Beach with the past Event Winner.

AFL superstar Charlie Curnow from the Carlton Football Club was seen at the event site, supporting close friend Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) in his Opening Round Heat.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Elimination Round Results:

HEAT 1: Sophie McCulloch (AUS) 13.17 DEF. Molly Picklum (AUS) 11.50, India Robinson (AUS) 4.67
HEAT 2: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 12.04 DEF. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 11.23, Alyssa Spencer (USA) 10.56

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Round of 16 Results: