In the last stage of the WSL in New Zealand the blue stopped one step away from the quarter-finals on a difficult day with small and rare situations. Triumph for Italo Ferreira and Carissa Moore, both with their first victory after becoming parents
Thrills and surfing at the highest levels in Raglan, New Zealand, but also many difficult days with conditions well below expectationsso much so as to put not only the athletes in difficulty, but also the organization which caught up with a long-awaited storm at the last minute and closed the event on the last available day. The fourth stage of the World surf league tour concluded on the New Zealand evening of Monday 25 May with excellent conditions, but it was a great effort. The blue team also paid the price Leonardo Fioravantiwho arrived here full of expectations and ready more than ever: he had tested the wave before the start of the tour (Raglan was introduced last minute to fall back on the South African package) and trained his legs to work the long left of Manu Bay, a beautiful bay located west of the city of Hamilton. But Leo and his colleagues had to deal with the main element of surfing competitions: the unpredictability of the weather.
the race
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The professional league team had immediately understood that they would be difficult days because when the caravan arrived, and a few days before the first siren, a beautiful and large storm was dying out. Let’s start immediately, then: Leo meets the Brazilian Mateus Herdy in the second round, he goes under for the entire heat but finds the right flash with a wave that allows him to put the arrow ninety seconds from the end and overtake the carioca. Sigh of relief. Then the Pacific Ocean gets in the way and forces long days of inactivity for everyone. Gastronomic tours, relaxation and golf while the sea is small, deflated, and above all with very rare waves. When you return to the race, always with situations around one metre, it means above all less chance of scoring. The number 46 originally from Cerveteri thus finds the American Cole Houshmand, a big boy 1.90 meters tall. The balance of power between the two is not definitive, there is also a large group of Italian flags on the rocks on the shore to support the blue, but the ocean takes care of putting things in order: with just under twenty minutes to go Houshmand finds an open left and places the winning score. In theory there would be plenty of time to remedy this, but the waves cannot be seen on the horizon. Fioravanti closes the contest in ninth placeand always in box number nine he will ultimately find himself in the general classification.
show ferreira
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In the meantime, the waves seem to be returning: the show is staged in bits and pieces over the weekend, with the WSL busy finding the best weather windows. In the grand finale, Italo Ferreira turns into an acrobat and beats the Australian Morgan Ciblicwho returned to the tour after the redevelopment of Challenger. From the female side Hawaiian Carissa Moore beats Sawyer Lindbladtwenty-one year old and promising surfer from San Clemente. Ferreira and Moore celebrate together as a family. Both have recently become parents (Moore returned to the tour after a two-year hiatus): Carissa brings her daughter Olena on stage and dedicates the victory to mothers; Ferreira, while still in the water, mimes the gesture of going to sleep by putting his arms together like a spoon. Good times for the two also sharing tour titles and Olympic medals. Ferreira also takes the lead in the rankings (the Brazilian dominance is impressive with four athletes at the top), while among the women Gabriela Bryan displaces Luana Silva in first place. Now we have to cross the ocean again because the tour moves to the Americas: from June 5th stop in El Salvadorthen it will be Saquarema’s turn in Rio de Janeiro, the halfway point of a twelve-stage tour.
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