5 Teams To Watch At The Nazare Big Wave Challenge
The Nazare Big Wave Challenge in Portugal has gotten the Yellow Alert and could potentially run on Monday, January 22. A team-style event where pairs of surfers compete against one another for fortune and glory at one of the world's biggest waves, the talent in the heat is stacked. With conditions forecast to be in the 20- to 25-foot range, big but not massive by the standards of these surfers, this looks to be a high-performance shootout. Like anything in the big-wave pursuit, the conditions and talent are subject to change until it's go time, but here are five teams to get your adrenaline flowing early:
Lucas Chianca (BRA) and Pedro Scooby (BRA)
Chumbo was originally set to surf with Kai Lenny, but after Lenny suffered a head injury in Hawaii earlier in the month, Brazil's Pedro Scooby is coming in hot. Chumbo's got a full bag of tricks, including airs, spins and corks, can he continue his reign in Portgual?
Nic von Rupp (PRT) and Clement Roseyro (FRA)
If anyone's going to unseat Chianca and Lenny it may be these two. Von Rupp's been spending a lot of time charging in the Atlantic this winter, and France's Roseyro's an under-the-radar, big-wave psychopath.
Andrew Cotton (GBR) and Will Skudin (USA)
The working man's crew. Cotton and Skudin can both take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Skudin hurt his ribs at Maverick's a few weeks ago, but he'll probably just grit his teeth and grind through it. It's blue-collar, big-wave surfing at its finest.
Sebastian Steudtner (DEU) and Eric Rebiere (FRA)
It doesn't look like it's going to be world-record big on Monday, but with a world record-holder like Steudtner on the tow rope, anything goes.
Maya Gabeira (BRA) and Antonio Laureano (PRT)
Like Germany's Steudtner, Gabeira is a world record at Nazare and capable of amazing things out there. Along with Michelle des Bouillons, Gabeira will likely be one of only two women in the heat draw. Justine Dupont's name is on the roster right now, but per an Instagram post six days ago, she was still happily pregnant.
