The MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, stop number 10 of 11 on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), completed the single remaining heat of round four before event organisers called the competition off for the day.
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The fourth heat of round four featured the all-Australian affair with World Title contender Julian Wilson, Culburra Beach’s Owen Wright, and Adrian Buchan.
The three surfers chose to sit on the same peak, distilling fun three-to-four foot (1 - 1.2 metre) punchy rights that were perfect for manoeuvres.
Wright was the quickest to take action, showing incredible flow to link combinations of backhand snaps together, as he posted a high 4.00 (out of a possible 10) and a 6.33 to take the lead.
Wilson sat on a single 5.43 for a while and Buchan built momentum on smaller waves with 3.43 and a 4.83.
As time ran down, the pressure started to build for world number three Wilson, who was unsuccessful on a risky aerial attempt.
But, the former winner in Peniche came back with a good combination of three turns for a 6.63 to turn the heat and jump from third to first.
A great final exchange saw all three surfers thread a good wave each: Wright improved his backup to claim back the lead, and the judges had to examine Wilson's and Buchan’s final waves to decide of the fate of both surfers. Wilson, down to second, slightly improved his backup to make the task harder for Buchan.
Buchan did turn his best score in, a good 6.30 but stayed in third and placed equal 9th.
A former World Title contender himself, Wright is on his way back to the top after sustaining a serious injury at the end of the 2015 season that sidelined him for an entire year.
The Culburra Beach Boardrider came back firing at the start of 2017 with a win on the Gold Coast to end his season in sixth position on the Jeep Leaderboard.
Currently sixth again in the rankings, Wright already had three Quarterfinal finishes this season and a runner-up in Tahiti.
He will now look to bounce back from a disappointing round two exit in France last week.
“It’s a whole world shift from barrels yesterday to tiny little running right-handers just then,” Wright said.
“It was a little slow but it was a fun heat with three Aussies and we all got pretty similar scores.
“Quarter-finals will be fun, I’ve had some heats with Kanoa [Igarashi] in the past, and hopefully, we get barrels and a few turns.
“I’m looking forward to it!”
Wright will take on Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi in quarter-final number for when surfing resumes.