Griffin Colapinto revealed today on Instagram that he's been working hard to recover from a torn MCL. After surfing the Gold Coast at "about 80%", the Californian headed to Bells, rested his knee, and on his second freesurf re-injured it feeling "too comfortable" on an under-the-lip layback.
Griffin has withdrawn from the Rip Curl Pro and will be replaced by local Victorian native Xavier Huxtable. The 16-year-old Rip Curl grom recently finished second-place at the Rip Curl Trials and could have a chance to make a name for himself at his first CT event.
See the full Heat Draw here.
Also, Sebastian Zietz has a baby on the way, and is withdrawing from competition at Bells because he is, "Looking forward to spending her first weeks of life with her before heading to Bali."
Seabass will be replaced by Australian Reef Heazlewood who recently finished ninth-place through a Wildcard spot at the Quik Pro Gold Coast. Heazelewood also gave current World No. 1 Italo Ferreira a run for his money at the Red Bull Airborne Gold Coast event held at Dbah, coming in second-place.
Due to the fact that both withdraws occurred after the start of the event window, Round 1 heats won't change, apart from the fact that Xavier will take Griffin's spot in H3 surfing against Filipe Toledo and Kelly Slater and Reef will take Sebastian's spot in H10 surfing against Michel Bourez and Deivid Silva.
Australian aerial sensation Reef Heazlewood fires into the air at the Redbull Airborne Gold Coast. - WSL / Matt Dunbar
Reseeding will occur from Round 2 onwards.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men's Round 1 Matchups:
Heat 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 2: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)
Heat 3: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Xavier Huxtable (AUS) vs. Kelly Slater (USA)
Heat 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) vs. Caio Ibelli (BRA)
Heat 5: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Joan Duru (FRA) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS)
Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Harrison Mann (AUS)
Heat 7: Conner Coffin (USA) vs. Michael Rodrigues (BRA) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Heat 8: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Seth Moniz (HAW) vs. Soli Bailey (AUS)
Heat 9: Wade Carmichael (AUS) vs. Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Ricardo Christie (NZL)
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (FRA) vs. Reef Heazlewood (AUS) vs. Deivid Silva (BRA)
Heat 11: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Willian Cardoso (BRA) vs. Jesse Mendes (BRA)
Heat 12: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Mikey Wright (AUS) vs. Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
Watch the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach live April 17-27 live on Worldsurfleague.com, App and Facebook.
Colapinto, Zietz Pull Out Of Bells
WSL
Griffin Colapinto revealed today on Instagram that he's been working hard to recover from a torn MCL. After surfing the Gold Coast at "about 80%", the Californian headed to Bells, rested his knee, and on his second freesurf re-injured it feeling "too comfortable" on an under-the-lip layback.
Griffin has withdrawn from the Rip Curl Pro and will be replaced by local Victorian native Xavier Huxtable. The 16-year-old Rip Curl grom recently finished second-place at the Rip Curl Trials and could have a chance to make a name for himself at his first CT event.
See the full Heat Draw here.
Also, Sebastian Zietz has a baby on the way, and is withdrawing from competition at Bells because he is, "Looking forward to spending her first weeks of life with her before heading to Bali."
Seabass will be replaced by Australian Reef Heazlewood who recently finished ninth-place through a Wildcard spot at the Quik Pro Gold Coast. Heazelewood also gave current World No. 1 Italo Ferreira a run for his money at the Red Bull Airborne Gold Coast event held at Dbah, coming in second-place.
Due to the fact that both withdraws occurred after the start of the event window, Round 1 heats won't change, apart from the fact that Xavier will take Griffin's spot in H3 surfing against Filipe Toledo and Kelly Slater and Reef will take Sebastian's spot in H10 surfing against Michel Bourez and Deivid Silva.
Reseeding will occur from Round 2 onwards.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men's Round 1 Matchups:
Heat 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 2: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)
Heat 3: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Xavier Huxtable (AUS) vs. Kelly Slater (USA)
Heat 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) vs. Caio Ibelli (BRA)
Heat 5: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Joan Duru (FRA) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS)
Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Harrison Mann (AUS)
Heat 7: Conner Coffin (USA) vs. Michael Rodrigues (BRA) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Heat 8: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Seth Moniz (HAW) vs. Soli Bailey (AUS)
Heat 9: Wade Carmichael (AUS) vs. Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Ricardo Christie (NZL)
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (FRA) vs. Reef Heazlewood (AUS) vs. Deivid Silva (BRA)
Heat 11: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Willian Cardoso (BRA) vs. Jesse Mendes (BRA)
Heat 12: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Mikey Wright (AUS) vs. Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
Watch the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach live April 17-27 live on Worldsurfleague.com, App and Facebook.
Xavier Huxtable
Local wildcard Xavier Huxtable takes down World #1 Jack Robinson in a huge upset as he now advances into the Round of 16
Finding inspiration in Tiger Woods' recent performance at the Masters, the King found a way to stay out of the rough in Round 1.
Generations will collide when Slater, Toledo and local injury replacement Xavier Huxtable face-off in Round 1 Heat 3 of the Rip Curl Pro.
Molly Picklum and Xavier Huxtable for the win on North Straddie
Both surfers claim their first WSL wins on the picturesque North Stradbroke Island.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach
Australian legend Mick Fanning has emotional retirement and Steph Gilmore eyes a fourth Bells trophy.
No event on the WSL elite tour has a richer history than Bells. Come see why.
After six weeks Down Under, how is the 2018 Championship Tour shaping up?
How favorites crumbled and rookies rumbled, and what it means for the Margaret River Pro.
The Brazilian powerhouse takes down the three-time World Champ, for his first-ever Championship Tour win at Bells Beach.