Filipe Toledo and Molly Picklum picked up huge wins this weekend in rippable Sunset Beach conditions, creating early rankings upheaval with the new mid-year cut looming.
After a truncated attempt to get through heats late last week in miserable conditions, the World Surf League made the call to bank on the weekend’s forecast. It worked out. Offshore winds groomed Sunset into near perfection as Picklum navigated a women’s field that’s seeing a changing of the guard at the moment (despite beating Caroline Marks in the finals, who had a resurgence at Sunset). Currently, stalwarts like defending world champ Stephanie Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons, Johanne Defay, and Courtney Conlogue all sit well below the cutline heading into Europe.
Meanwhile the old guard on the men’s side still seems to be holding strong with Toledo barely trailing Jack Robinson for the rankings lead, with Caio Ibelli, Gabriel Medina, John John Florence, Italo Ferreira, Jordy Smith, Nat Young, and even the GOAT (Kelly Slater) sitting above the mid-year cutline.
Next up? Portugal and Supertubos March 8-16, as the MEO event has been shifted on the schedule to hopefully capture some late winter magic in the Atlantic.
