Photo: Street
Surfing’s world renowned and terrifying Tahitian reef slab known as Teahupo’o will be center stage for event number seven on the 11 event 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP Men’s World Championship Tour schedule. The waiting period for the upcoming 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiti runs from August 15th through August 26th.
Considered to be one of the most photogenic waves on earth, Teahupo’o, on the southwest coast of Tahiti, is an incredibly thick-lipped beast of a wave, which draws additional power by dredging water off the already shallow, jagged reef before throwing out one of the squarest barrels in surfing.
More than any event on the ASP Men’s WCT schedule, the Billabong Pro Tahiti is much more than just a competition against the best surfers on the planet. It is, in the end, a deep personal challenge that comes from engaging and embracing the conversely perfect mutant wave at the End of the Road.
With multiple days in the middle of the waiting period forecast to receive large, exceptional surf, the 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiti could go down as one of the best Teahupo’o events to date. But, as fickle as the ocean can be, we’ll be seated on our haunches waiting for the call.
Billabong Pro Tahiti defending champion Adrian Buchan along with former competing event champions Kelly Slater (4x), CJ Hobgood (1x), and Mick Fanning (1x) will be poised to claim yet another Billabong Pro Tahiti title in 2014.
Three of the current top five ASP Men’s WCT surfers (Gabriel Medina #1, Mick Fanning #3, and Michel Bourez #5) have a pair of 2014 ‘CT event wins each entering the Billabong Pro Tahiti. A third ‘CT event win from any one of these three surfers at the 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiti will further solidify their already concrete 2014 World Title aspirations.
Victorious Air Tahiti Nui Billabong Pro Trials winner Tuamata Puhetini (PYF) and runner-up Nathan Hedge (AUS), along with replacements Mitch Coleborn (AUS) and Glenn Hall (IRL) will be added to the field of 36 surfers doing battle at the 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiti.
My ASP Fantasy Surfing team picks are as follows: Tier A: Kelly Slater, Nat Young; Tier B: Fred Patacchia Jr., CJ Hobgood, John John Florence, Owen Wright; Tier C: Kai Otton, Travis Logie.
All the live and on demand action can be found at aspworldtour.com.
Here’s Andy Irons explaining one drop at Teahupo’o that will forever be etched in the minds of surf fans:
