With the ISA World Cups still fresh in their minds – Portugal postponed the possibility of guaranteeing more qualifications for the Olympic Games until 2024 – the MEO Surf League is back, with the third leg, in Ribeira D’Ilhas. Of the six surfers who competed in El Salvador, the Allianz Ericeira Pro has four in action: Guilherme Ribeiro, Kika Veselko, Guilherme Fonseca and Teresa Bonvalot. The first two share the lead of the national ranking with Vasco Ribeiro and Gabriela Dinis, but applying the tiebreak criteria they will start in yellow lycra, it remains to be seen if they keep that on Monday. With the first call at 6:30 am, the event should start “still with the aftermath of the Óscar Depression, which brought the waves back to the Portuguese coast,” said race director Francisco Morgado.
Since the first day coincides with the Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities, the National Association of Surfers will take the opportunity to honor the greatest national athletes: for three days, the lycras used in competition will bear the nicknames Frederico Morais, Teresa Bonvalot, Tiago Pires, Yolanda Hopkins, Nuno Vitorino, Marta Paço (surfing), Carlos Lopes, Fernanda Ribeiro, Pedro Pichardo, Rosa Mota, Nelson Évora, Patrícia Mamona, Lenine Cunha (athletics), António Félix da Costa, Armindo Araújo (motorcycle racing), Neemias Queta (basketball), Fernando Pimenta (canoeing), Cristiano Ronaldo, Eusébio, Vítor Baía, Luís Figo, Jéssica Silva (football), Telma Monteiro (judo), Miguel Oliveira (motorcycling), Gustavo Ribeiro ( skate) and João Sousa (tennis).
Source: DN
