Italo Ferreira won at Bells; he ruined Fanning's farewell party

A historic final had an unexpected outcome, the Brazilian was determined to find his first victory in the CT, and he did not care that Mick did not say goodbye with a victory

April 4

The final day of competition at the Rip Curl Pro Bells and Mick Fanning's life as a full-time CT pro was ruined by a shorty from Bahia Formosa in northeastern Brazil. Italo Ferreira didn't care that the three-time champion was bowing out in second place and was determined to win the tournament.

Australia dominated world surfing in the nineties, in the first decade of the 2000s, and, in every sense, in those years, it would have been impossible to imagine that something like today would happen.

But the guard has changed. A Brazilian ruining an Australian's party in a conservative surfing corner of Australia? That, which is what happened today, would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

But the thing is that this Italo is mentally ill. He surfs perfectly whatever life throws at him: He does aerials, he does tubes, he does carvings and he does paddles on powerful waves. At Bells he went looking for the heavy section and attacked it. He put the board where one didn't imagine it could go.

Hey! Fanning was supposed to win! Photo: WSL/Cestari

And he ruined a party: The commentators, the public, the celebrities wanted Mick to win and to say goodbye as the most successful surfer in Bells. But Italo didn't care about any of that; he wants to win for himself. This Brazilian has the hunger of all his compatriots, but he has balls and class. And this is what makes Italo a candidate for the 2018 world title.

In the women's race, the champion was Steph Gilmore, who found herself back to 80% of her fitness, enough to win anyway. The runner-up, Tatiana Weston-Webb, is not beating around the bush and surfs very well, making a killing in the criticals; if she really tries, she could join the circle of the Carissas, Tylers and Fitzgibbons.

The full results are as follows:
Men
1st: Mick Fanning (AUS)
2nd: Italo Ferreira (BRA)
3rd: Gabriel Medina (BRA)
3rd: Pat Gudauskas (USA)

Ladies
1st: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
2nd: Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW)
3rd: Silvana Lima (BRA)
3rd: Caroline Marks (USA)

Fanning didn't get to say goodbye to his people the way he would have wanted because he met a brave northeasterner named Italo Ferreira. Photo: WSL/Cestari

Ferreira hit the bell hard, not at the level of Adriano de Souza, but he hit the post (see video below). Photo: WSL/Cestari

Gilmore said her win wouldn't be remembered because everyone was focused on Fanning... The Australian beat Tatiana Weston surfing at 80% of her level, enough to beat almost everyone on tour. Photo: WSL/Cestari

Male ranking
1 – Julian Wilson (AUS) 11.665 pts
1 – Italo Ferreira (BRA) 11.665 pts
3 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 11.500 pts
4 – Owen Wright (AUS) 9.490 pts
4 – Michel Bourez (PYF) 9.940 pts

Female ranking
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.745 pts
2 – Lakey Peterson (USA) 13.085 pts
3 – Caroline Marks (USA) 10.830 pts
4 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 9.490 pts
5 – Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 9.190 pts
5 – Keely Andrew (AUS) 9.190 pts