Nic Von Rupp Pulls Another Iconic Highlight for the Team Win at Nazaré

A thick layer of fog covered the Farol da Nazaré on Saturday morning around the Praia do Norte, the famous cliffs where crowds gather from all over the world to watch the best big wave surfers go up against the most massive swells—this time around 60 feet high. After the fog cleared, a power outage delayed the start of the competition. Finally the chaos subsided and it was time for the daring surfers to take to the massive waves.

Nic Von Rupp is a Nazaré local; his deep knowledge of the patterns in this body of water helped him and teammate Clément Roseyro pick out the exact waves that gave them the best chance at winning the competition. Over the years, he’s developed a sense for the water that gives him an edge. The key is to choose the biggest wave that’s safe enough to take on and conquer. Big wave surfing is incredibly dangerous and it’s not uncommon for surfers to succumb to tragedy. This is where Von Rupp and Roseyro shine, they were in lockstep with the sea that day, each surfing absolutely epic waves. There was an iconic moment during the competition when Nic Von Rupp completely disappeared into 20 meters of violent whitewash only to emerge after a long pause. The crowd went wild.

Roseyro towed Von Rupp out to one of the biggest swells of the day and he absolutely nailed it, earning a 16.66 out of 20. Even though Clément Roseyro has only been in the scene for a couple of years, a rookie compared to many, he’s cemented his reputation as a burgeoning legend. Together, they finished with a combined score of 45.5, earning them the distinction of Best Team Performance, a total of the best two scoring rides of both team riders.