Rizal Tanjung, Padang, Bali, Indonesia

“All the guys who got knocked in the earlier heats were pissed, ’cause they missed out on picture-perfect Padang,” says photog Nate Lawrence of the final day at the Rip Curl Cup, Padang.

After smooth sailing through the final morning (and a collective sigh of relief from the contest organisers), an angry onshore wind moved in and blew the lineup to shreds. After much complaining from competitors, the event went on hold. Indonesian Rizal Tanjung (pictured here) was in the last heat before the break, and was the only man to get barrelled during his wind-blown match-up.

After an hour-and-a-half wait, the wind swung back offshore and the sun returned. Second heat back, Riz stormed through the tunnel y’see here, his familiarity with the inside of an Indonesian barrel relevant from the sequence. His run ended in the semi-final, but d’you reckon making it far enough to score this ride thrilled him?