Guilherme Ribeiro and Francisca Veselko won the most prestigious sub-trophy in the 1st division of national surfing
Guilherme Ribeiro and Francisca Veselko became champions of the Allianz Triple Crown 2023, after a hard-fought fight that ended at the end of the Allianz Ribeira Grande Pro, the last of three stages of this season with the Allianz name of the MEO Surf 2023 League.
Allianz Triple Crown – Champions Gallery
2023: Guilherme Ribeiro and Francisca Veselko
2022: Guilherme Fonseca and Teresa Bonvalot
2021: Vasco Ribeiro and Francisca Veselko
2020: Afonso Antunes and Teresa Bonvalot
2019: Miguel Blanco and Teresa Bonvalot
2018: Gony Zubizarreta and Camila Kemp
2017: Vasco Ribeiro and Carolina Mendes
2016: Vasco Ribeiro and Carolina Mendes
2015: Tiago Pires and Teresa Bonvalot
This important sub-trophy has the greatest longevity of all the parallel awards in the 1st division of national surfing and has contributed to bringing increased interest in the main competitive platform of Portuguese surfing.
After the national title, which is the main factor of interest for the MEO Surf League, the Allianz Triple Crown has functioned as a kind of mini-circuit combining the best results of the athletes obtained in the Allianz Naming stages, in 2023, located in Figueira da Foz, Ericeira and Ribeira Grande. The attractive equal monetary prize for men and women and the visibility with added value for surfers has become a prize that everyone wants to win, bringing an important extra motivational factor to provide the best sporting performances.
Allianz Triple Crown 2023 Winners – Stage Results
Guilherme Ribeiro: 1st / 13th / 2nd places (Figueira da Foz / Ericeira / Ribeira Grande)
Francisca Veselko: 2nd / 3rd / 1st places (Figueira da Foz / Ericeira / Ribeira Grande)
Guilherme Ribeiro made his debut by winning the Allianz Triple Crown after, last year, having fought until the last heat in a surf-off style with Guilherme Fonseca, whose victory would come to pass for the surfer from Peniche. But, in 2023, the current national champion returned with strength and won his first trophy of this prestigious award. The 2021 national champion, Francisca Veselko, once again tasted victory in the Allianz Triple Crown after having won for the first time, precisely, in 2021.
Guilherme Ribeiro, winner of the Allianz Triple Crown 2023
“Since last year, the Allianz Triple Crown started to be within my goals in the League. Last year, in the Azores, this award slipped through my fingers, with Guilherme Fonseca being the fair winner. This year, as it was again in the Azores, winning this award had a special flavor! I feel that this award also rewards a surfer’s consistency in any type of condition, as the three stages that count towards the final ranking had very different waves. Therefore, this award also ends up being a good indicator for one of the points that I have been working on this year, which is the ability to adapt to any type of wave or conditions. The monetary prize ends up being very important to me, I’m at a stage in my career where I’m investing a lot in my development, whether this prize is used in competitions or when traveling, it will always be a great help! I couldn’t help but thank Allianz and ANS for creating this award!”
Francisca Veselko, winner of the Allianz Triple Crown 2023
“Both [2021 and 2023] were difficult achievements. I would say that this year’s was more challenging, as the years pass and the level increases. But, the most memorable one, was in 2021. After so many consecutive second places, I won my first stage of the MEO Surf League in the last stage in Peniche, I became national champion and I even had a bonus from the Allianz Triple Crown. Figueira da Foz, Ericeira, and Ribeira Grande are three destinations that I really like and I think my surfing fits well with these waves. I’m super competitive and I like to take all challenges seriously and, without a doubt, this award pushes us all even more. It’s an award that means a lot to me. In surfing, it has always been necessary to invest a lot of money and this prize will facilitate a next trip where I will be able to evolve and perfect my surfing or even invest in my equipment. It has to be spent in the best way possible to make me a better surfer and athlete.”
The two surfers succeeded Guilherme Fonseca and Teresa Bonvalot who had won the Allianz Triple Crown last year, thus stamping their names on the list of prestigious winners of this trophy.
José Francisco Neves – Member of the Management Committee and CMO of Allianz Portugal
“In the year in which we celebrate 10 years of partnership with the National Surfers Association, we also mark the eighth year of the Allianz Triple Crown trophy, which was awarded in June, at the Allianz Ribeira Grande Pro, in the Azores. It has been very rewarding to follow and contribute to the evolution of this sport in Portugal. We believe that there is already a natural association between the Allianz brand and surfing. We are very proud of this phenomenon and of being one of the main partners of Portuguese Surfing, a sport that defends the same values that we want to convey to our customers: trust, safety, and solidity.”
Current national champion Teresa Bonvalot leads the list of Allianz Triple Crown champions, with a total of four victories, followed by Vasco Ribeiro with three victories and Carolina Mendes and Francisca Veselko who were winners on two occasions.
Allianz Triple Crown – Winners Matrix:
Teresa Bonvalot – 4 wins
Vasco Ribeiro – 3 wins
Carolina Mendes – 2 wins
Francisca Veselko – 2 wins
The Bom Petisco Peniche Pro, the fifth and final stage of the MEO Surf 2023 League, will take place from the 27th to the 29th of October, in Peniche, and will define the men’s and women’s national champion titles.
The MEO Surf 2023 League is organized by the National Surfers Association and Fire!, with the sponsorship of MEO, Allianz Seguros, Joaquim Chaves Saúde, Bom Petisco, Go Chill, Corona, Somersby, Waikiki, Rip Curl, the sustainability partner Jerónimo Martins, local support from the Municipalities of Figueira da Foz, Porto, Matosinhos, Mafra, Ribeira Grande and Peniche and technical support from the Portuguese Surfing Federation.
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