The first heat of the Swatch Pro was, to quote many a grandma, a doozy. Round Four, Heat 1 pitted Jeep Leader and reigning World Champ Tyler Wright against 6x World Champ Stephanie Gilmore. With Wright's yellow jersey and Gilmore's potential seventh Title run on the line, the stakes were high and the talent even higher. Maybe it was that pressure, or maybe just old-fashioned rivalry with a longtime friend and competitor, but something clicked for Gilmore. Whatever has led to her (relative) slump this year, she seemed to snap out of it this morning, tearing Lowers to shreds and scoring back-to-back 9-point rides that more than solidified her win.
With that, she pushed the door ajar for a shakeup at the top of the ranks. Later, in the Quarterfinals, Gilmore -- who arrived here at World No. 4 -- lost to Silvana Lima and Sally Fitzgibbons (World No. 2) lost to Courtney Conlogue (No. 3). Of the top 4 on the Jeep Leaderboard, that leaves just Conlogue with the opportunity to capitalize on an open door to No. 1.