Men's skiing
The format with the cut-off after 3 stops seems to tempt many skiers to go for a top 10 result rather than a win, in order to at least stay in the tour for the coming season. Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone and certainly not to Sam Smoothie: with by far the most spectacular line of the day, he put all his eggs in one basket and took victory in the freeskiing category. In the upper section, he was the only one to master an extremely challenging combination through the rocks in a controlled and safe manner and with the necessary luck. In the lower section, he added further highlights with a few jumps, but a near fall shortly before the finish hardly affected his score at the end: his impressive 91.25 points were also the highest score of the day. The New Zealander was delighted: "I knew that I needed a good result here in Andorra. I felt right at home here. I'm over the moon - I put all my eggs in one basket on this run and it paid off."
Second place went to Jérémie Heitz (SUI), whose fast run in the fall line was rewarded with 82 points. Third place went to Reine Barkered (SWE), who skied a similar line to Heitz very smoothly and scored 81.25 points. The rest of the riders were very close together, the runs differed only slightly in terms of flow and presented the judges with a difficult task.
Felix Wiemers from Biedenkopf (GER) was the only one to jump a backflip at the top between the rocks, landing slightly backwards. The rest of his run was without any special features and the 64.50 points were only enough for 17th place: "The conditions are a bit difficult this year. But it was actually quite good. The sun made the snow a bit softer. I didn't land the backflip cleanly at the top, and then it goes down the rankings very quickly."
Stefan Häusl from Strengen (AUT) skied one of his typical big-mountain style runs with fast turns and several smaller jumps. However, 62.50 points were only enough for 20th place. Tom Leitner (GER) from Traunstein, who was the first competitor to start with a wildcard for the injured Fabio Studer (AUT), crashed after a jump in the lower section and finished 26th. Fabian Lentsch from Völs near Innsbruck (AUT) did not compete for unknown reasons and will therefore have finished his FWT season as long as the wildcard system does not bring him back.
Reine Barkered (SWE) leads the overall standings ahead of Jérémie Heitz (SUI) and defending champion Loic Collomb-Patton (FRA). Stefan Häusl (AUT) is in 19th place, Felix Wiemers (GER) in 22nd place. Both still need a good result in the third event to make it into the top 16 and qualify for Alaska.
Women's skiing
The pressure was particularly high for the freeskiers today: after all, it was all about the top seven places in the overall standings, which entitle them to start at the fourth FWT stop in Alaska. Hazel Birnbaum (USA) took her chance and scored 78.75 points and first place with a confidently executed high-speed run and several jumps. Eva Walkner from Salzburg (AUT) started aggressively with a jump in the upper groove and continued her fluid and confident run with several drops in the lower section. She scored 75 points for her cleverly chosen line. Third place went to Francesca Pavillard-Cain (USA). Lorraine Huber from Lech am Arlberg (AUT) came sixth after a slow run.
Eva Walkner (AUT) said: "My run was pretty solid. I noticed right after the first drop that the snow was pretty bad, that there was a crust on top. That's why I opted for a smaller cliff than originally planned. It was really the most difficult conditions we've had so far - but I'm going to Alaska, I'm happy!"
In the overall standings, Eva Walkner (AUT) leads ahead of Hazel Birnbaum (USA) and Silvia Moser (ITA). Lorraine Huber (AUT) is now also qualified for Alaska in seventh place after initially appearing to be eliminated (in the livestream results and also in the first press release).
Snowboard men
The compressed snow was particularly difficult for the snowboarders. The victory went to 2012 world champion Jonathan Charlet (FRA) with 90 points. He started with a switch 180 on a windlip at the top and followed it up with a technical, fast line through the rocks. At the bottom, he impressed with a series of jumps and a high drop. Second place went to Innsbruck's Flo Orley (AUT) with 86.50 points and a line that demonstrated his versatility. He performed an impressive bigmountain-style jump combination at the top and shone with several drops at the bottom. Third place went to the 2013 World Champion, Ralph Backstrom (USA). Alexander Hoffmann from Innsbruck (AUT) made good use of the terrain, taking many features with him and finishing in seventh place. He is eleventh in the overall standings and still has to worry about qualifying for Alaska.
Flo Orley (AUT) said: "I like it here in Andorra, the mountains look so similar to home. The terrain reminded me of my local mountain. When I saw the slope, I said to myself: When the snow gets softer, I'll ski this line! That's why I took this air into the small snow field. After that, I skied down as fast as I could. When I saw the score, I was the happiest man on the planet!"
After finishing third in the opening race in Chamonix, Mont Blanc, Flo Orley (AUT) leads the overall standings. Sammy Luebke (USA) is second, Jonathan Charlet (FRA) third.
Women's snowboard
First place in the women's snowboarding category went to Estelle Balet (SUI) with 83 points. She already showed a jump at the top in the steep section and hardly missed a rock in the more playful lower section to jump drops and doubles. Elodie Mouthon (FRA) came second with 79.50 points after a controlled run and a few drops. World champion Shannan Yates (USA) took third place with a technical line. The 1998 Olympic halfpipe champion, Nicola Thost from Munich (GER), took fifth place in her first FWT event after a confident performance.
"I'm very happy and had a lot of fun today. I rode as if I had been out with my friends, just without any pressure," said Estelle Balet (SUI) at the finish. In the overall standings, Shannan Yates (USA) is ahead of Estelle Balet (SUI) and Elodie Mouthon (FRA).
