The penultimate stop of the Freeride World Tour 2011 in Fieberbrunn went according to plan in fantastic weather and despite the changing snow conditions on the slope, and thrilled the numerous spectators. The local heroes dominated both the ski and snowboard competitions.
The crew around organizer Markus Kogler had obviously invested a lot of time to make the Bigmountain Fieberbrunn a top-class event, not only for the riders, but also for the spectators and media representatives. The whole place was in a state of emergency, an extra fan village was set up, perfectly positioned next to the piste and the course. The organizer even provided extra free rides for the spectators: around 1500 spectators and around 80 media representatives from all over the world gathered on the Lärchfilzkogel to watch the show on the Wildseeloder.
This year, the Wildseeloder contest slope presented itself with quite difficult and changing snow conditions, which demanded everything from the riders. After all, it hadn't snowed heavily for several weeks.
Unfortunately, the competition was characterized by a lot of crashes. Even the top riders such as Samuel Anthamatten (SUI), Henrik Windstedt (SWE) and Erik Sunnerheim (SWE) were not spared from crashes. Three-time snowboard world champion Xavier De Le Rue (FRA) even misjudged his jump and landed on the rocks after a 10m high cliff and crashed heavily, but fortunately remained uninjured.
Austrians dominate snowboard competition
The competition was dominated by the outstanding Austrians, who mercilessly relegated the competition to second place. Among the snowboarders, Mitch Tölderer (AUT) had a flawless and fluid run. With a double-cliff in the middle, he scored highly with the jury and secured a well-deserved victory. Max Zipser (AUT) took second place with the same line as Mitch Tölderer (AUT), but was not able to ski the line as smoothly as his compatriot - so the double victory was perfect! Third place went to 39-year-old Brit James Stentiford (UK). Flo Örley (AT) was able to maintain his lead in the overall standings with a fourth place, just ahead of Mitch Tölderer (AT).
Ski | Strong Austrians - Strong Germans
Among the skiers, 34-year-old Stefan Häusl (AUT) dominated with a perfect run on the right side of the Wildseeloder. He impressed with incredible fluidity and speed and was also able to stand the highest cliff of the day without any problems. A more than deserved victory and the lead in the overall standings ahead of Samuel Anthamatten (SUI) and Aurelien Ducroz (FRA). The Frenchman, considered by many to be the top favorite, had significant problems with his line choice today and was therefore unable to achieve a top position. The Swede Reine Barkered secured second place. He chose the left side, apparently with more difficult snow conditions, and was able to convince the jury with a flowing line. Reine Barkered (SWE) on the conditions: "Tricky sugar Snow in the middle, I hit many sharks and had a lot of coreshots - now I need a new ski..:-D"
Local hero Matthias Haunholder - hero of the day
The hero of the day, with a third place, was local hero Matthias \"Hauni\" Haunholder (AUT). He went to the start with a broken rib, took the highest jump of the day and was the first to open the line on the right side of the mountain. He couldn't quite maintain the fluidity of his run after the jump due to the severe pain, but it was still enough for a well-deserved podium finish. Matthias: \"It's been an absolutely messed up season - then there was the broken rib at the last race, but I really wanted to get on the start line here and impress at my home race. I'm totally happy that my run worked out and that I can still be in Verbier thanks to my placing.\"
Sebastian Hannemann (GER) came fourth, securing seventh place as the best-placed German in the overall standings and also qualifying for Verbier. Christian Reichenberger (GER) achieved an excellent 6th place in his first FWT competition and was the second best German behind Sebastian Hannemann. Christian on his run: \"It was very changeable conditions. It was powdery at the top, very hard in the middle at the take-off, the landing was soft again and then everything from slush to broken slush.\" Tom Leitner (GER) rounded off the excellent German result with seventh place.
Outlook for the final in Verbier
After the very close and inconsistent results of the last competitions, an exciting final in a class of its own can be expected in Verbier. The cards will be reshuffled, as the top skiers are all very close together in the overall standings and no real favorite has emerged among either the skiers or the snowboarders. The winners of Verbier will probably also win the overall classification in the end. An exciting finale is therefore expected on the equally selective and famous Bec des Rosses. The best 13 skiers and the best seven snowboarders in the overall ranking have qualified for the final in Verbier. PowderGuide.com will be on site again and report live!
Text and pictures: Philipp Stohner & Erik Straznicky / www.wesearchpowder.com
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Results Ski Men
1. Stefan Häusl (AUT)
2. Reine Barkered (SWE)
3. Matthias Haunholder (AUT)
4. Sebastian Hannemann (GER)
5. Sam Smoothy (NZL)
6. Christian Reichenberger (GER)
7. Tom Leitner (GER)
8. Julien Lopez (FRA)
9. Mathieu Imbert (FRA)
10. Jérémy Prévost (FRA)
Results Snowboard Men
1. Mitch Tölderer (AUT)
2. Max Zipser (AUT)
3. James Stentiford (UK)
4. Flo Ă–rley (AUT)
5. Aurelien Routens (FRA)
6. Raphael Bullet (SUI)
7. Martin Cernik (CZE)
8. Gennady Khryachkov (RUS)
9. Xavier De Le Rue (FRA)
FWT overall ranking Ski
1. Häusl, Stefan (AUT), 4300 pts
2. Anthamatten, Samuel (SUI), 4295 pts
3. Ducroz, Aurelien (FRA), 4180 pts
4. Barkered, Reine (SWE), 4000 pts
5. Windstedt, Henrik (SWE), 3910 pts
6. Prevost, Jeremy (FRA), 3660 pts
7. Hannemann, Sebastian (GER), 3030 pts
8. Coirier, Adrien (FRA), 2995 pts
9. Michaud, Seb (FRA), 2880 pts
10. Sunnerheim, Erik (SWE), 2860 pts
FWT overall ranking snowboard
1. Ă–rley, Flo (AUT), 5300 pts
2. Tölderer, Mitch (AUT), 5200 pts
3. De le Rue, Xavier (FRA), 4360 pts
4. Charlet, Jonathan (FRA), 4200 pts
5. Annetts, Matt (USA), 4100 pts
6. Zipser, Max (AUT), 3610 pts
7. Routens, Aurelien (FRA), 3400 pts
7. Stentiford, James (UK), 3400 pts
9. Bullet, Raphael (SUI), 2570 pts
10. Khryachkov, Gennady (RUS), 2225 pts
All FWT stops of the 2010/2011 season
Ladies
1. LA CLUSAZ FREERIDE (FRA) 4*: 16. January
2. NISSAN FREERIDE DE CHAMONIX-MT-BLANC 2011 BY SWATCH (FRA): January 22
3. BIG MOUNTAIN HOCHFĂśGEN FREERIDE 2011 (AUT) 4*: February 5
4a. NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS KIRKWOOD 2011 BY SWATCH (USA) : February 25 (ski only)
4b. NORTH FACE MASTERS OF SNOWBOARDING BY SWATCH - KIRKWOOD (USA) : March 5 (snowboard only)
5. SALOMON EXTREME FREERIDE CHAMPIONSHIP - TAOS (USA): March 5 (ski only)
6. NENDAZ FREERIDE (SUI) - 4*: March 12
7. FINAL: NISSAN XTREME VERBIER 2011 BY SWATCH (SUI): March 19
Men
1st NISSAN FREERIDE DE CHAMONIX-MT-BLANC 2011 BY SWATCH (FRA): January 22
2nd NISSAN FREERIDE ENGADIN ST. MORITZ 2011 BY SWATCH (SUI): January 30
3.a) NORTH FACE MASTERS OF CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN 2011 BY SWATCH AND PRIMALOFT: February 7 (snowboard only)
3.b) NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS KIRKWOOD 2011 BY SWATCH (USA): February 25 (ski only)
3. February (ski only)
4. NISSAN RUSSIAN ADVENTURE SOCHI 2011 (RUS): March 5
5. BIG MOUNTAIN FIEBERBRUNN 2011 BY NISSAN (AUT): March 12
FINAL: NISSAN XTREME VERBIER 2011 BY SWATCH (SUI): March 19