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ContestHappening 10 2018/19 | Obergurgl

The grand little finale

by Tobias Huber 04/09/2018
Season finale of the contest season in good but not quite easy conditions: The last 4* contest of the qualifier season in Obergurgl once again decided who will be seen as a rookie in the Freeride World Tour next year.

In the men's event, Germany's Konstantin Ottner secured his ticket with a sensational run and victory in the contest, as did third-placed New Zealander Hank Bilous and Wadeck Gorak, who finished sixth. Frenchwoman Juliette Willmann won the women's ski event. Among the snowboarders, Ludovic Guillot-Diat from France also made it into the World Tour. Austria's freeride world champion Manuela Mandl crowned her perfect season with her third victory in a row on the Hangerer.

Whoever shines on the contest face in Obergurgl can also hold their own in the Freeride World Tour: Once again, the contest in Obergurgl-Hochgurgl was the deciding factor in the battle for entry into the 2019 Freeride World Tour and it was effectively the small final, analogous to the big final last week in Verbier. The fact that today's contest was also the last chance for a ticket to the FWT was palpable at the last 4-star contest of the season. On one of the most difficult faces of the entire FWQ and FWT series - the Hangerer, made famous by Fabi Lentsch's run a few years ago - most of the riders used their last calls and showed runs at the highest level. The conditions were anything but easy, as the warm temperatures of the previous days meant that technical skills and risk management were particularly important. Although the snow conditions were extremely good this year, the face, which was not exactly easy to navigate, had very changeable snow conditions.

You can watch the livestream of the contest here. You can get a good impression of what it takes to qualify for the FWT these days.

Konstantin Ottner backflips his way into the Freeride World Tour

One man in particular stood out from the field of men's skiers: Konstantin Ottner (his run in the livestream from -1:52:37). He seized his proverbial last chance of the dream of a starting place and punched his ticket with a top run. Mr. Backflip once again lived up to his name with his parade freestyle element: 90 points from the judges for air&style, fluidity, safety, creativity - this not only sealed his entry into the World Tour, but also the day's victory for the man from Bavaria: "I wanted to take the cliff straight at first, but then decided on a backflip. During the run, I naturally tried not to think too much about the possibility that I could make it into the World Tour with a perfect line, which is of course difficult. I still can't really realize that it turned out the same in the end." Second place went to Frenchman Mael Ollivier. Kiwi Hank Bilous rolled up the field from behind. As the leader in the Freeride Qualifier ranking, he will also be competing in the premier class next year. The same goes for Frenchman Wadeck Gorak, whose sixth place in Obergurgl was ultimately enough for the coveted ticket. The best Austrian, Sebastian Hiersche from Styria, finished in tenth place, securing the Open Faces overall ranking of all five OPEN FACES CONTESTS from last season in confident style: "At the start of the season, I didn't think I'd be standing here today as the overall winner. But after a third place in Silvretta Montafon, victory in Gastein and a decent run from the Hangerer today, it's obviously mega." Tao Kreibich from Vorarlberg was unlucky as he had to bury his dream of a place on the World Tour this year due to a crash.

Triple victory for Mandl in Obergurgl-Hochgurgl

In the women's snowboard category, Manuela Mandl underlined why she was recently crowned freeride world champion. The Viennese secured victory in the women's snowboarding category with bib number one and crowned her perfect season with her third victory this winter, her third victory on the Hangerer: "I'm extremely happy that I was able to ride the line today that I've always wanted to ride. It was a mega contest, a great spring atmosphere and the crowning glory of a perfect season." Second place went to the strong Frenchwoman Tiphanie Perrotin and third place to Finland's Mikaela Hollsten.

Juliette Willmann in the Freeride World Tour next year

Just like in the men's ski category, the battle for a ticket to the premier class was extremely close in the women's ski category. Frenchwoman Juliette Willmann celebrated at literally the last second, benefiting from the retirement of the leader in the qualifier ranking, Anna Smoothy. The sister of former FWT champ Sam led the qualifier rankings for much of the season, but risked too much on her run and had no chance of making it in these snow conditions on a high cliff. Second place went to Caitlin Zeliff from the USA and third place to Maude Besse from Switzerland. The best Austrian in the women's ski category was Birgit Ertl in seventh place.

Ludovic Guillot-Diat secures Freeride World Tour ticket

In the men's snowboard category, a tragic hero from last year came to a more than conciliatory end in Obergurgl: Ludovic Guillot-Diat took victory and also catapulted himself straight into the Freeride World Tour. And he did so after coming second last year, narrowly missing out on entry. Second place went to Adam Bjoerk (SWE), third place to Spaniard David Vicente.

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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