ContestHappening 7 2019 | FWT in Fieberbrunn

Despite the excellent snow conditions in Fieberbrunn thanks to the abundant snowfall in January, everyone was probably happy when around 20cm of fresh snow fell almost unexpectedly on Friday. As it was quite warm, the fresh snow was not completely blown away by the strong wind and so the contest conditions on the Wildseeloder were quite good. Especially in the right part of the Constest slope seen from below, there was soft, albeit somewhat heavier, snow, while in the rocky left part an unpleasantly hard crust appeared in some places. However, the good snow conditions this year allowed for a wide selection of different options, which were also used by the riders, resulting not only in some new lines but also in a varied contest.

On Saturday, all participants started relatively early, with the start of the men's snowboard race scheduled for 9 am, which is why the riders in this category were transported to the summit of the Wildseeloder by helicopter without further ado. The other participants then gradually made their way to the start gate on foot.

Snowboard men

FWT veteran Samy Luebke opened the contest with a fast and confident run through the exposed slope area lookers left and stood a decent 360 in the lower part of the face. With 80.67 points, the US American would later take third place. The third rider, Davey Baird from Alaska, scored over 85 points. He was able to impress with a run in the right part of the slope, scoring points with a steep entry with two drops. But even this was only enough for second place, as the overall leader Victor De Le Rue not only showed a fast and extremely solid run, but also managed to incorporate three 360s. The judges rewarded this with first place. The winner said in an interview after the event that he had changed his run at short notice after the conditions looked so good for the riders in front of him. Gigi Rüf made it to 4th place with a 360 and a line peppered with numerous other jumps.

All in all, the men's snowboarding was relatively evenly matched and the performances were also quite consistent in the last three contests. As a result, the three winners in Fieberbrunn are currently the three overall leaders in the tour. While Victor De Le Rue probably only needs one more top result for overall victory, Davey Baird, Sammy Luebke and Gigi Rüf are also still well in the running.

Jeremy Bernard / Freeride World Tour

Fieberbrunn

Men's skiing

Among the skiers on the World Tour, there is currently little that can beat South Tyrol's Markus Eder, who has been a consistent front-runner this season. His drops seem to be higher, his skiing style faster, his backflips and 3s more solid than those of his competitors, and everything looks so easy. Combined with his usually creative choice of lines, this makes him the favorite. This was also evident in Fieberbrunn, where as the second starter he set the bar so high with a triple at the top of the slope, two impressive transfers in the middle and a final, long jumped backflip that none of his competitors were able to follow suit. Andrew Pollard was only able to take second place with a fast run in the right part of the face - garnished with two decent 3s. The French overall winner in 2017, Leo Slemett, was the last skier to show a creative line with an exposed double in the upper part of the slope, numerous other drops and a decent backflip shortly before the finish, pushing him into third place.

In my opinion, other runs worth seeing are those of Kristoffer Turdell and Mickael Bimboes, who finished in 4th and 5th place. Unfortunately, Craig Murray injured himself on a huge 3 in the upper part of the slope and Yann Dumax-Baudron also crashed several times after a strong start. Fabio Studer, the only Austrian in the men's ski race, also crashed and therefore only finished 15th.

After his second win of the current season combined with a second place, Markus Eder has an almost unassailable lead in the men's ski race, especially as Craig Murray, the winner of Kicking Horse, will probably be out for the rest of the season. Kristoffer Turdell, last season's overall winner, is currently in second place on points, but will find it difficult to improve on his previous placings (twice 4th and once 7th). Tanner Hall (currently 4th) and Andrew Pollard (currently 7th) in particular have the potential to move up quickly in the overall standings, as they both finished second and could make up a lot of points with another top result.

Women's skiing

Among the female skiers, Jacqueline Pollard opened the field and showed an impressive line with a straight line including a mandatory air and several solid drops, which ultimately meant second place for the young US American. She thus drew level with her brother, who had just taken second place in the men's ski event. The overall leader Arianna Tricomi only finished in sixth place despite a creative start in the right part of the face and a solid run, which can also be seen as a sign of the sharp rise in standard among the women in recent years. The victory went to Hedvig Wessel from Norway. She built in a big cliff at the top of her run and crowned her line with a spectacular backflip at the bottom after a few more features. The last rider to make it onto the podium was Elisabeth Gerritzen from Switzerland with a fast run with several big drops in the right-hand section of the face.

This made women's skiing the only category in Fieberbrunn in which victory did not go to the leader of the overall standings. It remains exciting in the overall standings, as Arianna Tricomi and Jacqueline Pollard are almost tied, but Elisabeth Gerritzen and Hedvig Wessel are not to be written off either.

Snowboard women

The snowboarders started the day on the Wildseeloder. Erika Vikander, who opened the field, took third place with a fluid run down the right side of the slope. Anna Orlova started directly afterwards and went one better by incorporating a very steep slope section and a few drops into her very clean run. This earned her 2nd place. However, both had to admit defeat to the last overall leader Marion Haerty, who chose a more exposed and challenging line and also skied it cleanly. "I had already seen the line last year and really wanted to ride it. I'm absolutely delighted and I've boosted my confidence for the next event", reported Marion Haerty after her victory. Last year's overall winner, Manuela Mandl, unfortunately crashed and was therefore unable to place well in her home event.

This means that after three competitions, Marion Haerty and Anna Orlova in particular are well-placed in the overall standings for the female snowboarders.

Livestream and outlook

After an all-round successful stop in Fieberbrunn, where not only the organization, but also the riders and the crowds showed that freeriding is becoming more and more professional, it's now on to Andorra, where the next stop of the FWT is coming up in Ordinao Arcalis in just a few days. There, it's not only about the coveted places for the final in Verbier, but also about the starting places for next season.

As always, there is a nice clear livestream to watch here: