For the second stop of the Freeride World Tour 2016, the riders have moved on to Chamonix, the Mecca for skiers and alpinists. On the north face of the Aig. Pourrie, they put on an action-packed show.
As with the tour stop in Andorra, the contest had to be brought forward by a day due to the weather. Unlike in Andorra, here in Chamonix there was no need to worry about the snow cover being too thin and lots of hidden rocks. In contrast to (all) areas in the eastern and southern part of the Alps, the area around Chamonix was blessed with sufficient snow. Despite the considerable risk of avalanches, the competition could be held on the designated slope on Friday. The athletes rewarded this with some spectacular runs. Those who were able to watch the show LIVE were the lucky ones.
Men's skiing
After a slight delay, the competition got underway at around 10 am. The men's skiers were the first category to have the honor of opening the competition. Kristoffer Turdell, the winner of Andorra, was the first to start. Unfortunately, he was unable to build on his success from two weeks ago and crashed. The 2014 world champion, Loïc Collomb-Patton, did better. He showed a fluid run with an extremely cleanly executed backflip in the upper section. As he was able to continue his run smoothly and with an additional cliff in the lower section, he was the deserved winner. Unfortunately, Loïc injured himself during his run and had to go to hospital for a check-up. When Canada's Logan Pehota started with bib number 19, the supposed favorites were all already at the finish line. With a fluid and very creative line, which no one had ridden before him, he managed to secure second place. Austrian Fabio Studer was the penultimate rider to start. With two Cork 360s, he managed to secure third place on the podium.
Women's skiing
After the men had led the way, it was now up to the women's skiers to follow suit. Sweden's Matilda Rappaport, who lives in Engelberg, started at number 2. She took the opportunity to jump a cliff in the upper section, which many of the men also took. In the lower part of her run, she even included a cliff that no one had ever jumped before her. In the final ranking, this run was enough for a good third place. The Austrian and former Welf champion Eva Walkner chose a similar line to the Swede in front of her. However, she skied her run a little smoother, faster and without hesitation. This was deservedly enough for victory today. Second place went to Silvia Moser from South Tyrol. She showed a creative line on the difficult slope with a clean cliff at the end.
Snowboard ladies
After the two ski categories, it was the turn of the snowboard ladies. This was the smallest category with just seven riders. Nevertheless, the ladies put in an impressive performance. One of the highlights of the day was delivered by Switzerland's Anne-Flore Marxer. Without hesitation, she started with a very fast line through the extremely steep terrain in the upper section. This performance was rightly rewarded with victory by the judges. The 24-year-old Frenchwoman Marion Haerty started after her. She impressed with a flowing line through steep and technically demanding terrain. This run was enough for third place. Second place in the female snowboarder category went to the winner from Andorra, Estelle Balet. She was therefore the only one of the first-round winners who was able to build on her performance from two weeks ago.
Snowboard men
As the last category of the day, it was up to the men's snowboard to bring the event to a worthy close. As in the previous categories, these riders also put in an impressive performance.
With the exception of Logan Pehota in the men's skiing, no American or Canadian had managed to displace the Europeans from the podium up to this point. However, that changed in this category. Sammy Luebke delivered the best snowdoard run here in Chamonix. With two cleanly dug 360s, backside and frontside, as well as a smooth run, he was able to achieve the highest score of all categories for the entire day. Another American, Ralph Backstrom, started shortly after Luebke. Like his compatriot before him, he also made a good impression on the judges with a fast, creative and controlled riding style, which was enough to earn him third place in the end. The penultimate athlete of the day was 38-year-old Canadian Jamie Rizzuto. Although the slope was already heavily rutted in many places, he managed to combine difficult lines with some jumps and high speed. This effort was rewarded with second place.
The highlight of the day was provided by the Norwegian Dennis Rissvol. Be sure to watch the replay! Results list and replay (you can select individual runs!) Men's skiing: 1. Loic Collomb-Patton (FRA), 89.33 2. Logan Pehota (CAN), 86.663. Fabio Studer (AUT), 85.00Women's skiing: 1. Eva Walkner (AUT), 83.00 2. Silvia Moser (ITA), 80.00 3. Matilda Rappaport (SWE), 76.66 SB Men: 1. Sammy Luebke (USA), 92.00 2. Jamie Rizzuto (CAN), 90.33 3. Ralpch Backstrom (USA), 89.33 SB Women: 1. Anne-Flore Marxer (SUI), 84.00 2. Estelle Balet (SUI), 80.33 3. Marion Haerty (FRA), 76.66
