Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) in the skiers and Sammy Luebke in the snowboarders (USA) are the winners of the first stop of the Freeride World Tour in Courmayeur Mont Blanc (ITA). At Cresta Youla, skiers Josh Daiek (USA) and Jérémie Heitz (SUI) and snowboarders Sascha Hamm (GBR) and Ludovic Guillot-Diat (FRA) took second and third place. Freerider Stefan Häusl from Strengen am Arlberg (AUT) narrowly missed out on the podium and took fourth place, while FWT debutant Felix Wiemers (GER) secured ninth place. The 19-year-old Raphael Webhofer from Innsbruck (AUT) finished in tenth place. The next competition is already scheduled for 25.01.2014 in Chamonix!
The contest in Courmayeur Mont Blanc was the only one of the six tour stops where only male and no female skiers and snowboarders competed. After the tour kick-off, which had originally started five days earlier, was canceled due to poor visibility, this time the competition was able to take place in stable and perfect weather. Despite the generally difficult snow conditions in the Alps so far this winter, the organizers and the local mountain guides had nevertheless found a slope in the Cresta Youla where the riders could show off their skills: The relatively short slope was steep and rocky in the upper part and, after a wide snow field, offered further small features in the lower part. In perfect weather, the participants made ample use of the opportunities and demonstrated the full diversity of freeriding: double and triple drops, high-speed turns and freestyle tricks such as 360s and backflips.
Snowboard men: Commanding victory for Sammy Luebke (USA)
The snowboarders kicked things off early in the morning at Cresta Youla. 13 riders were at the start - and in the end it was Sammy Luebke (USA) who managed the best run: as the last starter in the race, the third-placed rider at the 2013 FWT found a simple but consistent line, which he rode at high speed but always in a very controlled manner (note the very calm arm movements compared to almost all the other snowboard competitors; all runs can be viewed in the stream at any time). He also scattered three cleanly landed and nicely grabbed jumps, including a dug frontside 360. Second place surprisingly went to Sascha Hamm (GBR), who lives in Chamonix and London and was originally born in Vienna, who showed a very fast ride and, among other things, a successful double cliff drop when he opened the lines on the "lookers left" side of the face.
Third place went to Ludovic Guillot-Diat (FRA) with controlled jumps and a fast run almost in the fall line. World champion Ralph Backstrom (USA) showed a messy landing on the last jump and finished in sixth place. The 38-year-old Flo Orley (AUT) from Innsbruck had a very fast run, but was unable to slow down the speed he took from the first steep section in a controlled manner and ended up in seventh place. Johannes Schnitzer from Munich (GER) found a very creative line as one of the first on the "lookers right" side, but crashed on a double cliff drop and had to settle for 12th place in his first FWT appearance.
The highlight video shows all the podium runs
Men's skiing: FWQ newcomer Loïc Collomb-Patton wins. Creative line choice is the trump card
A newcomer won the men's ski race: Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) is skiing his first season on the FWT and qualified for the tour last year with victories at the FWQs in Hochfügen (AUT) and Nendaz (SUI), among others. The 27-year-old Frenchman from La Clusaz wowed the judges with an ingenious air and a subsequent high-speed double drop right at the start, then continued his run with fast turns and finished it off with a wide 360 in the lower section. "I was very nervous before my first appearance on the Freeride World Tour, but I was very confident about my line," reported Collomb-Patton. "I'm really happy that I was able to win my first competition of the season." Josh Daiek (USA) was one of the last competitors to start and showed what was probably the fastest run of the day with the longest jump and a double drop in the upper steep slope - second place for the American, who wants to fully attack this year after a disappointing 2013 season for him. Third place went to Jérémie Heitz (SUI), who showed a triple drop at the top and his usual aggressive and fast skiing style in the fall line.
I should also mention Samuel Anthamatten's (SUI) run, he started with an extremely original big mountain line that would probably have put him on the podium, but then crashed on his final 360, which might have helped him to victory, and had to settle for 18th place. Like Fabio Studer, Anthamatten put all his eggs in one basket and went for the win. Other riders, on the other hand, showed that they preferred to play it safe in the last feature and wanted to bring their line to the finish at the first tour stop. The top-placed riders made it clear that this face, which could actually only do justice to a 2-3* FWQ, can definitely be ridden at World Tour level. The performance of 37-year-old Stefan Häusl (AUT) was also fast, who also started with an impressive triple drop and mastered the slope at high speed, but very confidently. "As I had a late number, there was only a little snow left at the start of my line," reported the man from Strengen. "But I took my heart in my hands and straightened my skis. My goal was to finish in the top five - and I achieved that!" The 25-year-old Felix Wiemers from Biedenkopf (GER) was competing at the FWT for the first time today after earning a wildcard thanks to his strong performances in the 2013 FWQ. With a 360 and a backflip, he immediately made it into the top ten and finished in ninth place. "I had two lines in mind and decided on my version two after watching some of the other riders' runs," summarized the Hessian. "I'm really happy with my position, because I achieved my goal of getting to the bottom without crashing at my FWT debut."
The results:
19-year-old Raphael Webhofer from Innsbruck (AUT), who performed a relaxed line with a handrag 360, a final 360 and two more airs. Fabio Studer from Koblach (AUT) was also strong as usual, but was unable to land his 720 flat in the lower section and only finished 29th out of the 32 riders. The reigning overall FWT winner Drew Tabke (USA) finished in eighth place.
Finally, there are some pictures from the contest to click through in the gallery: The next tour stop is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2014, in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (FRA). The skiers and snowboarders will also be competing for the first time this season. (The reason for the absence of the girls in Courmayeur is not the "difficulty" of the slopes there, but the scarce funds from sponsors and the ski resort, so unfortunately the tour stop with the least support has to be saved)
Interesting insights into the judging of the top runs:
FWT14 JOURNAL EP07 JUDGE DEBRIEFfrom FreerideWorldTourTV
The Freeride World Tour 2014 competition calendar:
1. Stop: Freeride World Tour Courmayeur, Mont Blanc 2014
Date: January 22; Location: Courmayeur, Mont-Blanc (ITA)
Men's skiers: 1. Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA); 2. Josh Daiek (USA); 3. Jérémie Heitz (SUI)
Men's snowboard: 1. Sammy Luebke (USA); 2. Sascha Hamm (GBR); 3. Ludovic Guillot-Diat (FRA)2nd stop: Freeride World Tour Chamonix, Mont Blanc 2014Date: 25. January; Location: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (FRA)
Last possible competition day: February 1
Disciplines: Ski & Snowboard, Women & Men 3rd stop: Freeride World Tour Fieberbrunn, Pillerseetal 2014Date: February 1; Location: Fieberbrunn Pillerseetal (AUT)
Disciplines: Ski & Snowboard, Women & Men4. Stop: Freeride World Tour Kirkwood, California 2014Date: March 1; Location: Kirkwood (USA)
Last possible competition day: March 3
Disciplines: Ski & Snowboard, Women & Men 5. Stop: Freeride World Tour Revelsoke, BC 2014Date: March 10; Location: Revelstoke, BC (CAN)
Last possible day of competition: tba
Disciplines: Ski & Snowboard, Men 6th stop: Verbier Xtreme 2014Date: March 22; Location: Verbier, Bec des Rosses (SUI)
Disciplines: Ski & Snowboard, Women & Men
