On January 19, 79 rookies (17 women and 62 men) proved themselves in a 2* Freeride World Qualifier where the pros of the World Tour will be battling for victory in just over a month's time. On the Wildseeloder in Fieberbrunn, shortly after 10:00 am, it was time to "drop in" into the Herrgottsrinne at the women's start of the Freeride World Tour. As at the start in the Axamer Lizum, Martin Rofner from the Arlberg stood at the top of the podium at the end of the day. Benedikt Minutillo, Lea Hartl and Stephanie Hamann also won in their respective categories. A report from PowderGuide weather blogger Lea Hartl:
At the riders' meeting in the early, freezing cold morning, the riders were urged not to take any disproportionate risks. The judges wanted smooth, controlled runs and reminded them of the unfortunate accident at the event in the Axamer Lizum last week.
During the subsequent face check, it quickly became clear that the Wildseeloder offers different challenges to the contest slope on the Hoadl (Axamer Lizum). The consistently steep face (where the women's competition of the Fieberbrunn FWT stop also takes place) offers opportunities for more technical lines in the upper part, while further down there are some cliffs in more open terrain. The snow conditions were generally very good thanks to the fresh snow of the past few days, although some of the jumps were still rocky. The low start numbers in particular had to hurry up for the 30-minute ascent to the start, as the schedule was strictly adhered to. As the face is not visible from above and there was initially some confusion about the zoning, the women who started first in particular had some difficulties finding their lines. Despite this, they consistently produced controlled, fluid runs.
As expected, the standard in the men's event was very high. Martin Rofner, who had already won the event in the Axamer Lizum, once again put in a commanding performance. The young local Anton Widman came second, followed by David Widauer. The snowboarders' podium also remained entirely in Austrian hands (1st Benedikt Minutillo, 2nd Clemens Bergmann, 3rd Christoph Fuschlberger). Especially the strongly represented Fieberbrunn riders were loudly celebrated by their numerous fans. Stefanie Hamann (Germany), a fixture on the freestyle competition scene for years, proved her big mountain skills and won the women's snowboard competition, followed by Amber Schuecker from Australia and Liisa Korpela from Finland. The women's ski podium was also international with Lea Hartl (Germany), Jenni Maarit Kaipainen (Finland) and Jacoba Kriechmayr (Austria). Unfortunately, there is no telemark classification at the FWQ events. The German brothers Marc and Martin Strasser were not deterred by this and finished 11th and 14th in the ski classification with very solid runs. To prevent any discussions, the judges emphasized that they would adhere exactly to the FWT guidelines when scoring. After their runs, the riders relaxed in a good atmosphere in the finish area and a number of spectators also turned up. The organizers can be congratulated on a smooth, speedy process and an all-round successful event. Snowboard women:1. Stephanie Hamann (GER)
2. Amber Schuecker (AUT)
3. Liisa Korpela (FIN) Snowboard men:1. Benedikt Minutillo (AUT)
2. Clemens Bergmann (AUT)
3. Christoph Fuschlberger (AUT)Ski women:1. Lea Hartl (GER)
2. Jenni Maarit Kaipainen (FIN)
3. Jacoba Kriechmayr (AUT) Male skiers:
1. Martin Rofner (AUT)
2. Anton Widmann (AUT)
3. David Widauer (AUT)
The results list (PDF) and more pictures:
Open Faces Freeride Series 2013:
12. January 2013 OPEN FACES** Axamer Lizum (**FWQ) (Report)
January 19, 2013 OPEN FACES** Fieberbrunn (**FWQ)
26. January 2013 OPEN FACES* Hochkönig (*FWQ)
February 02, 2013 OPEN FACES** Kappl (**FWQ)
February 23, 2013 OPEN FACES*** Big Mountain Stubai Glacier (***FWQ)
March 22, 2013 X OVER RIDE* Kitzsteinhorn (*FWQ)
March 23, 2013 X OVER RIDE*** Big Mountain Kitzsteinhorn (***FWQ)
