The Austrian freeride contest scene has grown considerably this winter. With the OPEN FACES Freeride Series, no fewer than five new Freeride World Qualifiers have invited youngsters and established riders to put their skills to the test in contests. After four successful events, the OPEN FACES Freeride Series is now heading towards the finale on the Kitzsteinhorn. Before that, however, the postponed 2-star competition in Kappl will be rescheduled.
The organizers of the newly initiated OPEN FACES Freeride Series can already look back on an eventful winter: Hardly a weekend went by without spectacular runs and exciting lines in familiar and new faces, as five new Freeride World Qualifiers were created, which is probably the most striking leap forward in contesthappening for the German-speaking contest freeride scene in recent years. This made it possible for all interested participants, regardless of sponsor background and riding level, to enter the ContestHappening, at least at the beginning of the series. The competitions in the Axamer Lizum, Fieberbrunn, Hochkönig and Stubai Glacier are now history again. But the after-effects are still lingering. Riders and spectators alike still remember the brilliant images of four top organized contests, each with its own character in terms of face and snow conditions.
Together we are now slowly looking forward to the final. This will take place on March 22/23 in the form of the legendary X OVER RIDE on the Kitzsteinhorn.
Before the grand finale, the OPEN FACES family, which now includes riders from all over Europe, will meet in Kappl for the 2-star qualifier, which had to be postponed from February to March 16 due to bad weather.
2* FWQ in Kappl on March 16
The competition now slots into the calendar just before the Open Faces final and perhaps reshuffles the cards for the final 3* FWQ on the Kitzsteinhorn. This time, the organizers have set up a special weather window so that Mother Hulda and co. can no longer throw a spanner in the works. The race will start from the Quellspitze on Saturday, March 16th. The finish and spectator area will be at the Alblittkopfbahn valley station. The start list for the contest will be taken over from the original date. In addition to Austrian and German riders, there will also be Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and French riders at the start. They all want to get some qualifier points before the end of the European winter.
For all those interested in the action at the 3* FWQ on the Stubai Glacier, here is the highlight clip of the event:
Open Faces Freeride Series 2013:
January 12, 2013 OPEN FACES** Axamer Lizum (**FWQ) (read report)
January 19, 2013 OPEN FACES** Fieberbrunn (**FWQ) (read report)
26. January 2013 OPEN FACES* Hochkönig (*FWQ) (read report)
23. February 2013 OPEN FACES*** Big Mountain Stubai Glacier (***FWQ)
March 15-17, 2013 OPEN FACES** Kappl (**FWQ)
March 22, 2013 X OVER RIDE* Kitzsteinhorn (*FWQ)
March 23, 2013 X OVER RIDE*** Big Mountain Kitzsteinhorn (***FWQ)
