Andorra

The first stop of the Freeride World Tour 2016 took place today. This year, the world's freeriding elite met at the start of the tour on the northern flank of the Pic D'Arcalis in Andorra. Rookies who had risen from the qualifiers and experienced World Tour veterans shared the first places.

George Rodney (USA) for the skiers and Estelle Balet (SUI) and Jonathan Charlet (FRA) for the snowboarders are the winners of the third stop of the FWT in Vallnord-Arcalis. At the stop of the Freeride World Tour 2015 (FWT) in Andorra, which was canceled in Austria and now made up for in Andorra, today's third-placed Felix Wiemers (GER) and today's seventh-placed Stefan Häusl (AUT) punched their tickets for the fourth stage in Alaska.

At the FWT stop in Vallnord-Arcalis on February 13, Hazel Josie Birnbaum (USA) and Sam Smoothy (NZL) won in the skiers' category and Estelle Balet (SUI) and Jonathan Charlet (FRA) in the snowboarders' category. Flo Orley (AUT) took second place and leads the snowboarder rankings. It was the third stop of the season for the freeskiers. Eva Walkner (AUT), who finished second today, is qualified for the fourth stage in Alaska as the overall leader. The competitions in the other three categories that were canceled in Fieberbrunn will be made up for later this week in Andorra.

The Freeride World Tour stop in Vallnord-Arcalis (Andorra) is confirmed for Friday, February 13, 2015. The first riders will start at 10 am. The event has been brought forward by one day to ensure the best conditions for the riders.

We encounter almost no vehicles on the way from Baqueira-Beret in the Spanish part of the Pyrenees to Andorra. After two hours of constant ups and downs on the narrow roads over the Port de Bonaigua and the El Cantó Pass, the sea of lights of the duty-free shopping nirvana of Andorra shines out of the darkness deep below us.