Manuela Mandl

Last spring, the best men and women of the competitive freeride scene met in Fieberbrunn to find out who had what it takes to stand at the top of the Freeride World Tour podium two weeks later. I was also able to be part of the action, not as an athlete of course, but as a reporter who was able to provide insights into the tour and the supporting events. As part of this, I had the pleasure of conducting an interview about our favourite activity with local heroine Manuela Mandl. In 2018, she became freeride world champion in snowboarding and last year she secured victory in Xtreme Verbier, taking third place in the FWT.

The Freeride World Tour 2022/23 starts its final stops in the Alps next weekend. The next stop at the infamous Wildseeloder in Fieberbrunn promises two new events and could become the unofficial finale.

PG partner Julbo presents a versatile new ski goggle with a special design. The Shadow One Line was designed by the two Julbo pros Manuela Mandl and Eva Walkner. The goggles are specially designed for small and medium-sized faces, have a particularly large field of vision and a reactive lens that ensures the best contrasts in all light conditions. We asked Manu how she spends the lockdown and what the design of the goggle strap is all about.

It's just under a month until the first stop of the 2019 Freeride World Tour (FWT) takes place in Japan. The qualifiers (FWQ) and juniors (FJT) will also not start until the beginning of January. Nevertheless, to get you in the mood for the upcoming contest season, the following article summarizes which riders will be taking part in the tour this year. Who got a wildcard and who has advanced from the qualifiers? Find out here!

Season finale of the contest season in good but not quite easy conditions: The last 4* contest of the qualifier season in Obergurgl once again decided who will be seen as a rookie in the Freeride World Tour next year.

The winners of the 2018 Freeride World Tour (FWT) have been announced. At the Xtreme Verbier on the relatively snow-covered Bec des Rosses in Valais, Manuela Mandl (AUT) from Vienna came third and thus won the women's snowboard tour. Victory in Verbier went to Marion Haerty (FRA). The snowboarder winner was Sammy Luebke (USA), who also came first in the overall standings for the third time in a row.

A tragic accident during the preparation meant that a winner who was not on the podium, favorite victories and top placings for the Austrians became a minor matter.

A week ago, two FWT stops took place in Kicking Horse (CA). At some qualifiers there were a few organizational uncertainties and disappointed potential participants over the weekend. Here is a short summary of the FWT and more details about the qualifiers in Hochfügen, at Hochfelln and the FWQ and FJT events in Alpbach.

The season is also drawing to a close for the contests: the penultimate contest in the Alps was held on the Kitzsteinhorn in very spring-like conditions (followed by the 2* FWQ in Gastein next weekend). The Freeride World Tour has just confirmed that the final on the Bec des Rosses will take place tomorrow, Monday, April 3, 2017.

Contrary to the trend in recent years towards rather mediocre contest conditions at all events, the Freeride World Tour in Haines was lucky once again: blower powder on a beautiful face provided the basis for a contest worth seeing. Only an avalanche on Reine Barkered's run marred the impression a little. Sammy Luebke (USA) and Shannan Yates (USA) won the snowboarder category, while Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) and Arianna Tricomi (ITA) won the skier category.

Last Wednesday, the catch-up event for the canceled stop of the Swatch Freeride World Tour (FWT) in Chamonix took place in bright sunshine in Andorra. Lorraine Huber (AUT) and Leo Slemett (FRA) won the so-called "Swatch Freeride World Tour Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Staged in Vallnord-Arcalís" on skis and Marion Haerty (FRA) and Christoffer Granbom (SWE) on snowboard. FWT newcomer Manuela Mandl took third place. The 2*FJT Silvretta Montafon also took place on Sunday!

The first contests are coming up, with Japan and Tyrol kicking things off. As the start of the FWT season is still two weeks away, let's take a quick look at the In&Outs of the FWT starting field.