The 2019 Freeride World Tour has been as progressive as any in recent memory. Therefore, the biggest challenge for the last event of the winter, the Xtreme Verbier, was to deliver a fitting finale.
The Bec Des Rosses is an incredibly intimidating venue and none of the competitors are afraid to admit that it scares them (you'd be crazy if it didn't). Yet the prestige of winning the biggest prize in freeriding means that everyone raises their game and sends lines on this face that stretch both skill and nerve to the absolute limit.
Age: 26
Nationality: Italian
Discipline: Ski Women
2018 FWT Best Result: FWT Overall Champion
Favourite Mons Piece: Yotei BF Tech LS
Age: 25
Nationality: American
Discipline: Snowboard Men
2018 FWT Best Result: First place in Kicking Horse, Canada
Favourite Mons Piece: Temple Tech Flex Hood
Women's Snowboarding
The women's snowboarding kicked the day off on the Petit Bec to the looker's right of the main face. Marion Haerty had already tied up the tour title, but had still promised to send 'the run of her life' in Verbier.
She wasn't lying.
Attacking the face with speed she sent a front 3. Making her way down to a double, she hesitated for a second before dropping on top a lily pad. She had to quickly redirect (which she did with style) and then exit off another drop. It capped a great line and illustrated Marion's overall confidence. The reward was the win here in Verbier to compliment her second world title.
Anna Orlova claimed second over Mons athlete Manu Mandl which put her in second place in the overall standings ahead of Manu.
The female skiers followed with a toe-to-toe battle between defending champ Arianna Tricomi and the rising star Jaqueline Pollard. In short, if Ari won she'd be world champ again, but if Jaqueline were to beat Ari by two spots then she would win.
The first three women dropped in and set solid scores. Next was Pollard. From the get-go, there was a sense of safety about her run; she went smaller than the first few ladies off the first cliff and then tracked far looker's left in search of a fresh line. It was a beautiful choice, probably offering some of the best snow on the face. And while it had a cliff, it lacked the direct approach and raw speed of the former competitors. The score came in at 70, which could have been tactical. It was a clean line that wasn't going to win, but meant that Arianna couldn't sit back and coast - she would have to come to the party.
Ari was the only skier to drop in from start two, which offered a shorter, but more exposed face and she made the most of it. Three cliffs in showed there was an energy and ambition to the run. The third cliff was a technical ledge drop that showed how broad Arianna's skill set is. Another five drops on the lower section of the face ratcheted up the points, but the pace wasn't comparable to other competitors and so the score of 81 saw her slide into second place. However, this was more than enough to claim the world title and leave the prestige of the Xtreme win to the local.
Victor De Le Rue had this one all but nailed down - if he could stay on his feet then we would take home the world title.
The man who could steal all the headlines from De Le Rue, Steve Klassen, was 54 years old and had won the first ever Xtreme Verbier in '96, then again in '97,' 99 and '04. However, the last time he competed on the Bec Des Rosses was 13 years ago in 2006. Steve still has the fire though and was the only person all day to drop from the peak. By doing so however, he gave himself the worst of the snow. It didn't seem to faze him as he went straight to the Reine cliff and stomped a solid ten metre drop. After mopping up the speed with a decent amount of style, he took a left and headed into the dog leg couloir. This is where the worst snow lay in weight and it was hard going, but Klassen persevered and actually made it look pretty good. He then launched another huge cliff, but got deck chaired on the landing. Persevering, he launched a 360 into the heart zone and then another big cliff on the exit. The score of 63 was fair considering the falls, but ultimately wasn't the point. The fact that a 54 year old could still mix it with the big guns was what middle aged shredders around the world took home from this run.
Victor De Le Rue was next in and the only thing he had to do to beat Davey Baird was to stay on his feet. A solid transfer, followed by a big 360 into a heel edge landing that he controlled beautifully, set Victor on his path to the world title. He closed out the run with two solid drops and made sure he would be polishing the 2019 world title for the rest of his life.
Davey Baird clocked a 76.33 which would see him claim second overall behind Victor, but the final say in the men's snowboarding would go to the 2018 champ Sammy Luebke. Luebke's riding has matured from backcountry freestyle to bonfire big mountain riding on the Bec Des Rosses. Demonstrating ease in steep terrain, he sent one of the bigger cliffs on the steepest part of the face and then threw in a 360, before opening up the throttle and sending one last big cliff into the flats. His 83.66 was enough for second ahead of De Le Rue.
Marcus Eder only needed to finish a run to claim the title. Meanwhile, the ice-cold Swede Kristoffer Turdell was lying in wait to pounce on even the slightest mistake, because you could be sure the clinical 2018 champion wasn't going to make a mistake.
First to drop was the Frenchman Wadek Gorek, choosing to start from Gate two. He swooped onto the face like a kestrel in a hunting dive, arcing left to set up for the Hollywood cliff. He scrubbed some speed and then sent the biggest drop in the central face with grace. Again, he shut down the speed and set up another drop before zeroing in on the last big take off and sending abackflip over ten metres into the landing and stomping it clean. His score of 92 would become the carrot, while the Bec Des Rosses remained, as ever the stick. The ice man, Turdell, chose the same start and the same line. His incredible technique of shutting down speed and arcing beautiful turns was mesmerizing and his commitment to the Hollywood was breath-taking. However, he left his foot on the throttle a second too long and was forced to straight line Gorek's backflip cliff rather than trick it like he had planned. An 87.66 put him in second place, impressive, but at the same time not enough.
Turdell had needed to win to halt Eder and his score meant that Eder would be crowned the 2019 FWT champ. It was Eder's friend, the injured Fabio Studer called him on the ridge to give him the news and Eder admitted later that he shed a tear.
Carl Regener then illustrated just how treacherous this face is. When trying to control the landing of the Voirol cliff, he blew out and tomahawked eight times into the next cliff band. Then dropped another six metres (to snow luckily) and continued his tomahawk routine a further seven times before coming to halt and miraculously signaling to the safety crew that he was alright.
Having to follow that spectacle was the aforementioned Marcus Eder. the Italian knew he was now world champ, but never the less wanted to deliver a line that he could be proud of. He spent a lot of time in fresh snow, dropping big cliffs with incredible ease and throwing a big backflip to end his line. The line didn't have the same exposure as the others, so didn't threaten the podium but the 82.66 was enough for fifth.
In the end, Leo Slemmet squeezed into second between Gorek and Turdell and drew to a close a truly vintage edition of the Verbier Xtreme.
Ari rides hard in a relaxed fit Yotei. This is merino performance at its finest with plenty of room for layering up. And with 190 GSM merino wool, it regulates Ari's temperature and naturally resists odour.
Made for year-round activity, the Temple Tech flex hood is the perfect active baselayer for Davey. It's lightweight, soft and is constructed with mesh paneling for superior performance in all conditions.
Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the Xtreme, a contest that refuses to bow to the laws of physics or seemingly, possibility. If you have any passion for freeriding, then you owe it to yourself to visit this incredible venue and see for yourself just what the world's best are capable of in the flesh. If you do, make sure to look us up.
Photos: Dom Daher
Australia
New Zealand
Switzerland
Rest of Europe
Canada
United States
