Doglotion.com - Freeskiing Community

Advertising

Summer is Here, But You Can Still Ski... Slacker.

2010 Freeride Champions Crowned in Verbier

by doglotion on: Mar.23.2010 at 09:47AM

Tagged in:

After the men’s final competition was postponed Saturday, due to bad visibility, the world’s best freeride skiers and snowboarders once again took on the mythical 600 metre North face of the Bec des Rosses. In perfect conditions the 24 male riders put on the most spectacular show with the fastest and most committed edition of the 15 years of the “Xtreme”. Several first descents were opened on the face. With this high level, the battle for first was extremely tight. The breathtaking performances of Swede Kaj Zackrisson, ski, and Frenchman Xavier de Le Rue, snowboard, took them to the first step of the podium.
(Photo - SWATCH - VERBIER 2010 / M. LANG WILLAR )

The win in Verbier gave enough points for Xavier de Le Rue to score top position in the men’s snowboard ranking 2010. For the third executive year, the unbeatable Frenchman was crowned World Champion. Austrian Mitch Toelderer is vice Freeride World Champion 2010, and Matt Annetts (USA) took the third step of the podium.

French freestyle legend Candide Thovex can now claim to be part freeriding history. For his first season on the Freeride World Tour he has proved to be a consistent freeride competitor (3 podiums) with committed and influential skiing. Thovex’s impressive third place on his premiere run on the Bec des Rosses put him on top of the men’s ski ranking 2010. Swedes Kaj Zackrisson (2nd) and Henrik Windstedt (3rd) completed the podium.

(Photo - SWATCH - VERBIER 2010 / M. LANG WILLAR )

The two male Freeride World Champions were awarded with a Nissan Qashqai, and the winners today went home with $10,000 each from the total prize purse of $206,200 for the Freeride World Tour 2010.

Event judge (injured competitor) Seb Michaud said “It was so tight between the first two riders Kaj and Aurélien. They skied more or less the same line but Kaj jumped one more cliff where Aurélien skied around. For the rest they both skied fast, fluid and stomped all the jumps in the extremely committed terrain, and taking the huge “Gilles Voirol” cliff in the middle clean. Just amazing.”

(Photo - SWATCH - VERBIER 2010 / M. LANG WILLAR )