Another Freeride World Tour weekend has just blasted through Ordino Arcalís, taking place on a brand new face on Pic De Les Planes. Some tricky conditions kept the riders on their toes for the weekend, but this didn’t stop them from putting on a show, with giant transfers and floaty backflips on the menu.
The men’s ski comp kicked the day off, with surprising bails from some of the tour veterans, giving the rookies a chance to get in on the action. One of these tour newcomers, Swiss Maxime Chabloz, took the victory with a sporty run that linked together a massive transfer, a huge backflip and yet another giant 360.
“I chose a creative line where not many others had gone, and my backflip was bigger than I planned, but it still worked out perfectly,” Maxime said after snatching the win.
Jess Hotter made a return to the podium in the women’s ski category, with a fast run that linked a series of big airs in a clean style. Also back on form following her crash in Spain just last week, Elisabeth Gerritzen grabbed second place, while FWT rookie Lily Bradley snagged a third place finisher.
Speaking after her win Jess said the day “was all about adjusting my line to the changing conditions, and I’m so happy with how it worked out!” Continuing, Jess was psyched to be heading back to her home continent for the next stop: “My goal this year is just to have fun, and I’m really excited for Kicking Horse, I love it there.”
With stops #1 and #2 in the books, the tour is headed to North America. Next up is stop #3 in Kicking Horse, BC (12-17 February), which will be riders’ last chance to lock in results before the top-ranked riders move through to the FWT Finals in Fieberbrunn, Austria (March 15-20) and Verbier, Switzerland (March 26 – April 3).
Catch up with all the weekend’s action here