Freeride World Tour Goes Off at Chamonix

On February 5th, the second stop of the Freeride World Tour went off with a bang at big mountain mecca Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. Fantastic conditions, a talented crew of competitors and some of the greatest terrain on tour made for an action-packed big mountain battle. 

No surprises on the first place finishers. Veterans came out on top for the skiers, as Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) came away with the three-peat, defeating hard-charging young gun Logan Pehota (2nd place, CAN) and Fabio Studer (3rd place, AUT), who threw a huge flat 3. 

Same story for the snowboarders. Reigning champ Sammy Luebke (USA) reminded the judges why he won this event last year. Back-to-back 3s earned him a score of 92.00, the highest scoring run across all four categories.  Jamie Rizzuto (CAN) straight-lined to second place and Ralph Backstrom (USA) found a few untouched transition zones to speed into third.

The ladies went full throttle as well. Reigning world champ Eva Walkner (AUT) gunned it with style, earning first with several heavy airs. Italian Silvia Moser took second with a couple burly cliff drops and Matilda Rapaport (SWE) snagged 3rd with a creative drop into an untouched pow landing. 

Anne-Flore Marxer, the legendary Swiss snowboarder, surfed down a sheer face for one of the quickest descents. A lack of airtime wasn’t a problem for the judges, as her line was technical and fast, netting her first place. Estelle Balet (2nd place, SUI) followed up a fantastic performance at the first stop in Andorra with a steep line choice, while Marion Hearty (FRA), a wild card replacing an injured rider, navigated a technical couloir to take third place.