Dive into the epic moments of the Ski Men category from last season. Rediscover the best lines of 2023, featuring outstanding performances by Simon Perraudin, Finn Bilous, Ross Tester & Valentin Rainer in Ordino Arcalís, Marcus Goguen & Max Hitzig in Kicking Horse Golden BC, Max Palm in Baqueira Beret, Oscar Mandin, Andrew Pollard & Maxime Chabloz in Fieberbrunn.
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00:00 Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Freeride World Tour.
00:04 We go straight back up, Verbier rider, Simon Perredon.
00:11 Simon had a great start, sixth place in his very first run,
00:15 and coming in hot start here for his second run
00:19 on the Freeride World Tour.
00:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:23 He's taken some serious air in his top section
00:36 and is working his way down into the middle of the face.
00:39 So opting for a 360 into this double,
00:42 really backing himself, making it clean,
00:44 getting a little bit of a right footer off that
00:47 and avoiding the flattest part of that.
00:48 Another 360, floating it out there.
00:51 So Simon Perredon getting things going,
00:53 keeping it hot as he moves into this low wind lip
00:56 and going for a massive transfer.
00:58 Oh, screaming out the bottom of the face.
01:01 That is fireworks from Simon Perredon.
01:03 That must have been so hard to line up
01:05 the airtime for that, too.
01:06 You have to really commit to going in fast.
01:09 Yeah, and he's certainly committed to the speed
01:11 now coming into this.
01:13 Last one we saw, Oscar Manda, and he takes it clean.
01:16 That was the fastest run we've seen by a long shot.
01:19 Speaking of stylish riders, another Olympian,
01:28 Finn Billis, on course.
01:29 The nollie out of the gate, and he's
01:32 putting himself right into the guts of this thing,
01:35 going ultra technical.
01:37 He may have the freestyle background,
01:38 but we haven't seen anybody enter through that zone.
01:41 And Finn with the 360, perfect connection into the landing.
01:45 So Finn Billis absolutely slaying the top section
01:49 through the heart cliff now, really bringing the heat.
01:52 Finn Billis, he's got the slope style background,
01:55 but his pedigree in freeride is second to none,
01:59 taking on this one, floating, and another nice connection.
02:02 So Finn Billis making a strong case for himself today.
02:05 Working his way over to the looker's left
02:09 with a big, floaty three over the wind lip.
02:13 Looking silky smooth, buttering his way over.
02:18 Everything he does, he does with style.
02:20 And this run, so far, blending beautifully
02:23 the combination of freeride and freestyle.
02:26 Landing switch, staying switch now.
02:29 Finn Billis coming into this lower section,
02:31 continuing to ride switch with a floaty switch 180.
02:35 So Finn bringing his own personal stamp
02:38 onto this, another massive 360.
02:40 The hits just keep on coming for Finn Billis.
02:44 What is he lining up for this one?
02:47 Hand drag three, sick one from Finn Billis.
02:51 What an incredible run.
02:52 Top to bottom.
03:08 18 years old, out of the Whistler Freeride Club,
03:10 Marcus Goguen.
03:11 He's looking for a solid result here.
03:13 He's got a ninth, but he's not holding a second result.
03:16 He's just trying to find his landmarks for entry
03:19 as he comes into this one.
03:20 And a big 360.
03:23 Clean, is he going to be able to hold on?
03:25 Marcus Goguen, a quick redirect into the backflip.
03:28 Marcus Goguen, clean.
03:30 Unbelievable for this young rider.
03:33 Back to back to back, and heading over now
03:36 to this low line.
03:37 Oh.
03:39 I feel like we're watching an actually well-made version
03:44 of Johnny Moseley's PlayStation game.
03:46 Yeah, pretty good.
03:47 This man made his debut on the Freeride World Tour
03:54 last year right here, and could not have made a bigger splash.
03:58 The first double backflip landed in Freeride competition.
04:05 As we see Max spinning into the couloir,
04:07 bouncing off that like it was a bogel.
04:09 What a bold start.
04:11 And we know the snow in here is rough as guts,
04:14 but Max just handling it.
04:15 He does a big backy, pulls it round, rides up so fast.
04:26 Definitely backing up what he did last year
04:30 with that incredible run on the Bassimer Face.
04:33 That was an incredible run.
04:35 The crowd is going absolutely nuts.
04:37 Well, we go straight back up.
04:44 Carl Regner, Ericsson's second overall last year.
04:47 Another peak performance rider and Scott rider.
04:51 So let's see what the FWT 2023 season brings.
04:55 A big 360 at the top of the couloir.
04:58 Into that upper section, flying through here now,
05:00 catching the wind lip with the flat.
05:03 Seven.
05:04 And now off this one with a huge 360, perfect transition.
05:15 Now he's down into the couloir.
05:16 Not a lot of features left.
05:18 Carl just got to hold on and keep it in the fall line.
05:21 Wow.
05:22 Putting all the elements there and so close together.
05:26 Overexposure.
05:27 Carl Regner, unbelievable run there
05:31 as he's holding on the Spanish crowd.
05:34 Firing up for the Swedes.
05:36 Peak performance riders are coming through the finish.
05:39 Heading back up to the top, the Frenchman, Oscar Van Dijk.
05:48 He was a wild card onto the tour this year
05:50 and opened his campaign with a second place, a silver medal
05:53 in a podium spot at the very first event of the year.
05:57 And what is Oscar going to have for us on the face today?
06:02 Getting some air there, cross court,
06:04 coming in above the Halsall Cliff.
06:07 Yeah, keeping it pinned into the fall line.
06:09 Perfect connection landing.
06:11 Just quite boggy on the way into that one,
06:23 so not having quite as much of a playground effect
06:26 on the riders' runs as we've seen in other years.
06:28 Taking on his next one, big flat spin.
06:36 Stomps it.
06:38 That's where you want to land on that air.
06:40 Oscar Van Dijk doing his research
06:43 as he finds the exact right transition,
06:45 as we've seen some other riders get smushed on that landing.
06:48 And he's finding his way all the way across,
06:50 staying really high on this one.
06:52 We know there's that big step down
06:54 roller that Oscar is approaching.
06:57 And just take it up a little corner a bit.
07:02 Maybe he's got something else planned for us.
07:04 Yeah, there are features over here.
07:06 The dead tree drop far, far over.
07:08 We saw this be a playground for men's snowboard in the past.
07:11 And Oscar finding a nice transition onto the snow.
07:15 So solid, solid run for the young French rider.
07:18 [APPLAUSE]
07:21 Always a podium threat, this rider.
07:30 Ross Tester, we saw him win the very first event
07:34 that he ever set foot on the Freeride World Tour.
07:37 He is also a former Freeride Junior World Champion.
07:41 Had a great preseason in Utah skiing powder.
07:44 And now we're going to see what he's got to say here
07:48 on the Peak de la Plata.
07:51 Little hop and a 360 off of that one.
07:53 And perfect landing.
07:55 So Ross Tester getting things started,
07:57 as we expected in a classic Ross Tester way.
08:00 Coming in on the side angle on this one with a backflip.
08:03 Dude, so smooth.
08:06 He's just so smooth, man.
08:07 Racing through the middle of the face there,
08:14 finding his next feature.
08:15 He's got this big step up with a three,
08:18 making the transition perfectly.
08:19 Another cross-court move here, as he
08:26 finds the sneaky entrance into this lower section.
08:29 Ross Tester blowing it away here.
08:32 The second man out of the gate.
08:34 And it is going to be hard to beat this one
08:38 if Ross is able to keep it together all the way down.
08:41 It's like he's physically incapable of straight air.
08:44 Like he just has to do some stuff.
08:46 Taking a lot of speed cross-court there and riding
08:49 out.
08:50 What an incredible run.
08:51 Jam-packed features, freestyle tricks, rock solid skiing.
08:56 Couple of wild cards in the qualifier last year.
09:04 Wild card into paper group.
09:06 Went to that.
09:06 Now he's sitting in second overall.
09:09 Max Hitzig, Austrian rider riding out of Germany.
09:12 Just kind of scoping out those corner spots
09:14 as he sets his way in with a 360,
09:17 clearing the cornice debris.
09:19 So Max Hitzig now heading out here.
09:21 So there's a rider's right.
09:22 Very steep and into a really technical zone,
09:24 turning it into a double.
09:26 He loves his doubles, doesn't he?
09:28 Why single when you can double?
09:30 Just really-- and that's one of those things where you can
09:33 really prove more points.
09:34 The judge is going massive off the bottom.
09:37 No freaking way!
09:38 Max Hitzig with the biggest air of the day
09:41 and a backflip, so casual.
09:44 A gigantic statement for the young Austrian rider,
09:49 teeing that up right off the nose.
09:51 Andrew Pollard, though, 28 years old.
10:01 He's been lighting it up on the tour
10:02 since the moment he arrived here.
10:05 Stylish, fast, smooth.
10:07 Everything he does is fun to watch.
10:09 And he is going out with some pace across the exposure.
10:12 Cross-court 360 there, coming in with some pace
10:20 to the Hausl Cliff.
10:21 Big send.
10:22 Perfect.
10:23 Stops it and carries some serious pace over to the right.
10:27 Just a slight angle on the takeoff
10:29 gave him that exact angle he needed on the landing.
10:34 Getting bogged there, one foot in the powder,
10:37 but not going down and pointing it off the nose of that.
10:40 And turning again to make sure he adds another feature
10:43 with a 360.
10:44 So Andrew Pollard, I'm wondering if that bog in the snow
10:46 kind of kept him from getting to where he wanted to go.
10:49 But proving that he can keep it moving with a scrappy there.
10:55 So Andrew Pollard, always fun to watch.
10:58 Yeah, I feel like he's done a little bit of freestyling
11:00 in this run.
11:01 I think it hasn't gone totally to plan,
11:03 but he's pulling it together.
11:05 Big air there.
11:06 He looks like he wants something else.
11:08 Yeah, staying on that left foot, finding another feature
11:12 with pace.
11:13 So Andrew Pollard just smoothed all the way from top to bottom.
11:17 Classic A-Pol run.
11:19 Maxime Chablot, the Swiss rider, getting
11:29 ready to kick his campaign off for victory
11:32 on the Freeride World Tour.
11:34 Well, let's wait and see.
11:36 I remember last year was his first time
11:39 on a really big face like the Wiltsloter,
11:41 and he had a big yard sale.
11:42 So I think he's determined to bring it back and get
11:46 some redemption here on the face.
11:48 Well, he is going fast out of the gate
11:51 and using all these rollers as airs.
11:53 Maxime Chablot wasting no time getting over
11:56 into this roller air as he pops off it with a lofty backflip.
12:01 Is he going to be able-- oh, perfect connection
12:03 with the landing.
12:04 So Maxime Chablot speeding over on this rider's right side
12:08 with a 360 now coming.
12:10 Oh, just getting a little wild there,
12:12 but still able to ski out of it.
12:15 Working his way down the couloir,
12:17 finding his next features, or just surfing that lip there.
12:21 Getting a bit caught up on some bushes,
12:22 but holding it all together.
12:24 Left footer as he comes into this one, throwing the 7,
12:31 and he's able to land that too.
12:33 So Maxime Chablot bringing freestyle elements
12:35 into the big mountain as is his usual motif.
12:40 Maxime Chablot now all the way across
12:42 as he wants to get this last final section skier's
12:45 right of the gully.
12:46 There are plenty of good options here with another big backflip.
12:50 Looking a little loose there, but holding it together,
12:52 airing over that next one.
12:53 Maxime Chablot on the ragged edge of control,
13:01 top to bottom on that run.
13:03 But so, so much fun to watch.
13:06 Oh my god.
13:08 That was a battle, dude.
13:09 That was a brutal run, man.
13:10 Valentin Reiner, he had a start on the Freeride World Tour
13:18 last year, didn't make the cut, and was off to the Challengers
13:21 where he was able to regain his spot here on the tour
13:24 as he kicks out the start gate to see what he can do here
13:27 on the face in Andorra.
13:29 Working his way through the exposure.
13:32 It's a few options to take.
13:33 Redirecting to take that one off the nose.
13:37 Yeah, and finding a really nice connection with the landing
13:40 there for Valentin Reiner as he is always so smooth.
13:43 I love his style.
13:44 Smooth, effortless, tossing the backflip there.
13:47 Valentin Reiner with a big 360 and another beautiful
13:58 connection with the landing.
14:00 So Valentin Reiner, peak performance, big 360 again.
14:04 So he's got two 360s and a backflip in technical terrain.
14:09 Valentin Reiner absolutely scorching this run.
14:14 Working his way down for a massive backflip.
14:18 Little backseat landing, but he pulls it off
14:21 and straight lines out.
14:22 So smooth for Valentin Reiner.
14:25 These guys delivering so far.
14:28 Everybody looking at this giant mountain face
14:30 like it's a terrain park.
14:31 Austrian freeride world champion in ski, Valentin Reiner!
14:44 [CHEERING]
14:46 [MUSIC PLAYING]
14:50 [CHEERING]
14:53 [MUSIC PLAYING]
14:56 (static)