FREERIDE WORLD TOUR 2012.  Verbier, March 19, 2012 - The sixth and final stage of the Swatch Freeride World Tour 2012 will be held on freeriding’s most prestigious face, the north face of the Bec des Rosses in Verbier, Switzerland, Saturday, 24 March (weather permitting). The event will be more thrilling than ever with four world champions to be crowned and several potential winners in each of the disciplines men ski, women ski, men snowboard, and women snowboard.

Live streaming Freeride World Tour 2012 by FreerideWorldTourTV

Live feed starting at 09:00 am on contest day (contest starts at 09:30) with 10 live cameras, including stabilised air shots from heli (wescam) and two expert commentators: Enak Gavaggio for French and Jack Shaw for English. Link for the LIVE.

Erik Sunnerheim (SWE) & Henrik Windstedt (SWE) - Photo J.Bernard - Event Nissan Xtreme Verbier 2011 by Swatch

Verbier and the fabled “Bec des Rosses” is considered the pinnacle of freeride competitions. With its extreme nature only the best 12 men skiers, 6 men snowboarders, 5 women skiers and 3 women snowboarders qualify. We will also see a few wild cards, like the three times snowboard world champion Xavier de le Rue (FRA). The Freeride World Champion titles will be awarded taking the four best results of the FWT12 season, including Verbier.

The Xtreme Verbier is also a major public festivity; in 2011 the event hosted more than 10,000 live spectators. The “Bec” never disappoints, with riders pushing the limits in the sport of freeriding. In its 17th consecutive edition the stake is higher than ever with the world’s best riders battling out to score a high place on the ranking and for some, grab the world champion title and a prize purse of 45 000 USD.

Potential World Champions

In both the ski men and women’s discipline it is a nail-biter, with not less than five international athletes having the potential to be world champion! The five men athletes are, in the current ranking order: Sam Smoothy (NZL), Drew Tabke (USA), Reine Barkered (SWE), Aurélien Ducroz (FRA) and newcomer Oakley White-Allen (USA). All with a different style of skiing, a highest level of riding and a spectacular show is guaranteed!

Drew Tabke, currently second on the overall ranking reveals the pressure: “Going to Verbier in this position is really quite heavy mentally and emotionally. It is always an intimidating place to ride and there is a ton of pressure with the world title in reach. But when it comes down to competition day I will approach it just like any other run, which is to say I will ski to the very best of my abilities and enjoy the entire run.”

For the women skiers, all five riders qualified for Verbier have a chance to grab the world champion title! American Angel Collinson is leading the troop coming in to Verbier but Eva Walkner (AUT), Jaclyn Paaso (USA), Christine Hargin (SWE) and Janina Kuzma (NZL) are all close behind. On Saturday we will witness these female skiers setting the bar at its highest level.

In the men’s snowboard discipline there are two potential champions. Will French Jonathan Charlet bring it home or will we see American Ralph Backstrom on top of the snowboarders’ podium? Both riders have been riding solidly and consistent all season and it could be anyone’s game.

In women’s snowboarding, newcomer Maria DeBari (USA) and rookie Margot Rozies (FRA) will both tackle the Bec des Rosses for the first time in the quest for the title. 3rd ranked Shannan Yates (USA) has been on the podium on all four previous competitions but still hasn’t reached the top step. Will her luck be two-fold in Verbier?

Freeride Juniors by Dakine

The same weekend as the pros will be competing on the Bec des Rosses, the season’s third junior’s competition will be held on a smaller face in Verbier. Almost 80 juniors will be taking on the challenge in Verbier, organised by the three-times winner of the Xtreme Verbier, Cyril Néri (CH). The juniors have been showing outstanding performances in the two previous competitions in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and Fieberbrunn. It is looking good for the future of the sport! There will be an overall ranking in the four categories (ski men / ski women / snowboard men / snowboard women), crowning the “Winner of 2012 Freeride Juniors Series by Dakine”.

FWT and Porsche

FWT is proud to announce the high-end car manufacturer Porsche as a new supplier for the Swatch Freeride World Tour Xtreme Verbier. Additionally the iconic brand is a season long partner with the Verbier resort. A standard of excellence, commitment and distinction is synonymous with its brand and comparable to the FWT athletes, Porsche seeks to stretch boundaries and is committed to continual improvement. Find more at www.porsche.ch

Freeride World Tour
Tue, March 20, 2012 4:12 pm

The Swatch Freeride World Tour 2012 six stages

1st stop - Swatch Freeride and Freeskiing World Tour, Revelstoke 2012
Dates: 6 January,
Location: Revelstoke (CAN)
Disciplines: Men's and Women's Ski and Snowboard

2nd stop - Swatch Freeride World Tour, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc 2012
Dates: 21 January;
Location: Chamonix (FRA)
Disciplines: Men's and Women's Ski and Snowboard

3rd stop - Swatch Freeride World Tour, Courmayeur-Mont-Blanc 2012
Dates: 24 January;
Location: Courmayeur (ITA)
Disciplines: Men's Ski and Snowboard

4th stop - Swatch Freeride World Tour, Røldal 2012
Dates: 26 February ;
Location: Røldal (NOR)
Disciplines: Men's and Women's Ski and Snowboard

5th stop - Swatch Freeride World Tour, Fieberbrunn 2012

Contest date: 10 March

Location: Fieberbrunn (AUT)

Disciplines: Men's and Women's Ski and Snowboard


Final and 6th stop - Swatch Freeride World Tour, Verbier 2012

Contest date: 24 March

Location: Verbier (SUI)

Disciplines: Men's and Women's Ski and Snowboard