Throwing down like there was powder: Freeride Hardball in the Pyrenees

Snowboard Men had the pleasure or burden—depending on perspective—to open up the 2025 season of the Freeride World Tour. First starter was Victor de le Rue and he made it look easy as usual, laying down a fluid run with lots of airtime. His effort brought him yet another victory but it soon became clear that his run may have been a bit delusive about the actual riding conditions. Several of his competitors in the Snowboard Men struggled a bit in their runs and when the Ski Men were up as the second category, it was interesting to see whether the riders would manage to keep up the incredible level of skiing that we have become accustomed to last season.

To make a long story short, they delivered yet another show that is well worth watching the replay. The Ski Men’s category offers the biggest field of competitors but also the highest and most consistent level of performance. Every competition on the FWT is wide open and pretty much every athlete has a realistic shot at the win. The newcomers are hardened by the Junior and Qualifier tours and definitely ready to compete on the highest level while the few real veterans on the tour proved that they still have it and are willing to give everything to keep up with the young guns. To make it to the top of the result list, skiers have to go for challenging lines, ski them with great pace and control, add in some sizable airs in meaningful parts of their runs and spice up these airs with at least a backflip or a 360. If you show just a slight shakiness like Weitien Ho did in an otherwise awesome run, you get punished by the judges—Weitien finished 6th—and if you just don’t lay it out enough in terms of line choice and speed like Martin Bender, who had a handdrag 3, a backflip, two more 3s and a cork 7 over a popular wind lip at the bottom, but with a slightly more relaxed approach in terms of speed and commitment, it’s the same—Martin finished 7th.

Second place went to fellow American Toby Rafford. The 21 year old rookie on the FWT missed the top spot only by a hair with 91.33 points as he skied almost the same line as Ross Tester. The rider out of Sun Valley threw a flatspin instead of a 360 in the couloir on top and even landed a double flatspin at the bottom windlip, but he started with a less sizable 360 drop as opposed to Ross Tester’s backflip up top. Commitment beat trick difficulty. Ben Richards rounded out the podium with another outing on this popular line, showing two big and stylish 360s, two cool transfer airs and his trademark smooth riding that made the face look like pure pleasure despite his mach speed.

Valentin Rainer also had a solid start into the season as fourth. The 2023 tour champion from Austria who had lost his title last season to his buddy Max Hitzig—who is unfortunately missing this season due to an injury—made it clear that he is still a force to be reckoned with. The 26 year old rider for Scott and Peak Performance was maybe lacking the last bit of determination last season to defend his title but he is far from loosing sight on future silverware. Hot on Valentin’s heels was fellow Arlberg based skier Tiemo Rolshoven, who represents Germany nonetheless. The 20 year old tour rookie impressed with impeccable riding and his trick savviness including a perfect double backflip at the bottom windlip, adding a 5th place on his first FWT start to his win at the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational last week.

Also worth mentioning is Marcus Goguen, who already impressed everybody last season with his spectacular runs. The Canadian went for a huge drop at the top of the venue, which only one snowboarder tackled before or after, and cleared it with a perfect 360, adding another 360 transfer at the bottom of the top couloir. He was arguably on the way to another victory on the tour, had he landed the huge backflip at the bottom of the venue which he attempted on a transfer jump that nobody else tried. However, he missed the transition for his landing slightly and crashed. A much more dramatic crash happened to French tour rookie Mathys Fornasier. The 23-year-old from the Trois Vallées lost a ski at the very top since he obviously hit something underneath the snow and couldn’t regain control before a massive cliff feature he was heading for. He fell over a large section of rock and snow, hitting the ground twice but luckily managed to avoid too hard contact and came out with only a slight scratch on his forehead.

Once the Ski Men were done, the top part of the venue was quite chopped up which added some serious challenge to the overall difficult conditions. What could already be felt among the last male skiers became obvious once the Ski Women category got on its way. The first three skiers all crashed—luckily without any major consequences—and while the first two were FWT rookies Britta Winans (USA) and Lena Kohler (GER), who both attacked the venue with poise for a good start only to get kicked by one of the many ruts, the third rider was experienced FWT competitor Lily Bradley, who managed the top section with a bit more cautious approach only to crash at the bottom following a huge backflip.