Against the beautiful backdrop of the Mont-Blanc the Freeride World Tour 2010 kicked off in perfect weather conditions on the 500 metre “Pentes de l’Hôtel” face at the Brévent ski area in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. The 50 best freeriders on the planet put on an amazing performance, showing the 3000 cheering spectators the top of their game on the committing face and challenging snow conditions. The most impressive run of the day was the clean victory of French freestyle legend Candide Thovex, debuting in freeride contests, announcing a promising future.  

After the last few days’ of snowfall the blue skies finally presented a dream like arena for the athletes and spectators of the Nissan Freeride de Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. However, the snow conditions where tricky for the competitors. A lot of the fresh powder was taken down by the first riders and parts of the face exposed rock hard snow, and at times ice. Control was decisive. First rider down, skier Julien Lopez of France set the tone with a spectacular line; steep, committing and clearing a massive cliff drop at the end (5th). Many variations and original lines followed.

Ski Men
The Nissan Freeride de Chamonix-Mont-Blanc was the famous French freestyler Candide Thovex’s first Freeride World Tour contest, and with his explosive run he secured a solid victory. Thovex chose a unique line down the face, literally flying through the course at full speed, stomping several solid cliff jumps, cheered on by the excited Chamonix spectator crowd. Salomon Swedish Kaj Zackrisson is one of the veterans on the tour, and a Chamonix local since 10 years. The strong skier took second with an extremely powerful and consistent run, taking clean and big air.
The Nissan Russian Adventure, which was cancelled in Sochi, took place in Chamonix the next day and Kaj confirmed claiming a good 5th place. Julien Lopez offered the frenchies a second victory on their home snow...

Kaj Zackrisson SWE – Second Ski
“The first part of the face was bullet proof with ice at the take off and ice at the landing of the jump! When we hiked up this morning we all thought the snow was going to be soft deep powder, but after the first riders we got the information that some parts of the face were really hard. I managed to change your mind set for more difficult conditions and just go. It was so fun!"

Next Freeride World Tour Contest day: 27 February
Categories: Men and Women / Ski and Snowboard
Location: Squaw Valley (USA)

Perched atop the Sierra Nevada in California, Squaw Valley is a Mecca for big mountain skiing in the USA and will host the third stop of

the 2010 Freeride World Tour.

Host to the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, Squaw Valley now attracts 600,000 skiers a year, mainly from the Sacramento and San

Francisco areas.

By the third tour stop, the leading candidates for Tour honours will have emerged and they will be looking to make a major impression on

the infamous Tram Face. Strictly illegal to ski, the Tram Face is being opened specifically for the FWT event. We anticipate a mighty

battle between the leading European riders and the top US riders who will clearly be looking to ensure victory on home snow. This event

is sure to be further fuelled by the lively local crowd – quite exceptionally, the Tram Face sits right in the village making it the most

viewable of events on contest day.