26 Jan 2014, The Swatch Freeride World Tour (FWT) 2014 by The North Face® featuring the Freeride World Cup took place for the second time in Chamonix Mont-Blanc.
The tour began with a men-only event in Courmayeur on the 18 Jan 2014.
The Freeride World Tour in Chamonix started Fri, 24 Jan and ended Sun, 26 Jan. The exact place and time of the event was announced 48 hours in advance. La Pourrie at La Flégère was the best available slope and 8:45am CET the optimal start time.
Aiguille Pourrie is steep and offers enough variations to showcase freestyle skills. The previous night the wind had picked up for a few hours, so the top of the slope had lost its recent powder, but the second half of the slope retained a good cover of pristine powder, perfect for freeriding. The day itself was sunny and great for the spectators. For the first time, the competition went out with a live webcast.
The FWT Chamonix 2014 men's competition
The competition began with men's snowboard. Swiss rider Emilien Badoux had an impressive run that brought him a score of 81.00 and first place. Jamie Rizzuto scored 79.25 that put him second. Chamonix local and Wildcard rider Christophe Charlet demonstrated his familiarity with the terrain through a strong line choice earning a score of 78.25 and the third position.
FWT14 - Christophe Charlet - Chamonix Mont Blanc de FreerideWorldTourTV
Next up, in the men's ski category, this year's new competitor on the scene, the freesyler from La Clusaz, Loïc Collomb-Patton continues to surprise and delight! Repeating his victory in Courmayeur, Loic made a hard charging and technical run, amazed the judges with an enormous left side 360 off a consequential cliff, executing a perfect landing and was awarded with 83.50 points and first place.
FWT14 - Loïc Collomb-Patton - Winner run... de FreerideWorldTourTV
| SNOWBOARD MEN | SKI MEN |
| 1. Emilien Badoux (SUI) 81pts 2. Jamie Rizzuto (CAN) 79.25pts 3. Christophe Charlet (FRA) 78.25pts |
1. Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) 83.5pts 2. Garrett Altmann (USA) 81.5pts 3. Mickael Bimboes (FRA) 77.75pts |
The FWT Chamonix 2014 women's competition
Next up, the women tackled the Aiguille Pourrie taking part in the tour for the first time in the 2014 season.
In the women's snowboard, Shannan Yates, of the United States took a strong and smooth run down the fall line, including enough technical features in her performance to take 70 points and first place. Newcomer Amber Schuecker of Australia landed second, while Swiss rider Estelle Balet taking third.
In the women's ski, Jackie Passo (USA), made one of the most daring moves of the day exhibiting incredible control from the take-off through to a stomped landing, earning her 80.5 points and first place. Matilda Rapaport from Sweden took second and Lorraine Huber from Austria third.
| SNOWBOARD WOMEN | SKI WOMEN |
| 1. Shannan Yates (USA) 70pts 2. Amber Schuecker (AUS) 66.5pts 3. Estelle Balet (SUI) 64.25pts |
1. Jackie Paaso (USA) 80.5pts 2. Matilda Rapaport (SWE) 75pts 3. Lorraine Huber (AUT) 68pts |
International classification of the FWT Ranking
At the end of each event, each athlete (freerider) is awarded a score. The best 3 results are used for the FWT Ranking. Men compete in 6 events, women in 5.
FWT General Ranking
| SKI MEN | SNOWBOARD MEN |
|---|---|
| 1. Loic Collomb-Patton (FRA) 5000pts 2. Jérémie Heitz (SUI) 3710pts 3. Garrett Altmann (USA) 2566pts |
1. Sammy Luebke (USA) 4125pts 2. Jamie Rizzuto (CAN) 4000pts 3. Ludovic Guillot-Diat (FRA) 3780pts |
| SKI WOMEN | SNOWBOARD WOMEN |
| 1. Jackie Paaso (USA) 2500pts 2. Matilda Rapaport (SWE) 2200pts 3. Lorraine Huber (AUT) 1980pts |
1. Shannan Yates (USA) 2500pts 2. Amber Schuecker (AUS) 2200pts 3. Estelle Balet (SUI) 1980pts |
After his wonderful performance in Chamonix, Christophe Charlet is 9th in the men's FWT snowboard with 1980 points.
Chamonix Freeriders have been successful in the FWT: Aurélien Ducroz won the men's ski in both 2009 and 2011 and Jonathan “Douds” Charlet won the men's snowboard in 2012.
Aurélien Ducroz was a guest of honor at the 2014 Swatch FWT. He decided to compete and took 40 points and 23rd after a missed landing which was captured on video.
The next phase of the FWT is scheduled for the 1 Feb 2014 at Wildseeloder - Fieberbrunn Kitzbüheler Alpen in Austria.
