Big finish to Swatch Freeride World Tour in Verbier
The first united season of international freeride competition ended with a huge event in Verbier.
Ski Men – Kevin Guri wins Verbier, Drew Tabke takes overall title
Victory on the Bec des Rosses and the race for the Freeride World Champion title was a true nail biter, playing out with the five last riders of the day. Kevin Guri of France skied a spectacular high speed run landing a big air, which put the Frenchman on the top spot of the day, with a score of 86.33 points. Guri, age 23, was elated taking both his first victory and podium of the year at the prestigious
The battle for the overall title kept the fans in suspense till the very last rider out of the gate, Reine Barkered (SWE). The solid Swede and 2012 Champion took second with an outstanding run on the “Bec” but it was not enough to hold on to the title. Drew Tabke (USA), finishing an exceptional season with a sixth place at Verbier, was crowned the new Freeride World Tour Champion.
Tabke, a veteran of freeride competitions, won the season’s first competition in Revelstoke (CAN) and never let go of the top spot on the overall standings. Tabke’s style of riding could be described as a benchmark for the 2013 season; a very talented skier, capable of mixing freestyle tricks and big mountain skills on the same run with solid hard charging but still very fluid skiing.
“This is what I’ve worked for throughout almost 10 years of competition. Verbier couldn’t be a better place to do it. It’s a lot of time we put in. We all dedicate a lot of our lives to this so to have it come around is a big payoff for sure. There is a lot of amazing history in freeriding that has pushed us to this moment and I’m really excited to see what will happen the next few years too.”
Ski Women – Matilda Rapaport wins Verbier, Nadine Wallner takes overall title
After her rookie success, taking second at Fieberbrunn-PillerseeTal (AUT), Matilda Rapaport of Sweden received a wildcard to Verbier only two days ago. She continued her streak by dominating the women’s field on the intimidating face, starting the run with an impressive cliff drop, charging down with very solid riding and several big jumps. She took the prestigious victory by scoring 84.67 points. The second wild card of the day, Austrian Lorraine Huber, skied a similar line and scored second place with 81.0 points.
Austrian Nadine Wallner (AUT) could have played it safe in Verbier as she already had secured the World Champion title after her victory at Fieberbrunn-PillerseeTal. But once again she demonstrated consistent, strong skiing, finishing third. Wallner, who qualified for the tour through the Freeride World Qualifier system, was still overwhelmed by her performance: “It’s hard to believe it. It’s my first year on the tour and I did not expect to win the overall title! I was focusing on each contest. Every competition is special and I was really stoked to ski the Bec des Rosses for the first time in such great conditions!”
