While Wadeck Gorak and Juliette Willmann are in the starting blocks for the Freeride World Tour, Marion Haerty will focus on another competition in 2022.
The Freeride World Tour will be one of the most important extreme sports events in 2022. Considered today as the world championship of freeride skiing and snowboarding, this competition brings together every season the best riders in the world on the most challenging faces of the planet. This year, four events will allow the athletes to try to secure their place for the final in Verbier.
New for 2022 is the appearance of the Spanish stage of Baqueira Beret from January 22 to 28. "We are very proud to welcome Baqueira Beret and its excellent venues to the FWT calendar explained Freeride World Tour Director Nicolas Hale-Woods after the 2022 calendar was announced." The new FWT Finals format, with a best of two runs event at Fieberbrunn and the World Finals on Verbier's mythical Bec des Rosses will be a great way to celebrate the Tour's 15th anniversary."
On the athletes' side, Private Sport Shop ambassadors Wadeck Gorak and Juliette Willmann will attempt to shine on the vertiginous slopes of Baqueira Beret, Ordino Arcalis, Kicking Horse, Fieberbrunn and Verbier. Wadeck, winner on the Bec des Rosses in 2019, was back on the main circuit last season thanks to a "wild card injury" given by the organizers following the withdrawal of Tanner Hall, injured at the start of the season. And it's an understatement to say that the Gapençais made the most of this invitation. Fourth overall with a second-place finish at the Verbier Xtreme, Wadeck Gorak will be in contention this season for a place on the overall podium or better...
As for Juliette Willmann, she also finished the 2020-2021 season at the foot of the podium after shining on the first two stages in Andorra (twice second). The Chamonix native, who hails from Barcelonette, came close to the title last year and will therefore be keen to try to win the world crown this season.
Finally, Marion Haerty (who you can see in the podcast we recently dedicated to him) has decided to take a break from the Freeride World Tour and concentrate on the Natural Sélection Tour, a backcountry snowboarding competition held in North America over three stages. "The experiences on the Freeride World Tour have made me grow, instilled values and made me grow from a young woman to a woman," explained the four-time world champion on her Instagram in a post published last November. "On the FWT, I was able to express an energy that comes from the bottom of my heart and that no one will be able to take away from me. I've made the decision this year to express that energy elsewhere, as time passes and snowboarding has other avenues of expression. Through video projects where sharing, discovery and of course action will be the order of the day, but also with the Natural Selection Tour where the goal of making my dream of riding these faces in Alaska a reality will hopefully be achievable this year. A few stages of the FWT are on the agenda, but no title hunt. It's not goodbye, just a step backwards."
Dates of the Freeride World Tour 2022
1. Baqueira Beret, Spain: January 22 to 28, 2022
2. Ordino Arcalis, Andorra: from January 30 to February 5, 2022
3. Kicking Horse Golden BC, Canada: February 12-17, 2022
4. Saalbach Fieberbrunn, Austria: March 15-20, 2022
5. Verbier, Switzerland : from March 26 to April 3, 2022
Dates of the Natural Selection Tour 2022
1 YETI Natural Selection at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort: January 24-30
2 Natural Selection at Baldface Lodge: February 21-27
3 Natural Selection in the Tordrillo Mountains: March 21-27