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Ski freerideMake way for freeriding with the champions of yesterday and tomorrow
The Freeride World Tour starts again this weekend in Spain, in Baqueira Beret more precisely. All the riders are looking for points to compete in the Xtreme de Verbier, a legendary event.
Sybille Blanjean may have won the Xtreme, but she sees many flaws that she can correct in her run.
Freeride World Tour / CLEDERER
Lovers of Verbier, there are. And among them, a lot of freeriders. The Xtreme in the Val de Bagnes resort is a goal for many Freeride World Tour skiers. That’s good, several of them have already succeeded. They seek to reoffend. Presentation of four serious competitors.
Blanjean, confirmation
The 23-year-old freerider won the Verbier Xtreme about ten months ago. A surprise victory that still seems unreal to him today. “I have the impression of not remembering it too much”, breathes the student in physiotherapy, who however begins the season with a certain confidence. “I come with a different attitude. I have more confidence,” she says.
More critical of herself than the others, she dreams of qualifying again for the competitions held in Verbier. “I find that competition allows you to push yourself and evolve in your skiing.” Until where? Only time will tell for the freerider from Verbier.
Chabloz, the headliner
Reigning world champion, Maxime Chabloz arrives with the status of a man to be beaten. “This last and incredible season will be difficult or even impossible to beat, but I am super excited that the Freeride World Tour will start again soon,” the rider wrote on Instagram.
The 21-year-old freerider was able to find white gold, in Switzerland but also in the United States, where he went for a few riding sessions. This summer, he mostly swapped snow for water, taking part in kitesurfing and wingfoil competitions. What largely keep the sensations, and allow him to continue his reign?
Maxime Chabloz in his works.
@freerideworldtour/©JBERNARD
Gerritzen, the regular
Elisabeth Gerritzen begins her seventh season on the FWT. In front of the (very) young newcomers, the freerider admits she had suffered a shock. “I was an inexperienced baby, and now I’m one of the oldest. It gives me a little blow, and I wonder if I’m still legitimate, “says the one who has yet won the Xtreme de Verbier twice.
Even if she doesn’t necessarily look 27 – she laughs when she explains that someone asked her that day if she was taking part in the junior competition – she fully sees the difference with her opponents. “The athletes who arrive now are those who have evolved in clubs, with coaches. They were part of structures, things that didn’t exist at all when I started. I learned by doing, they arrive knowing, ”she summarizes.
What disgust her? Not at all, since she still believes she can learn. “I have never been bored. For 7 years, I have always had challenges. So she takes advantage of it.
Perraudin, the «rookies»
20 years old, and a big desire to qualify for the final event at home. Simon Perraudin is, like Sybille Blanjean, a child of Verbier. “I often went to watch the pros on the Bec,” he says with a smile on his face. His best memory? Time for reflection, followed by a word on the atmosphere and the show. “Seeing guys ski this face so well is a dream.”
A dream, again, since the young freerider still has to find his bearings on a circuit he is discovering. “In terms of level, I got there because I have the level to be here,” he says. The rest, he did not necessarily calculate it. “I never saw freeriding as a future profession,” the EPFL student continues. He knows that a handful of athletes make a living from this sport, and he intends above all to continue to have fun on the faces as long as it does not force him to sacrifice too much. Logic.
