The North face of Aiguille Pourrie was taken over for the third leg of the Freeride World Tour in Chamonix on Saturday, with the riders going head to head under bluebird skies, surrounded by super soft powder conditions. This spot takes them halfway through the tour – with the mounting pressure certainly not affecting their backcountry steeze as they took to the hill.
The dramatic backdrop of the alps made for a sweet picture as the guys kicked off the day – with the French local Jonathan Charlet grabbing the top spot with a 90.33 – following a sick fluid run concluding in a HUUGE air , signing it off with a 360 rotation at the end. Show off. At the bottom he said, ” I am very happy with my run. I felt a lot of pressure this morning competing at home with all my friends and family coming to see me. I competed here three years ago and rode a similar line. I stomped my airs and felt my run was fluid. Even more importantly, I had a lot of fun riding.” It looked like it.
Joining Charlet on the podium was USA’s Ralph Backstrom – who laid down a solid run; inventively linking in a series of features together earning him a score of 88.00 and making him the lead in the current men’s snowboard division. Cruising in third was fellow American Sammy Luebke– who raised eyebrows when he stormed it down the looker’s right side of the competition venue and gained a result of 76.33.
The real impressive story of the day was Laura Dewey’s (who must have smashed a mirror or two) as she arrived less than 24 hours before the competition due to one of life’s most annoying events, a delayed flight, empty handed thanks to life’s second most annoying event – lost luggage. Major props to her though as she borrowed some kit and made a solid clean run down the mountain, navigating the trees and throwing in some features on the way; landing her the winning score of 70.00 in the ladies comp.
Following the run she said, “It is unbelievably awesome to have won today’s competition and I am so happy to be here in Chamonix. Although I have only been here a short while I am having such a fantastic time here and look forward to enjoying these prolific mountains.” Another native French, Margot Rozies shredded in to second again with a steady pace and some solid landings with a score of 69.00, followed by Aline Bock from Germany who went with a smooth line, rewarding her with 57.33, and putting her in third place.
The FWT continues to its next stop of Kirkwood, California, USA on February 27th – we’ll make sure to keep you up to date with the guys and girls as they continue the tour. Check out the highlights below.
