The excitement from the Bec des Roses final has barely settled down and the Freeride World Tour has already announced the dates and venues for next year’s tour, it looks exciting but of course it’s not without controversy… Here’s the calender:
24th January – Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
31st January – Fieberbrunn KitzbÜheler Alpen, Austria
14th February – Vallnord Arcalis, Andorra
14th March – Alaska (exact location TBC), USA
28th March – Verbier, Switzerland
Sick right? Those are some heavy tour stops by any freerider’s standard. And the FWT finally goes to Alaska? That’s got to be a dream come true, especially for Sascha Hamm who by way of his top six finish has already automatically qualified for the tour next year.
Except if you look at the list closely, Alaska is the only venue outside of Europe, there’s not even a Canadian stop next year, or a mainland US mountain. Pretty harsh for those North Americans no?
But the point that sticks with of the bellyachers is that due to ‘logistical reasons,’ women will not be competing at the Alaskan stop, leaving them to the mercy of a purely European season and with only three events before the tour finals in Verbier. Seems a bit backward in this day and age of equality in contests no?
What do you think? What venues would you have picked for next year’s tour? Let us know below: