Defending champions ready and four continents represented

 

All of the four defending champions in skiing and snowboarding are back in the game on the FWT 2015! Right now they are preparing to take up the fight with fellow riders from no less than four continents. Besides the defending champions the riders list features Olympians, Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) champions, wild cards and injury come-backs.

 

 

Snowboard – Men

The riders list for snowboarding includes the top 2 men from the FWQ 2014 region 1 and 2 where the winners were Camille Armand (FRA) and Colin Boyd (USA).

 

The wild cards have been given to 2013 FWT champion Ralph Backstrom (USA) and 2012 FWT champion Jonathan Charlet (FRA) who is back from injury (injury wild card). 

 

The top 8 riders from last year's FWT are automatically qualified and all of them are present again with current FWT champion Emilien Badoux (SUI) at the top. Ludovic Guillot-Diat (FRA) is excited about the new destinations. He already knows Andorra, having won an FWQ there in 2011 before making his spot on the FWT: “I'm excited to return to Andorra – this time for the FWT! The organization there was awesome last time and they took excellent care of us.” As for Alaska, this would be totally new territory and “the realization of a dream for me”, the experienced French rider reveals.

 

Snowboard – Women

Top 4 women from last season are back, with champion Shannan Yates (USA) at the top. The newcomers from the two FWQ regions are the winners of the women's FWQ, Anouck Mouthon (FRA) and Mary Celia Boddington (USA). Margot Rozies (FRA) decided to end her career as a professional athlete. A wild card has been awarded to Anne-Flore Marxer (FRA/SUI) who won the FWT title back in 2011. 

 

Defending world champion in women's snowboarding, Shannan Yates from the US, is impatient to be back and of course to go for the title again. “I look forward to being a part of this community of amazing athletes. I feel that the female athletes continue to raise the bar and push harder, they are adding freestyle, big airs and speed! I hope to ride strong and finish well.”

 

 

Prize money

Besides the pleasure of riding well and being part of the FWT community, the riders can look forward to a total FWT prize money pool of more than 400,000 USD.

 

On the athletic side

The athletes are currently preparing for the season in their respective corners of the world. Jaclyn Paaso has had a busy summer mountain biking and is now in ski prep mode and impatient for the season to start: “Preparation for this season is going well, I had a little set back while training for the UCI Down Hill World Cup (mountain biking) this summer but it hasn't stopped me from getting work done in the gym. I think I'll be coming into this season stronger than ever. I can't wait for winter!” Others have been doing surfing, slackline and rock climbing in addition to gym work. “Fitness is a key part in performing well on the tour,” as world champion Shannan Yates says. She has been doing hill climbs, road biking and altitude trail running besides her core training routines to be strong for the demanding season in sight.

 

Nicolas Hale-Woods, General Manager of the FWT, is impressed with how the sport is evolving: “On the athletic side, we can look forward to an intense battle between a very dense field of excellent riders. It will be nothing less than spectacular! There has been a continuous and solid progression of the sport, and we see more airs featuring freestyle tricks and big amplitude. The mix of the classic FWT stops and the new destinations will make it possible for all riders to re-interpret and be creative and put on a great show for the fans.”

 

This year again, it will be possible to follow all of the runs of the riders on live broadcasts from all of the events, starting with Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France, on January 24, 2015. The full list of rider can be downloaded here