Holding the top spot in the rankings out of Fieberbrunn, SCOTT Athlete Valentin Rainer is crowned Freeride World Tour Champion. Molly Armanino claims 2nd Place for Freeride World Tour Ski Women’s Overall.
Following days of high winds and heavy snow, and despite best efforts from the organisers and mountain professionals, the Freeride World Tour’s final stop, the Yeti Xtreme Verbier, was cancelled on Tuesday morning, leaving the World Championship titles to be announced based on the current rankings. After a consistently good season, where he didn’t leave the top of the table, SCOTT Athlete Valentin Rainer was awarded the Freeride World Tour Ski Men’s World Champion title.
The 2023 season faced challenging conditions from the start, with Kicking Horse being postponed, and the first comp, set for Spain, seeming uncertain. The weather gods brought the goods at the last minute however, and the first comps of the season – in Baquiera and Ordino-Arcalis – set the bar high. Rainer’s accumulated experience was on show as he put down confident runs, adapting to the changing conditions, that earned him a win in Andorra and immediately put him near the top of the rankings table.
Heading into Kicking Horse, and excitement was high for the only North American stop of the Tour. And it didn’t disappoint. Valentin, riding on his success in Andorra, put down another solid run securing a podium spot and pushing him to the top of overall rankings. The stoke continued into Valentin’s home event in Fieberbrunn, where a last minute storm brought prime conditions to the event. The local threw down another good run on the challenging Wildseeloder face, to take an emotional 4th place, and hold on to the overall ranking at his home event.
With the Yeti Xtreme Verbier cancelled on Tuesday due to snow and weather conditions, Valentin Rainer, after a consistently excellent season, is crowned 2023 Freeride World Tour Ski Men’s World Champion.
Molly Armanino takes 2nd Place for 2023 FWT Ski Women’s!
SCOTT Athlete Molly Armanino finishes 2nd Place for the 2023 Freeride World Tour Ski Women’s! With solid riding throughout the comps, it was an impressive first season on the Tour for the Californian rookie.
A native of South Lake Tahoe, the 29-year old freeskier is known for her adventurous and confident freeskiing style. Molly stormed onto the 2023 Freeride World Tour with a wildcard spot, awarded following her stellar performance in the North American IFSA Freeride Comps. Despite missing the end of the season due to injury, Molly’s early performances were impressive enough to catch the attention of the FWT organisers.
In her first year on the Tour, Molly brought her fierce skiing style to each competition, taking to the podium in Baqueira and Ordino-Arcalis, and maintaining a consistently high position in the rankings. Even when faced with tricky line choice and falls in Kicking Horse and Fieberbrunn, Molly’s stand-out performances in the first comps kept her high enough in the rankings to eventually finish 2nd Overall in the Ski Women’s.
FWT regular Carl Regner finishes in 7th Overall
30-year old SCOTT Athlete Carl Regner, from Sweden, is a regular on the Freeride World Tour, and was one to look out for after 2022’s 2nd Overall finish. He started the season very well in Baqueira with big tricks and a technical line choice putting him on the podium and high in the rankings. Continuing to consistently place in the top 10 throughout the comps, Regner made it through to the finals and, whilst not quite reaching the podium as in previous years, finished the season overall in 7th.
Simon Perraudin places 11th in his Rookie year
At only 20 years old, this was Simon Perraudin’s first year on the Tour, as one of the youngest competitors. After two good runs in Baqueira and Ordino-Arcalis, Simon was able to make the cut for the finals, already placing himself ahead of more experienced skiers. While the Verbier-local didn’t get to finish the season with his dream of competing on the Bec des Rosses, he did finish in an impressive 11th Overall, showing there’s plenty more to come from this young Swiss skier.
