 This is the climax of competitive free riding This is mental that is with so much exposure A huge backflip The challenge of fear among athletes a giant maze with no room for hesitation no room for mistakes 25 editions of unforgettable free ride moments Continue This is extreme verbi a 2021 For the grand final of the free ride world tour we head to Switzerland Verbi a and the legendary big day Ross, which for the 25th time will host the verbi a extreme The idyllic Alpine village is located in the canton of valley in the southwest of Switzerland And this well-renowned free ride resort includes some of the most impressive peaks in the Swiss Alps Including the spiritual home of the free ride world tour Vectra's is very special because it is the pinnacle of big mountain competition The venue doesn't get bigger than that It doesn't get scarier and very few people get to ride it every year. So that's like it's our Hanen come It's the big one strong winds in the days before the competition meant the organizers had to lower the start So this is the main start from the party back So you can see the riders can slide here and go and choose their features But most of all you need to see the intimidating sight that you get from the top All you see the bottom and I think this is the main thing of this face There are a lot of blind rollers and it's really difficult to find your way. All right Let's do it The snow is quite firm But it's actually quite grippy. So these are all the features from the top all the jumps that you can do and Basically, we're gonna enter the main cool or the face. So this is a no-foam zone above it This is another part of the face Which is completely of a blind roller and which tells you that basically it's really hard to find your way There are three zones in that face So there is like the main central core, which is the closest core Then the whole left side of the face which might be a bit more affected by the wind And then there's the right part of the face, which is along the main bank Which is a bit more of an alpiney face All right, let's keep going So you can see this is a great wind lift. There's gonna be some tricks there from here we can see Like the mandatory cliff that all the riders starting from start to are gonna be hitting So you can see the finish line down there now all the technical and exposed features are gone And from there on you can let go and go and hit the last features down there And this is it. Yeah, you could see like all the wavy snow is usually the healthy snow The pretty soft one as soon as it's not rough. It's basically much more compact So the riders are gonna need to to read a bit the different conditions here The snowboard women were the first to be held it up to the start to drop in So let's take a moment to catch up on the season so far Located in the heart of the Pyrenees, Audino Arcalis and Dora kicked off the first two stops of the 2021 freeride world tour Coming into the season as the three-time world champion all eyes lay on Marion Herthe Despite the difficult snow conditions on both competition days The French rider impressed the judges with her line choices Which were packed with technical features and drops winning both events Marion got her season off to the perfect start In the fever print Austria Herthe took the win again and made freeride world tour history as the first rider to win The overall title four times. I was really relaxed on the top of the mountain Well, you're happy to be there and you know, I'm front-times watch I'm gazing US rider Erica Vikander and Canadian rookie Katie Anderson currently share the second place in the rankings Vikander making it onto the podium at all three stops Well Anderson secured a third and second place finish in Andorra The fourth and final rider to qualify for the extreme verbier 2021 is Austrian rider Manuela Mandel who struggled in the second competition in Andorra But managed to play second at her home competition in Fieberbrunn With her fourth world title securely tucked into her belt Anyone would have forgiven Marion Herthe for taking a foot off the gas here in verbier But in search of a perfect four wins from four Marion came on to the bet they were asked fired up That might have contributed to that Uncharacteristic fall at the top of her run, but Marion a true professional bounce back put that second drop in and started to settle down This run would develop into something truly exceptional by anyone's standards She worked her way down through the central Kowal Some very steep terrain and out onto this cliff Now it may not look that big but take a look now at the terrain. She's over the landing was do or die a truly make or break moment There was a compulsory cliff exit, which she stomped beautifully And then two hands down on the car on the apron Her fall at the top of this run would be the single blemish on an otherwise perfect season Would it put a dampener on the close of her 2021 season? My run was Not really good on the top You know, I'm a little bit tired in the end of the season But I was really happy to manage the middle of my run. I try to go fast and big and The snow conditions are tricky a score of 70 points flat for the other women to chase Canadian Katie Anderson was next to drop. She came in to the verbier extreme In second place overall, she knew she couldn't take the win in the overall championship But having seen Marion fall at the top of the face, could she take the win on the Bec de Ross? She started with this drop She had to put it sideways to control the speed on landing and that seemed to put her on edge She took a more conservative line and less speed through the central section of the face She didn't manage to get much air over the wind lip in the center And then as she worked her way down into the one really exposed part of her line She cut around that. It was a solid line from top to bottom But it put in perspective just how much risk Marion had taken I had a bunch of errors that I wanted to do and then as I was riding down the snow is pretty weird It was kind of like punchy and grabby and then like really firm in some spots. So I took out some errors Went for kind of more technical just had fun really just enjoyed my day here The judges deemed Katie's run worth sixty five point three three There was just one rider left to drop and if Marion Hayatee was nervous She had good reason to be Erica Vikander isn't well known for her big freestyle tricks But what she does excel at is immaculate technique and control in steep terrain and that is exactly what the Bec de Ross offers Could she do enough to take out Marion? She worked her way down onto one of the steepest areas of the face You could see from the slough pouring over the cliffs just how steep that gradient is She then made her way out onto the wind lip Small amount of air And then drifted out into that open section of the apron. She managed to arc out some of her trademark turns But again without that exposure it was going to be hard for the judges to find a reason to put her above Hayatee The top I thought it was pretty nice the snow was like decent up there And I took a slightly different line than everybody else I'm pretty stoked on that it got to a slightly more technical zone if you will and once you got kind of past that one Showed the snow is super hard super wind effected and it was again a pure survival mode 61.67 confirms a perfect season for Marion Hayatee Four wins from four Katie Anderson finishes her first season on the tour with yet another strong result second for the rookie But once again taking the win it's Marion Hayatee She's actually speechless Take it in Marion Marion. This is your moment to take in there are some cheers So the final standing see Anderson move ahead of Vikhanda into second and the 2018 champion Manuela Mandel finishing in fourth Champagne and the trophies belong to this woman Marion Hayatee Now the ski women make their way to the start-tut for them the title is still wide open Now we just have to hike for 30 minutes. Let's do this. Well head big hikes. Let's take a look at their season so far Overcoming the tricky snow conditions in Andorra Head Vic Vessel kicked off her season with a huge backflip her fast and controlled run secured her victory Hungry for a second win Vessel took a fall right after dropping into the second competition Nevertheless, she remains at the top of the rankings having come second in Fieberbrunn With her aggressive yet controlled style rookie Juliette Vildman earned two second place finishes in Andorra And holds the second spot overall coming to Switzerland currently in third place is Polish rookie Susanna Vitek who took her first ever win of the tour in Fieberbrunn It was more way more sketchy than I thought and first place. It's just amazing 2019's Verbier winner Elizabeth Geridson currently holds fifth place in the overall rankings Right behind US rookie Tracy Chubb Juliette Vildman went all in on her run Unfortunately, she crashed and injured herself. She still managed to ride down to the finish but her title hopes were dashed Fieberbrunn winner Susanna Vitek had a solid run that allowed her to climb into the hot seat Arianna Trikomi was gifted a wild card spot for the extreme Verbier on the strength of her previous achievements three world titles anyone and Of course her intricate knowledge of the Petty Beck offers her a huge advantage over most of the women's field She hadn't looked competition sharp in Fieberbrunn But as she set about the cliffs here on the Beck de Ross It looked like she might have regained her title winning form Beautiful turns spraying slough all over the Petty Beck trademark Arianna Trikomi style led her down into this double the same line that we'd seen Marion Hayate take in the women's Snowboarding Arianna looked absolutely at ease above this compulsory cliff She boosted her way out made short work of the bomb hole and then arched out some big turns on the apron Even three in one of her trademark three sixties at the bottom of the face and just held on to the landing I'm super happy about my run. I had a lot of fun. It was a bit loose Snow conditions were definitely not easy, but it's such a great feeling to ski these mountains since we didn't get to compete last year So I'm super happy The judges deemed it worthy of an 84.33. It was the hotspot for Trikomi One of the few skiers without the nerves of the overall title. She was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the runs Verbie local and extreme Verbie winner in 2019 Elizabeth Gerritsen came into this event in fifth place in the overall standings There was an outside chance that she could take the title But it required a lot of other results to go her ways So she was focused purely on her performance on the Beck She came out swinging with a fast and committed line to the riders right Brooming with confidence. She sent this compulsory cliff She then drew out a big turn to shut down speed and ensure that she was safe through the middle of the face in the variable snow She then kicked hard into a turn to line up for her next feature Easily the biggest cliff we'd seen in the women's category up to this point It was then after burners on to the finish to wait for the score Elizabeth's line control and technique arguably the hardest criteria to master were exceptional I'm not gonna lie. I had a bit of difficulties with the snow. It was very changing It was not as smooth as my run in 2019 But I did a similar line and I stomped all my airs. I'm happy. I did what I could with the conditions today Her score of 88.33 left her speechless Moved the reigning world champion Ariana Tricomi out of the hot seat Hedvig Vessel was next to drop Down at the bottom Elizabeth Gerritsen was still trying to soak up Exactly what she'd just achieved Back up at the top Hedvig Vessel dropping last had some big decisions to make Sat in first her closest rivals in Willman and VTIC had fallen So should she go all in for the verbier win and risk the title or ski safe to secure the overall crown Her pace and line choice up at the top suggested she was going all in She attacked the exposed skiers left and showed confidence and control She had two solid drops up at the top and exited that rock band with a beautiful transfer Now she made her way into some of the steepest and most exposed terrain Dealing with the slough she moved even further left and cut through with a beautiful gap The downside of that ski is left side of the face is that you find yourself on the apron with no features Far quicker than the right-hand side It meant that what had started as a very strong run lost its energy and petered out towards the end Yes, I skied on the Lucas right and I had Three four small hits I was supposed to do a big lift But the snow was super tricky and I and I just wanted to stand on my feet So I decided not to jump the cliff when I just arrived to it It would be a nervous wait for both Gerritsen and Wessel as the judges deliberated on that final score Eventually they came back with the sixty-eight point three three confirming Gerritsen as the champion in Verb, yeah Ariana Tricomi in second had big vessel in third In 2019 someone came up to me and told me, you know a girl has never won twice on the back And I was like, oh, that's an interesting fact. This is something that I want to try to do because I Think it's within my cords. So that was kind of the goal of the day and I'm happy I reached it Sixty-eight point three three would put Hedwig on the podium in third but in the overall title race It would hand the Swiss Gerritsen her maiden world championship by a margin of just 20 points It was a dream that Elizabeth herself thought was impossible at the start of the day and as such when she realized It was an overwhelming moment So with two wins this season Elizabeth Gerritsen takes the overall just 20 points ahead of the distraught Norwegian Hedwig Vessel And a bitter pill for Juliet Willman who drops off the podium for the first time into fourth Okay, so Elizabeth just won the title with 20 points That's like not My first feeling was feeling a bit sad for her because she deserves it She's evolved the sport so much in the past few years and I have so much respect for her and it was always a goal of hers to become world champ and Actually told her this morning. I was like it's yours. You got it and So of course, I'm very happy about it. I'm very happy about my performance, but I can't help but Feel a bit sad for her because she deserves it just as much as me Example of the spirit that exists between the athletes on the free ride world tour and a humble champion in the shape of the Swiss Elizabeth Gerritsen Okay, whatever man Next up is the snowboard men's category fucking sugar here The 2021 men's snowboard field got shaken up by two young guns Blake Muller and Cody Bramwell US rookie Blake Muller is currently leading the rankings after coming second in his debut run and winning the second Competition in Andorra, although he got caught up in the crusty snow of fever Brun Austria He still managed to hold on to the golden bib But there's no time for complacency as two competitors are hot on Muller's heels Winning the opening event and taking fourth in fever Brun British rider Cody Bramwell currently holds third place in the rankings Whilst in second is 2019's free ride world tour champion Victor de la roue with an impressive win in fever Brun I was like I just go and try for the canyon feels good to finally put a run that I'm stoked about Last year's tour champion Niels Minnick secured his golden ticket to verbie in fourth place alongside Camille Armand and Sammy Lubke who currently share fifth place in the overall rankings Cody Bramwell is in his second year On tour but has really announced himself this winter with the change in his approach He's been riding to win and the maths for the Brit in verbie were very simple if he could win And he wins the world title so he had to ride to win That is exactly what he did a couple of snappy turns and then a hard right into the close-out shoot He had an exposed drop at the top and then he committed to the compulsory cliff exit He managed to control the speed and shut it down heading left above a serious cliff band Spinning off a cliff in a heavy exposure is one of the things the judges Absolutely love it was followed by great control and another drop. This was developing into a very serious run Finding a fresh track of the wind lip at the bottom Cody chucked a laid-out backflip to close out What was a very impressive descent? It worked out it kind of had to change my line because I didn't get speed to this one here I wanted to do but I had a plan B if you didn't work out and I managed to stay on my feet to the end So yeah, I'm pretty damn happy like I think I'm on the podium there on the last one and yeah I'm trying to ask for more. I'm actually baffled. I work this well Fast technical line sprinkled up with some flair the judges rewarded Cody with a huge 89.67 89 bro It would take something very special to best it If Blake Moller was feeling any pressure dropping into the bet de Ross for the first time and Bidding to win the Freeride World Tour title. It didn't show in fact popping out of the gate It looked like he couldn't wait to get stuck in He headed straight to some of the steepest and most exposed terrain Lovely front-side air kicked things off But as he headed down the center of the big shoot he seemed to be burning both features and vertical But as is most often the case with Moller. He was getting set up for something big a 360 which he landed seamlessly into a heel side turn He managed to control his speed before releasing the hounds and sending the exit cliff from the upper deck It was a beautiful combo. He finished it with a floaty indie over the hip Nearly caught the second landing transition Yeah, I mean I kind of like a hit the hits I wanted to I kind of want to just point it through that back Three doubles on and then maybe should have back you this win left down here, but we learned Frickin amazing season though glad I came It would be a nervous wait, but 82 would see Blake slotting to second and Cody Bramwell survive one serious challenge The second that would come in the shape of this man Victor Dilleroux He's so solid and precise on a board regardless of snow quality And this would unquestionably be the rider that Bramwell would expect to best his score Victor struck out to the riders left and immediately put himself on top of a double Which he dropped without hesitation that commitment though meant he was clocking light speed on the run out And he had to get it under control Sensing this was his moment Victor let it run and found a new cross-court line and threw a high speed three into the Same exposed pocket as Blake but rather than attempt to shut it down Victor embraced the mayhem and sent the cliff This was all four-line All the features came out so quick. It was pretty steep with pretty compact snow So it really came quick, but I pretty much stomp everything just on my 360 did a little slat after kind of that Yeah, I rode fast. I did a nice three. So really happy about this Wizard like board control and full commitment were rewarded with a 92 point six seven Victory for Victor Dilleroux on the back deras So Blake Moller in third Cody Bramwell in second Victor Dilleroux takes his first ever win on the big deras Yeah, when you see the score coming and you see 92 I think and Yeah, first place and that means winning Verbie which is insane and winning the Feral waltzers it's really Really awesome and insane and I really didn't expect this to happen this year, especially After the really bad beginning of season. I've done to win in Verbie like it's really a big thing So Cody Bramwell in third the rookie Blake Moller a dream season to finish in second Victor Dilleroux makes it to a freeride world tour titles Catching up with his older brother Xavier slowly It's time for the final category the ski men are taking off World tour icons like René Barkard and Christopher Turdle had to be on their guard this season as the rookies came in hot Making his debut in Andorra US rider Ross Tester unleashed a deep bag of tricks to claim the podium's top spot Tester came up short on a backflip during the second competition day in Andorra But he managed to repeat his debut success with another win in Fieberbrunn This secured him first place in the overall rankings. I don't like wearing the golden bib because I think it's bad luck I'm stoked to get on the back. I've always wanted to ski it another rookie to keep tabs on is French rider Mayel Olivier who currently occupies fourth place in the overall rankings with a second and fourth place finish in Andorra But the consistency and experience of previous champs is not to be underestimated After Turdle struggled in the first competition of the season He delivered his solid and controlled riding style in the following two events and made it onto the podium at both The same applies to René Barkard who took third place in the second comp in Andorra and Undeterred by the crusty snow conditions in Fieberbrunn. He took second place Currently the two veterans share the second spot in the overall rankings with Mayel Olivier, Andrew Pollard and Karl Regner Erickson hot on their heels A massive 720 off a cliff gave Blake Marshall the highest score so far and put him in the hot seat In an era when freestyle is almost Mandatory in freeriding. Imanovaro is a stubborn defender of big mountain values His commitment to the biggest and fastest lines has earned him galaxies of respect from the core of the sport But he struggled to apply his style to competition, which is why he's never had the opportunity to ski the Bec de Ross in competition before Until now The Bec always offers skiers like Imanovaro the chance to shine though and that is exactly what he did The Spaniard lined up two of the biggest cliffs in the venue and then sent them both as a double It was truly unthinkable and blew everyone's mind The double and the top part is so steep so technical it's no full zone and Yeah, there's no was not so so good. It's a little bit crossedy and when I landed the first one I Take too much speed And I have another one and I landed perfect the second one and I take a straight line for the for the finish This line meant business 86.33 I'm are would be making himself at home in the hot seat Mayel Olivier was still in title contention, but a knee injury and a crash and did his overall title hopes in verbiage Drew tabki's style is matched only by his grace and once again He bagged one of the best lines of the day dancing a three-punch combo that Muhammad Ali would have been proud of The first of the big mountain Swedish mafia to drop was Carl Regnet Ericsson this huge flat tree Put him in second behind Navarro The next week to drop was Christopher Turdell world champion in 2018 He's won at almost every stop on the tour at some stage in his career except verbiage Christopher opened straight off the bat with a Beautiful swooping drop where he changed edges in the air and then he tucked underneath that cliff band and set his path down the fall line Another drop. He started to flatter the snow conditions with some incredibly smooth skiing Another drop and then just as we were getting lulled into a false sense of security Into a left turn into a pocket of snow above a truly monstrous cliff The landing was lighter than air for this week He skipped down to the wind lip for a backflip to cap a run that would only compound the judges misery His line and control was standout judging criteria, but in fairness, they were all peeking I'm happy that I was able to include a little bit of technical small turns with big drop and a backflip on the end and so I'm Happy to manage to land a line that included a little bit of everything Right now I'm relaxing but A 90.67 it would unseat I'm are and put Turdell one step closer to that elusive Verbiage victory There were only three riders left at the top two of them title contenders. So how was Turdell feeling? You know, I dream about this last night this morning You never know Such a relief. I couldn't be happier Now we just want to watch Vina Free ride legend René Barquerid was on his way to deliver the best run of the day taking Navarro's double cleaner And dare I say it even a little bigger Then he went to put the icing on the cake with his go-to Two sevenths and a 19th in the overall meant Vardek Gorek was not going to trouble the title But the Frenchman has won here before in 2019 Cutting around Turdell's cliff Vardek headed straight to the double And sent it bigger than anyone Then like a heat-seeking missile he honed in on that central wind lip But instead of sending his traditional backflip he treated everyone to a huge right 360 Very nearly got hung up cutting back, but held on and honed in on the final cliff This time it was a backflip big and clean Vardek knew the hard work was done and Turdell looked nervous Another backflip and no doubt the Frenchman had given the judges something to chew on My run was amazing. It's my first 360 in competition on 3 hour road tour my choice was to ski fast and try to to do a free tricks one 360 and two backflip and I did it 88 points for Vardek and second place with one rider left to drop At this moment free-ride world tour rookie Ross Tester had his dreams at his fingertips. Yeah, there's only Ross Tester left He's got it in him. It's his to win and to lose Leading the free-ride world tour and was dropping into the back day Ross as the last rider of the day Could he control the adrenaline and do the unthinkable? Win the extreme verbier and in the process take the world title He started the line in exactly the same way as Turdell and then headed for the wind lip where Undoubtedly he would put his freestyle repertoire to work There was no question at all that this straight air was a mistake on a face this short Ross knew he had to make every single piece of terrain pay with the judges and this miss here Was a huge blow to Ross's hopes Seemingly unfazed Ross headed out to the far right of the venue to the huge diving board and threw a massive 15-meter backflip Turdell knew it was special Maybe not the line he meant to do but despite that it was still very very impressive Run was all right. It was nothing that I really planned to do I looked at the face and saw all the features and I watched all the riders go And I ended up just skiing right past all my features and I saw where Leo did a big backflip So I said, hey, maybe I'll just do that. That was pretty sick and Yeah, I ended up stomping it so stoked on that Yes, it would they're talking about an 85 at point six seven which would see the rookie finish just off the podium in fourth and confirmed Christopher Turdell as the 2021 freeride world tour champion 2019 winner Vardek Gorak is in second. I'm on Avaro in third but on the top step for the first time in verbier Christopher Turdell To win here in verbier both the extreme verbier and the overall world tour It's it really can't get any better on that So in the overall ready Barcrit slips to fifth while Karl Regner Ericsson moves up to third Christopher Turdell Makes it to world titles It's time to say goodbye from the 25th anniversary of the verbier extreme Despite all the factors against it in 2021 the freeride world tour has delivered yet another year of spectacular and safe competition Join us again in 2022