Sponsors: Rossignol, Swatch, SNCF, Nissan, Saint Lary, ABS backpack
Xavier De Le Rue is a French mountain lover who is based in Verbier area, Switzerland during winter when he’s not on trip. During summer he comes back to St Lary, his home resort, in the Pyrenees (border between Spain and France) to climb with his wife and daughter, use his downhill mountain bike or go surfing near by on the french coast.
He is a strong freerider and most probably the guy who can ride the fastest in the steepest terrain. Every time he straps in, he charges the terrain, whether it’s pillow, minigulf, cliff or couloirs.He used to be known as a competitor only, although he always preferred freeriding, but it’s not easy to get into peoples mind you are a freerider when you won multiple world championship title and gold x games medals in snowboardcross. Most recently Xavier won two times in the row the title of freeride world champ, got awarded twice best line of the tour, won the Big Mountain pro event couple times. Although it’s great to step on the higher place of a podium, Xavier’s favourite program is filming and shooting freeride actions.
He has gotten his first big video part’ last year with Standard Films “Aesthetica” and got saved by ABS backpack from a huge avalanche who almost killed himself. Even when you know the mountain and are super into checking security, shit happen sometimes.
This past season Xavier has been filming a lot again, in Europe and AK for standard movie, he went to Greenland for a documentary released in October on relentlessenergy.com and he spent time hunting steep faces with Jeremy Jones around Chamonix area for DEEPER. His plan for next year is to get involved in filming as much as possible, although he will do a little break to go to Vancouver for Olympics in between freeride sessions.
www.xavierdelerue.com
First experience in snow: I was 2 years old
Best trick: Cliff jump with a blind take off and the landing in the middle of a steep couloir. Tell your best trip: North face of the Lenspitz I was with my wife and some extreme conditions…a 17 non stop hour mission.
off season activities : spending time with wife and daughter, climbing, mountaineering, surfing, downhill Mountain biking