Freeride World Tour - 2019

[PNWbrit]

I mean, that sort of fantasy league already exists for some of the mountain bike events

Wow....

[toast2266]

Wow....

I like it. It's free to enter, it makes me care slightly more about who wins, and it makes me pay a little more attention to some of the guys further down the ladder (in a field that's much, much larger than the 20-ish guys on the fwt).

Shrug. It's a novelty. It's kinda fun and I don't really see the negatives.

Edit: and it gives me some shit talking fodder over in sprockets.

[McDee]

You know more than me...and if true totally cool. The back story about me and Mika is funny and I support these guys as much as people support DOWN. DOWN is 100% passion not money so hope we can support WA in the future as Mika never skied DOWN for money but the skis.

Sorry, the ? went missing after

He also turning to filming with his ruroc partner

and

Or maybe a Down Skis movie

And i surley do not want to put words in his mouth, i was just watching the last WA episode and it is entirely possible that i misunderstood what was being said.
I just thought it was funny that Halls Message on why he wasn't going to verbier had so many #hashtags at the end including ruroc. One of Mika's episodes has Tanner talking to him about being on the same ruroc team and Bimboes reaction cracked me up.

That just got me thinking why we haven't seen Mika having more movie segments, but it could well be that he's not interested.

[McDee]

Fuck, you can even bet on results thru the website. What does that say?

I wonder how much traffic that generated, how many even bothered with that

[TahoeJ]

He already has been there and done that. 2nd place Verbier Extreme 2004.

I'm aware of that, but things have evolved dramatically since then. The gear is better for one. I have no doubt that despite being much older Ian Mac could thrown down a better line now than back then. Same deal for Candide - if you look at his 2010 runs, there's no question he'd blow us away in comparison nowadays.

Meter-Man nailed it - wildcard slots should be completely separate... I think they might generate more interest that way so those already accomplished skiers wouldn't feel like they were stealing someone else's spot. I'd love to see Josh Daiek return for an event or two...

[JaBr]

Coming soon a FWT fantasy league?

Actually that's how much of this thread sounds already.

I mean, that sort of fantasy league already exists for some of the mountain bike events that roughly parallel the fwt. A fwt league wouldn't be a stretch at all. I'm kinda surprised it doesn't already exist.

Draft Kings needs to get in on this, lol.

[oftpiste]

One more time:

FWT is a business, a traveling roadshow. There are no oversight sanctioning organizations to make rules. They make whatever rules they want. They have no particular motivation or requirement to do anything in any particular way other than what NHW feels is in the best interests of the business.

And that's OK, and all the athletes know the score. So, no, they're not going to create some 'fair' wildcard scheme.

[GoldenBC]

Hall’s second place finish in Japan was a fun line to watch, and his other finishes simply weren’t.

I've got to disagree. As he rode into his line at KH, I thought, fuck what a lame set up. But then that hit! I was 100m away, which helped, but FUCK! The first big hit of the comp. Shiftied. Stomped. Way bigger than Eder's. So sick. Good run, no. Fun to watch, fuck ya. I get paid to watch comp runs and there are a lot of winning runs I could not care to ever watch again. He did what he did.

[TahoeJ]

I've got to disagree. As he rode into his line at KH, I thought, fuck what a lame set up. But then that hit! I was 100m away, which helped, but FUCK! The first big hit of the comp. Shiftied. Stomped. Way bigger than Eder's. So sick. Good run, no. Fun to watch, fuck ya. I get paid to watch comp runs and there are a lot of winning runs I could not care to ever watch again. He did what he did.

And to his credit, he opened up that line that was later followed by Eder and Murray... which no one went for last year. Hall said he wanted to do a double backflip and backed off at the last second since he was nervous about the landing, but it was a nice drop. People in this thread are being way overly harsh.

[oftpiste]

People in this thread are being way overly harsh.

meh. easy to say "I was gonna...." after you didn't.

More dickwaving.

[TahoeJ]

meh. easy to say "I was gonna...." after you didn't.

More dickwaving.

Except he does them all the time... so I tend to believe him on that one. You're coming off pretty damn jaded at this point. Might as well start cheering for the Patriots while you're at it. ;-)

You do seem to be projecting anger on to Tanner that should be directed towards the judges...

[oftpiste]

I'm not projecting anything. I'm not angry at him, but I have lost my respect for him as an FWT competitor because of his behavior. He got the wildcard, waved his little cock around, made excuses, then bailed on the real deal.

Maybe he does them all the time, but he didn't then, and then made an excuse for not doing it. Kye did the same shit when he showed up late for his run, got other people to go out of order 'cuz he was "too busy filming" to do what EVERY other athlete did: show the fuck up. In all likelihood he was hung over, overslept and made others pay for it. This shit is disrespectful to everyone else who's there. They take it seriously enough to get the fuck out of bed at dawn's early crack and throw down no matter how hard they partied.

When was the last time you heard Drew, or Marcus, or Aymar or Ari or Christofer or x or x or x or x say, "I was gonna...." after their run? He's acting like a wanker. It has nothing to do with what he did before. He got this extraordinary opportunity and didn't show up and couldn't hang, and made excuses for it.

Hard for me to understand why you and some others are so hell bent on defending this shitty behavior.

So he was a rock star. Good for him. Doesn't entitle him to act like he's entitled to more.

[adrenalated]

Oft certainly isn't unbiased. But he ain't wrong, either. Both Kye and Tanner showed up, talked shit, sucked, and then made excuses for why they sucked rather than saying "hey, you know what, this is a lot harder than I thought, props to these guys for what they do." I bet a lot of the FWT guys wouldn't automatically throw down sick film segments either, there's more to doing that than meets the eye - just like comp runs.

I'm all for big name wildcards to increase interest and exposure, but they should be single event, and non-points. Don't fuck up the careers of those that spent years competing to get there. And ideally, award them to people that aren't egotistical douchebags.

[ill-advised strategy]

doesn’t the fact that he was willing to risk giving it a shot count for something?
Seems like he has a lot more to lose than somebody who hasn’t spent the last 20 years building a career and a rep.

Shouldn’t your point of view be gratitude for somebody with that kind of name and rep bringing viewership to the tour and providing a yardstick that ultimately shows how sick the level has become, and how unreal all the other competitors are skiing?

[TahoeJ]

I bet a lot of the FWT guys wouldn't automatically throw down sick film segments either, there's more to doing that than meets the eye - just like comp runs.

This. I love how Kai puts down one mediocre run and suddenly he now sucks despite some absolutely ridiculous lines in Numinous. I guess Powder should take away his skier of the year award. Did he handle it well? No, but chill the fuck out.

And again, let's not blame the skiers for shitty policies that the TOUR DECIDES. So much projection going on.

Agreed on the shitty behavior, but some are going way too far with the blame game. Why would any accomplished name skiers want to touch the FWT with a ten foot pole if they have to deal with this kind of crap?

[oftpiste]

Really? He obviously wasn't willing to risk it. He didn't show up for the final.

His career is carved in stone. He's probably pretty comfortable financially. Not one of the NA competitors is like that. Not one. WTF fuck was he risking? How does he have more to lose than the young guy (not necessarily mine) who's spent almost that much time getting there and doesn't have a pot to piss in, then gets displaced by a guy rich, entitled dude who can't even be bothered to show up for the final event?

The FWT - I'm sure - is grateful to him for bringing viewership, but how does that benefit anyone but him and them?

He couldn't hang. Made excuses. Meh.

doesn’t the fact that he was willing to risk giving it a shot count for something?
Seems like he has a lot more to lose than somebody who hasn’t spent the last 20 years building a career and a rep.

Shouldn’t your point of view be gratitude for somebody with that kind of name and rep bringing viewership to the tour and providing a yardstick that ultimately shows how sick the level has become, and how unreal all the other competitors are skiing?

[oftpiste]

This. I love how Kai puts down one mediocre run and suddenly he now sucks despite some absolutely ridiculous lines in Numinous. I guess Powder should take away his skier of the year award. Did he handle it well? No, but chill the fuck out.

And again, let's not blame the skiers for shitty policies that the TOUR DECIDES. So much projection going on.

Agreed on the shitty behavior, but some are going way too far with the blame game. Why would any accomplished name skiers want to touch the FWT with a ten foot pole if they have to deal with this kind of crap?

Whose payroll are you on? Kye doesn't suck. He's an amazing skier and throws down sick lines.

And he acted like a complete asshole and made excuses for it. TH did the same thing. FUCK those guys and their entitled bullshit!

NO ONE else on the tour acts like that. What is it about this you don't understand? Projection? WTF?

In movies no one sees the takes that didn't go. The athletes aren't on live TV. The only thing the public sees - unless the producers want them to - is the pretty shit. You think all those Numinous lines were first takes live? Give any one of the FWT kids 3 or 4 shots at a venue with heli bumps and they'll look pretty too.

[ill-advised strategy]

Really? He obviously wasn't willing to risk it. He didn't show up for the final.

His career is carved in stone. He's probably pretty comfortable financially. Not one of the NA competitors is like that. Not one. WTF fuck was he risking? How does he have more to lose than the young guy (not necessarily mine) who's spent almost that much time getting there and doesn't have a pot to piss in, then gets displaced by a guy rich, entitled dude who can't even be bothered to show up for the final event?

The FWT - I'm sure - is grateful to him for bringing viewership, but how does that benefit anyone but him and them?

He couldn't hang. Made excuses. Meh.

Among other things, the risk I’m talking about was the risk that ppl like yourself would come away from this season with the above-stated view of him.

Not a big thall fan, but I think if you love fwt, you should love it when any big name is willing to step up and give it a shot.

[oftpiste]

Well, IMHO "a shot" means you don't disrespect the tour and the rest of the field. And you show up. Like the rest of them do. Ad nauseam, my opinion is based on nothing more than my disdain for this behavior.

Among other things, the risk I’m talking about was the risk that ppl like yourself would come away from this season with the above-stated view of him.

Not a big thall fan, but I think if you love fwt, you should love it when any big name is willing to step up and give it a shot.

[total_immortal]

I'm not projecting anything. I'm not angry at him, but I have lost my respect for him as an FWT competitor because of his behavior. He got the wildcard, waved his little cock around, made excuses, then bailed on the real deal.

Maybe he does them all the time, but he didn't then, and then made an excuse for not doing it. Kye did the same shit when he showed up late for his run, got other people to go out of order 'cuz he was "too busy filming" to do what EVERY other athlete did: show the fuck up. In all likelihood he was hung over, overslept and made others pay for it. This shit is disrespectful to everyone else who's there. They take it seriously enough to get the fuck out of bed at dawn's early crack and throw down no matter how hard they partied.

When was the last time you heard Drew, or Marcus, or Aymar or Ari or Christofer or x or x or x or x say, "I was gonna...." after their run? He's acting like a wanker. It has nothing to do with what he did before. He got this extraordinary opportunity and didn't show up and couldn't hang, and made excuses for it.

Hard for me to understand why you and some others are so hell bent on defending this shitty behavior.

So he was a rock star. Good for him. Doesn't entitle him to act like he's entitled to more.

For fucks sake, one could argue that none of this "tricking over exposure off a 70 foot cliff" would have happened without thall. He is one of the few people who has significantly progressed the sport and helped create freeskiing as we know it. He has been tricking off large, natural features for years. He has acknowledged the one run format is a challenge and that's understandable when your career has been spent filming and competing in park. Were you this upset when Candide crushed the tour? Or is it that thall finished in the middle of the pack and didn't blow everyone away? I feel thall and kye were both judged fairly but that's just my opinion as a hack skier.

[oftpiste]

Ok. Sorry. I guess that means someone did something cool 20 years ago it makes it OK for them to act like a dick for ever?

Great logic.

SMH

And, no, it wasn't TH. It was Shane, Jim Jack, Coombs, etc. that made this happen. May they RIP.

[SUPERIOR]

What’s at the “core” of the FWT? Is that the question here? Or just bitching about deserving and undeserving athletes?

Is the question one of yearly progression, and seeing how close each skier can get to some arbitrary performance max or ski run idealism?

Or is it legitimately pushing the boundaries of the sport?

Should we judge on ability, creativity, ethic, or style? Is the best rider a logical combo of all these?

I think that’s where the beginning of this whole thread is starting to unravel.

I remember the old comps, when there was a pterodactyl scream sounded when a competitor would do something siiick. They were nominated for a “sick bird” award.

Many times the sick bird award was seemingly cooler than 1st place.

I miss that. It was the best part for me.

[gimpy]

thall obviously knew the bec was only going to expose his lack of big mtn charging. so rather then gracefully bowing out, by simply saying he wouldnt be able to be competitive, he tried to save face making excuses. instead of getting prepped to ski the most iconic ski comp line in the world, he is getting blazed hitting kickers on donner summit, and minimilizing his disrespectful departure. never really gave the guy a thought before this, but this move is now his legacy

[baron]

there is some great skiing ..maybe the FWT thread need a secondary Bitch thread alongside it ?> totally ruining the Stoke of the Great Riders ....

omg who was the dude at Kicking Horse that threw 5 airs in super fluid form???that was my fav run I saw so far(I don't watch near all the runs yet)

[bobinch]

Ready for the action to commence!



Last year set a high benchmark... Turdell, Eder and Leo for the podium...