Results: Freeride World Tour 2022 Verbier Finals

After a season filled with some nail-biting moments, the 2022 Freeride World Tour Champions were crowned in Verbier, Switzerland at the Xtreme Verbier, the final stop of FWT 2022. The Xtreme closes a competitive season that will be remembered for breakout performances from Wildcards and rookies, and new world champions in all four categories. Despite challenging conditions on the venue, the roster of riders stepped up and put down some absolutely wild runs that resulted in some big crashes (Aymar Navarro was injured after a massive bail and had to be transported to a hospital, but posted that he is recovering) and some mind-blowing tricks and line choices.

Manuela Mandl delivered a masterful run to take a dominant win in Snowboard Women. She was out of contention for the world title, but won by a nearly 11-point margin. Victor De Le Rue returned to competition as a Wildcard and won the men’s snowboard category with a high-speed run down the steepest section of the venue.

Swiss skiers took both the men’s and women’s title. 22 year-old FWT rookie and Verbier local Sybille Blanjean won in Ski Women. Blanjean grew up watching the legendary Xtreme, and achieved victory on her first attempt. On the men’s ski side, Maximie Chabloz again delivered his winning combination of powerful technical skiing and high-flying freestyle elements.

As the final stop on tour, the Xtreme Verbier also decided the 2022 FWT overall titles. France’s Tiphanie Perrotin emerged by the thinnest of margins to become FWT Champion in Snowboard Women. Erika Vikander had worn the leader’s golden bib all season, but Perrotin overtook her in the overall ranking by only 500 points during the finals. After finishing 2nd overall in 2021, USA’s Blake Moller became the FWT Champion in Snowboard Men.

New Zealand’s Jess Hotter became FWT Champion in Women’s Ski. Though Hedvig Wessel chased her all season, Hotter was out of reach in the overall ranking with two event victories and one second place. Finally, Swiss skier Maxime Chabloz capped his rookie season on tour not only with the event win, but the title of FWT Champion in. Chabloz finishes the season with three event victories, having previously won in Ordino Arcalís and Kicking Horse Golden.