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Word up to Matty Richard - Great work buddy!

The sport of freeskiing witnessed a fantastic conclusion to the Verbier Ride 2006 presented by Peak Performance today, Wednesday 22 February. IFSA Head Judge, Jim Jack, made clear it was an epic display of phenomenal, but smart riding. He told the riders “you found some routes up there that amazed us, but you still kept it safe.”

The 19 men and 6 women, who had made it through to the Superfinal, gathered at the bottom of the Mont Gele face this morning for the hike up the Mont Gele ridge to get to their choice of one of three start gates. An inexplicable decision by the lift company, TeleVerbier, meant that the riders weren't permitted to use the cable car to get to the top.

Still it meant that by the time they were at their start gate, legs and lungs were fully warmed up and the riders were all set to go.





In the opening run of the women's Superfinal, the quality was extremely good. Amelie Simond was the first to really push the envelope. In the end she got stuck in a really exposed rock section as the deep snow sluffed around her. She held it together, but her fluidity suffered as a result.

Marte Lise Karlsen was annoyed at herself because she felt she “had skied super smooth up top, but then I had a wobble in the middle.” As she put it “it sucked, but, hey, that's freeskiing” after she put in one of the best runs of the day, with only a fall after running into some heavy snow affecting her score.

Jess McMillan rode strong and smooth up top. Her route from Start Gate 1 was clean and fluid amongst the rocks and cliffs skier's right of Mont Gele. All was shaping up for a high line score as she slid over to the seriously exposed funnel chute under the cable car. This was where it went wrong. She got a little lost on the slope and missed her entrance, thereby losing out on the line points she'd been hoping for.

Laura Ogden laid down the best route in the first run. Her choice on the top section was perfect, enabling to keep clean through some very technical and exposed areas. The fluidity up top continued lower down as she showed great control through a narrow chute and then laid out some awesome turns to the finish.







In the end, it was Karlsen, McMillan and Ogden who went through to what Verbier Ride commentator and legend of British freeskiing, Jamie Strachan, called the Super-Duper-Final – in other words the 3 rd and last scoring run of the finals.

Lying in third place, Karlsen went first and again shredded the route up top. Her control was perfect through the no-fall zone under Start Gate 3 and the skiing fluid and powerful. However, as in the second run, it was a landing that let her down. She popped a 15footer looking good, but caught an edge on landing and was thrown out the back door. Still 3 rd place and $500 was a pretty good day's work.

McMillan chose the same route up top and rode it with the same style. This time however, she got her entry into the funnel chute just right. Surprisingly she was the first rider of the day to use this line and, after seeing how well she skied it, many may have regretted not opting for it earlier. As the snow shelf narrowed into the funnel, McMillan set her skis and launched it. She stomped the landing and scorched down the slope slaloming some rocks on the way to the finish. It was the run of the day from the women and took her to a deserved second place and $1,000 in prize money.

Laura Ogden had analysed the scores and knew what she had to do. She opted for a very similar line to her previous run, but just rode it with style and power. If you can call, linking sharp quick turns through an exposed technical rock section, as ‘playing it safe', then this is what she did. The route was well within her talents, but she knew that if she skied it well, the Verbier Ride title and the second round of the IFSA World Tour were hers. She executed her plan perfectly and scooped up the victory and a cheque for $2,000 from event sponsors Peak Performance.

In the men's event, the crowd could feel they were in for something very special. Guerlain Chicerit was back in freeskiing after a 3 year hiatus due to contractual obligations with his rally-driving career and it was clear he wanted to be back at the top. Jon Larson, riding for Peak Performance, wanted to make amends for what he felt was route choice mistakes in qualification. Aurelien Ducroz was looking to consolidate his World Tour position after finishing second overall on the tour last year. And Tom Dunbar… …well, Tom Dunbar just wanted to go BIG!





The men's section was opened by Willy Lindberg, the 19 th and final qualifier for the Superfinal from the previous day's final. He set the benchmark very high. He flew through the no-fall zone under Start Gate 3 and then to the cheers of the crowd set himself for the big cliff-chute below. Close to 40 feet later, he nailed the landing and shot out onto the open face and some scorching super-g turns. He threw in a neat cliff drop and rocky chute in the lower middle and bottom section before hitting the finish.









Just as the crowd was settling back down, Kiwi Hamish Acland, 5 th overall in the 2005 World Tour, appeared in the starting gate 3. He followed close to Willy's route, before stopping, instead of above the big cliff-chute drop, above the HUGE rock cliff up there. Again the crowd went wild – Hamish launched, stayed super-neat through the air, but on landing the skis stuck in the heavy snow and he catapaulted down the slope. His chance was gone, but he did get the massive cheers from the crowd when he finished.

After that the crowd were waiting for someone to nail the cliff. That duty fell to Reine Barkered. The Swedish skier launched the big cliff, stomped the landing, exiting at rocket speed. He held it together with some powerful turns before dropping into the two technical options towards the bottom of the slope. He rode both the awkward drop and rocky chute brilliantly and as he sped through the finish, he'd greatly improved his final position.





Nick Greener, Jon Mullens and Julian Gaidet all put in solid runs after that, but the next stand-out run was Tom Dunbar.

However, it nearly all went wrong. His first move in the no-fall zone under Start Gate 3 saw him crashing into the snow and very nearly washing out completely. Luckily he held on and righted himself to carry on.

And it certainly was lucky for the crowd. After that initial scare, Tom settled down into one of the runs of the Verbier Ride. He kept it fluid out of the technical top section and rode straight onto the 50 foot plus cliff and launched. He nailed the landing and cranked it down the middle snow field before choosing a new variation under the cable car wires. Initially, it wasn't clear the route he was planning down a very bare and rocky section. That is until he pointed the skis and accelerated in. As commentator Jamie Strachan almost achieved vocal orgasm, Dunbar launched for the second time. His 60 foot air was stomped and even the judges were on their feet cheering as he sped through the finish.





It was this route that gave the line score of ‘9' that so amazed one of the judges: but that's what Mont Gele gives you as a freeskiing venue – high-scoring option after high-scoring option. No wonder the IFSA and Jim Jack feel it such a welcome addition to the World Tour.



While Tom's line score was very high, he lost points on control for his fall up top in a dangerous area and, in the end, despite moving him a long way up the rankings, it wasn't enough to qualify him for the second run of the Superfinal. Still, so impressed were event organizer, Warren Smith, and sponsors Peak Performace, what it did earn him was the creation of a special Sick Bird award, or what Jim Jack christened the Verb Bird. Given he's a Kiwi, Tom reckoned it was fitting and he didn't complain about the $500 that went with it.







Following Tom, Peak Performance rider, Jon Larson went for the same big cliff. Larson landed in a bombhole and one ski shot off. He let it rip down the face after, but his day was done.

Yet it was only two runs later that the crowd were sent crazy again. This time it was USA rider, Justus Meyer. He was one of the few to choose Start Gate 2, without doubt the access point to some of the most exposed skiing on a generally very exposed Mont Gele. Justus flew down an angled shelf of snow in the highly technical top section. He then appeared on top of the face under the cable car, an almost impossible puzzle of rock, cliff and snow. Meyer stayed smooth and fluid as he negotiated the slope with barely a pause. As sluffs slid of the enormous cliff bands below and with the crowd suddenly completely quiet, Meyer traversed a snow shelf into a brutal section that genuinely looked like a dead-end.





Somehow he spotted a route and, dropping from patch of snow to patch of snow, straightlined out. Still he wasn't finished. Carrying enormous speed he hit the booter and launched a big backflip before burning through the finish. Again the judges joined the crowd in whooping and hollering in recognition of an incredible descent.

Aurelien Ducroz and Cedric Pugin then both rode smooth and powerful runs, but opted for less high-scoring lines. Matthieu Ricard stomped the huge cliff under Start Gate 3, but seemed so stoked that he forgot to actually do anything else on the way down. Aaron Estrada then nailed the cliff, but on a later drop jarred his knees badly and decided to go for medical attention as soon as he was down.
This brought up Guerlain. The two-time world champion was a man on a mission. He dropped in from Gate 1 and sped across to the super technical face under the cable car lines. As is usual he had spotted a route that no-one else had. Still his arrival in an area that looked like a suicide section got the crowds on the edge of their seats. There just seemed to be no snow and total exposure. Yet to the surprise of no-one who knows him, Chicerit found a route down. He then cranked it into an unexplored lower middle section. Here he launched a sweet double drop and then sped straight off another 30 footer. No question about it Gueralin Chicerit was very definitely back.









Craig Gabrial followed, but opted for a medium-scoring line. He did ski it perfectly though, neat and precise, but always smooth and fast. He consolidated his position amongst the top six riders. Adrien Corier had been lying in second in the morning. Unfortunately for him, despite slaying the top section under Start Gate 2, he released out of his skis on landing from a good size huck lower down.

That brought up Oliver Meynet. The French rider has looked just incredible here in Verbier, after his 6 th in the first round of the World Tour in Snowbird. His riding is so smooth, strong and fast that he often makes very difficult routes look far easier than they actually are. This was exactly the case in his Superfinal first run. He was fast and fluid through the no-fall technical zone just under Start Gate 3. He threw in all the necessary drops and rocky chutes, but did it all with such style and panache, that it felt a little as if he had just been out for an afternoon cruise. No wonder, he qualified for the second run of the day in first place.





Five skiers lined up for that second run and Jamie Strachan's SuperDuperFinal didn't disappoint. Julian Maidet and Cedric Pugin both laid down great descents. Julian used the same funnel chute that Jess McMillan used in the women's second run and rode it every bit as well. He kept it flowing and then nailed a big double out. Cedric opted for a medium-scoring line again, but just skied it so well. He was fast, fluid and showed awesome control through the technical sections. His run was enough to take him into third place and a cheque for $1,000 from the Verbier Ride and Peak Performance.

Craig Gabriel chose Start Gate 3 again and was shaping up for a podium finish following his nailing of the big chute up top. But then for no readily perceivable reason he caught a ski in some heavy snow on the easier section of the course and fell. He got immediately back up and finished his run in style, but the fall dropped him into 4 th place.

Guerlain chose Start Gate 1 again, but this time found a new route off the top. Again he rode in his signature super-nimble, super-fast style. He managed to get across to head into the funnel chute and rode without the slightest hesitation, despite the extreme exposure. He found a variation on the exit, straight-lining a double, before heading over to another unexplored section way skier's right. A quick 30foot drop, followed by a salute to the crowd and a cheeky chute, and it was clear Guerlain was on the podium. The question was would he be on the top step.







That was in the hands of Olivier Meynet and to no-one's surprise there was no way he was relinquishing his grip on the Verbier Ride title. He opted for the same route up top he had chosen before. Again, what was amazing was the speed and fluidity with which he negotiated these skied-out, technical and exposed areas. He also found a new variation in the middle and nailed the exit from a tight, rocky chute. He then launched a cute air off the kicker and cranked it home. Thought the judges kept their own counsel, it was clear in spectators' minds that they'd just watched the winning run of the Verbier Ride 2006.

As athletes, judges, organizers, camera crews and spectators gathered in the prize-giving area, IFSA head judge, Jim Jack confirmed that Olivier Meynet had won the Verbier Ride and the second round of the IFSA World Tour. For his efforts, he was awarded with the first prize cheque of $4,000 from Peak Performance. Guerlain Chicherit was one place below him on the podium and received $2,000. Cedric Pugin filled the third spot.

The prize-giving marked the end of the Verbier Ride 2006 Big Mountain … …or, at least, the competitive element. All that was left for the riders to do was to celebrate. That is currently being done at the Verbier Ride 2006 party in the Hotel Farinet in the centre of town. After the mental focus and physical stress of competition, the riders can finally relax. It's going to be a big night!





In the end the Verbier Ride has proved itself on the IFSA World Tour. The venue “just rocks” according to US finalist Tyson Bolduc. “It's such an epic face and the event has such a great vibe” he added. Jamie Strachan made clear his feelings on it “the weather was bluebird for a start, the snow was reasonable, Mont Gele awesome, but the athletes made it. They put on such a display for each other, for the sport of freeskiing and for the spectators watching. It was so good to hear the crowds going crazy cheering the riders home.”

IFSA's Jim Jack summed it all up – “the IFSA is glad to have the Verbier Ride as part of the World Tour. The atmosphere was incredible and the venue is awesome. We look forward to returning for the World Tour 2007.”

Written by Phil Martin (www.natives.co.uk)
Images by Peter Charaf, Yves Garneau, Marco Shapiro, Yancsi Hadik

Results Big Mountain SUPER FINAL 2006

POSITION BIB No NAME SURNAME AVERAGE

1 33 Olivier Meynet 34.4
2 20 Craig Gabriel 34
3 18 Guerlain Chicherit 32.8
4 15 Cedric Pugin 32.4
5 16 Julien Gaidet 35.2
6 24 Justus Meyer 32.2
7 16 Mathieu Richard 29.2
8 17 Tom Dunbar 32
9 18 Reine Barkered 32.2
10 19 Victor Galuchot 32
11 20 Nick Greener 31
12 21 jon Mullens 29.4
13 1 Wille Lindberg 30.2
14 2 Aurelien Ducroz 22.8
15 17 Aaron Estrada 19.6
16 22 Adrien Corier 16.6
17 23 Hamish Acland 16.4
18 24 Thomas Diet 14.4
19 19 Jon Larson DQ

WOMEN POSITION BIB No
NAME SURNAME AVERAGE

1 27 Laura Ogden 27.2
2 29 Jess McMillan 30.4
3 28 Marte Lise Karlsen 16.8
4 26 Amelie Simond 0
5 25 Amy Holland 0
6 24 Katharina Mihaljevic 0

POSITION BIB No NAME SURNAME TOTAL

1 33 Olivier Meynet 98.2
2 18 Guerlain Chicherit 97
3 15 Cedric Pugin 92
4 16 Julien Gaidet 90.8
5 20 Craig Gabriel 84.4

WOMEN

POSITION BIB No NAME SURNAME TOTAL

1 27 Laura Ogden 83.8
2 29 Jess McMillan 82.4
3 28 Marte Lise Karlsen 66.4