Free as a bird - NZ skier wins freeride comp
Kiwi skier Fynn Powell put his knowledge of The Remarkables to good use on Sunday as he won The North Face Frontier 2-star.
The Taupō 21-year-old emerged victorious from a large 45-rider field at the Winter Games NZ-hosted freeride event, sealing the deal with a winning score of 97 points from a possible 100.
Starting in the central couloir at the top of the course, he stuck to the fall line and lined up feature after feature, first a double drop, then a huge backflip, finishing off with a huge triple drop at the bottom of the course, all with perfect landings.
"I am lucky enough to have ridden this face many times before, going through junior comps and I had a line picked out pretty early on, a couple weeks ago actually," the Freeride World Tour skier says.
"My main concern was that chute at the top but it all felt pretty good."
Spain's Thibault Magnin, an experienced slopestyle and big air competitor, finished a close second on 95 points, competing in his first freeride event. Local freeride coach Joseph Pickering was the third-place finisher, picking up 92 points with a clean, fast run and the biggest air of the day.
Some 96 athletes from 18 different countries lined up for the ski and snowboard comps.
The North Face Frontier typically attracts a strong international field as competitors look to bank early season points, in the Freeride World Qualifier.
Competitors were judged on the technicality of their line, use of the natural features, fluidity, technique, and for ‘air and style’ including the size of any jumps, tricks and grabs.
The women’s ski category saw one of the tightest finishes between the podium placegetters. Jenna Keller (SUI) took the top spot with 92 points, hitting a 360 in her run, with Zanna Farrell (AUS) second on 90, and Avery Bernholtz (USA) third on 88.
Sweden’s Johanna Lindqvist was the standout rider in the women’s snowboard field, picking out a rock feature at the top of the course and hitting it straight on, landing solidly and boosting her way down the rest of the course with well linked turns.
"I had eyed up that cliff and I just got so much speed, it felt good, I’m very hyped," Lindqvist says. "I’ve been pushing myself to do more drops and it’s always nice to stomp a run."
Noémie Equy (France) finished in second and Jaimie Figueira (Canada) third.
Germany’s Kilian Welschof won the men's snowboard comp with 80 points, with Jared Yanez (USA) second place and Austen Brown (Canada) third.
The North Face Frontier 4-star was due to take place on Monday, as Winter Games NZ continues.
