FREERIDE WORLD TOUR 2022 QUALIFIED ATHLETES
FREERIDE WORLD TOUR 2022 QUALIFIED ATHLETES NAMED TO JOIN THE WORLD’S BEST FREERIDERS
Fourteen freeride rookies will step up from the Freeride World Qualifiers (FWQ) and challenge the established roster in next year’s Freeride World Tour (FWT).
FWQ21 has wrapped up with enough events completed globally (except Canada) for athletes to qualify for FWT22. Due to COVID travel restrictions this year, Region 2 was split into two to make three regions overall: Region 1 – Europe / Oceania, Region 2 – USA and Region 2 – Canada. With only 14 tickets available – six from Region 1 and eight from Region 2 – the race to join the world’s elite was more challenging than ever, guaranteeing an insane level of freeriding to make the cut.
Discover the names of next year’s rookies...
FWQ REGION 1
Across Europe and Oceania, there were more than enough events (1* to 4*) from Russia, Japan, Switzerland to qualify next year’s rookies:
Ski Men: Maxime Chabloz (SUI), Abel Moga (SPA) and Valentin Rainer (AUT)
Ski Women: Sybille Blanjean (SUI)
Snowboard Women: Thiphanie Perrotin (FRA)
Snowboard Men: Ludovic Guillot-Diat (FRA) – returns to FWT by re-qualifying for the 4th time!
FWQ REGION 2: USA
The USA hosted several successful 4* and 2* events like Crested Butte, Big Sky and Snowbird to earn the following riders’ qualification for FWT22:
Ski Men: Jack Nichols (USA) and Grifen Moller (USA) – both returns to FWT (Jack was on tour in 2020 and Grifen in 2018)
Ski Women: Lily Bradley (USA) – former FJT rider and it was her first year on the FWQ
Snowboard Women: Audrey Hebert (CAN) – returns to the FWT
Snowboard Men: Michael Mawn (USA) – returns to the FWT, requalifying directly after the 2021 season
FWQ REGION 2: CANADA
Unfortunately, all events in Canada were cancelled this year due to COVID. The Canadian spots are based on FWQ20 rankings, and additional FWT qualifications will be made through wild card allocations.
Ski Men: Cooper Bathgate (CAN) FWT’s season was compromised due to injury and will likely be undergoing surgery to repair his Achilles tendon.
Ski Women: Olivia McNeill (CAN) proved her spot on the FWT but was knocked out due to injury. She was also the top-ranked athlete in FWQ20.
Snowboard Women: none, as Katie Anderson (CAN) has requalified.
Snowboard Men: Mathieu Martineau (CAN) was the top Cananadian finisher, landing third in the FWQ20 rankings.
This year’s rookies blew our minds and pushed the level into yet another untracked realm. Ross Tester, Blake Moller, Katie Anderson, Maël Olivier, Olivia McNeill, Tracy Chubb and Zuzanna Witych not only proved their inclusions to the FWT, but collected a surplus of silverware between them. Can next year’s rookies continue this exponential growth of the sport? FWT22 promises all the answers and more, when the world’s best freeriders commence another battle for the FWT crowns.
Stay tuned on freerideworldtour.com and the FWT social media channels for all rider news as it drops.