Women off to a Strong Start at the Verbier Freeride Week by Dynastar!

The Verbier Freeride Week by Dynastar kickstarts the 2023 season with the all Women competition by Peak Performance! 

Verbier Freeride Week by Dynastar started in an amazing way with the 2023 Verbier Freeride Week Girls/ Women only by Peak Performance last Saturday 7 of January. The comp was a wrap with such high vibes and mixed Juniors and Qualifiers during a day in Verbier. Conditions were good and the ambiance was dazzling with all the excitement around this comp.

Organizing the first women only competition was super exciting in term of expectations, it’s real step forward to democratize freeride for women. All riders, regardless of gender, should have the opportunity to showcase their skills and talent on the mountain and we hope that this competition inspired more women to get involved in freeriding.

The main goal of women-only freeride competitions is to provide a safe and supportive environment for female athletes to push their limits and progress the sport of freeriding. We hope with this kind of events to help to create role models and generate more visibility for female freeriders, which in turn can inspire more young girls and women to take up the sport. Events like this can also creating opportunities for female-focused sponsorships, media coverage and prize money.

Two of the winners, Lena Kohler in Qualifier 2* and Mila de Le Rue in Ski U-18 told us their impression about the comp:

Mila De Le Rue:

I really liked it, there was a good atmosphere at the start and at the finish all the girls were congratulating each other. I think it was a good idea to show that there are girls in sports!!!"

Lena Kohler:

I enjoyed the whole event very much and heard only positive things from other starters. It was also mega cool to have the chance to compete in a 2 star event even if you don’t have many points.The face was also very good, it was a lot of fun and despite the current snow conditions there were many options that you can Ski. All in all it was a mega cool Event and I really enjoyed it.”

Following the all women competition, the Qualifiers 1* and 2* have showcased incredible upcoming riders, who have put their skills to the test in fresh powder. Dylan Lavenex dominated the ski men category winning both of the Qualifier 1* and 2* comps. Concerning the snow men category, for the Qualifier 1* Ander Benavides grabed the 1st place and then the third one for the Qualifier 2*, while Rémi Benamo took the first place. About women, for the ski women category Claudia Rohrer grabed the 1st place and Caroline Kihlström took the 1st place for snow women category. For the Qualifier 2*, Colleen Pernet won the 1st place in the ski women category and the Freeride World Tour wildcard Estelle Rizzolio won the 1st place in the snow women category.

The juniors will close off the Verbier Freeride Week by Dynastar on the 14-15th of January in Bruson.

Want to learn more about Gender Equality in freeride? Check out this link : https://www.freerideworldtour.com/gender-equality