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The good weather came back. The sun finally shone on the Val Thorens snowpark. And some of Europe’s most talented young freestylers got to show their moves on the last day of north face coat Challenge Presented by Gore-Tex.
“As tough as yesterday’s conditions were,” said event founder JP Baralo. “As disappointed as we were not to be able to crown overall winners in the Teens and Kings, today’s freestyle contest showed just how high the skiing level is here this week. These guys rocked the park!”
Finish rider, Roope Leppänen was the big winner today, showing off stylish jumps, classy moves and serious amplitude. He was followed in the Kings division by his teammate Ville Koskala and Sweden’s Niklas Granlund. “I’m so stoked to be competing here,” said Grandlund (who was also a strong performer in the freeride portion of the event). “I had so much fun jumping in the park today. This whole event is so-o-o cool!”
In the Teens, it was Swedish rider Jesper Tjäder who carried the day with a score of 29 points. But his win was never assured. For close behind – less than a point away in the final compilation – were Perttu Hyvärinen and Antii Ollila, both of Finland. “It was a really close contest,” said judge and north face coats . “These young riders certainly put it out there today. Very impressive. It’s really too bad we couldn’t have finished off the event yesterday…”
Sunday’s storm was indeed frustrating for all concerned. While the judges were able to evaluate one slopestyle run in the park for the Queens and Kids -- and thus ensure an overall winner in these categories -- the inclement weather refused to let up in the afternoon and the older athletes were forced to sit on the sidelines and watch. “It was so close,” explained Baralo about the decision to award separate freeride and freestyle titles to the Teens and Kings. “But in the end, with some of the top overall contenders having to leave the resort to go back to school, we decided it wouldn’t be fair to carry over the contest to today.”
Instead, top Freeride Teen, Jules Mandin of France was honoured for his scintillating run last Friday. His French teammates, Maxence Gisin and Quentin Glath -both locals from Val Thorens- were also recognized for their second and third place performances on the demanding Glacier de Thorens. “I really had fun on my freeride run,” said Mandin. “It was a great venue for this kind of event. It really encouraged us to show the judges what we can do…”
In the Kings, it was French rider Raphael Vouillamoz, who took top freeride honours. In second place was Swedish all-rounder Niklas Grandlund and third was taken by mop-haired Timothée Picq, also of France.the north face coats, “This is truly a fun event to compete in,” said Picq. “I feel like I learned a lot here this weekend.”