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Results, Reviews, Summary 2006
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REVIEW VERBIER RIDE BIG MOUNTAIN QUALIFIER - 19/02/06

Apocalypse Now hit the Verbier Ride 06 on Sunday morning! The start of the day was a shock to the athletes when they looked for the first time at the Mont Gele's west face. It was blasted away down to the bear bones, as the athletes rocked up, and it just needed Dennis Hopper in a cowboy hat wandering out through the clouds of snow saying "I love the smell of napalm in the morning". The Mt Gele had literally been blown away to bare rocks and mud.

So, in such a situation, everyone just rallies round and does their best to make it all happen. All the fencing, start gates and banners were moved over to the back up slope. The riders re-scoped out their routes and the judges found their viewing positions. A couple of hours later, it was all ready. It then proved a hard slog against the elements, but the determination and persistence of the athletes, judges and organizing committee got everyone through it.

The face used in the Attelas area of Verbier (just opposite the new La Chaux Express Chairlift)still offered a number of challenging options, but with extra factors like high winds, cloud blowing in and out, partially buried rocks and bumpy terrain, it tested the riders to their limits.

The women opened the competition, as is tradition, but immediately it was noticeable the strength in depth of female freeskiing has recently become. The riding was at a super high level for a qualifier. Previous winner Martha Burley let rip and launched her signature Big Airs. Brit riders will be excited to hear how consistently strong Beanie Milne Home was skiing - it was strong enough to take her to the final. However, top run of the day went to a powerful, fluid and stylish descent by Maria Opelz.

 

The men went big. A less technical course than Mont Gele, many of the riders decided huge airs were the secret to qualification. But - as Head Judge, Jim Jack, has frequently made clear - contrary to popular male opinion, it's not the size that matters, it's what you do with it that counts. So no surprise that, in the difficult conditions, riders who went massive found it hard to stomp their landings and lost important marks for their hip-checks and hands in the snow. The maxim holds true "it might be BIG, but it's not necessarily clever!"


However, many of the riders showed exceptional balance and strong ski technique in the rough conditions and the finalists were all very worthy of their position. The top two runs were exceptional though. Neil Valiton scorched the slope in one of the fastest runs of the day. He went quick and big to take second place.

But first place in the qualification round went to Verbier local, Jonas Delogne. His line scored high, he was super-fluid, he stomped his hucks, but most importantly of all he showed such awesome control and powerful skiing technique, that he swept the board from the judges. He will be a strong contender on this form for the finals on Tuesday.

In the end twenty men and six women made the cut and joined the pre-qualified athletes the final. The list for the final can be seen if you click here


So with a major effort from all involved, especially the willingness of the athletes to muck in, a really successful qualification round was held. The level was good and just emphasizes the talent on the World Tour circuit. Tuesday's finals promise some phenomenal freeskiing. However, it will be needed. There's a $10,000 cash purse up for grabs in the super final on Wednesday - it's going to take a very special run to claim it.

Words by Phil Martin
Images by Peter Charaf and Yves Garnau
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