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9th of March 2003
Big Mountain Freeskiing Qualifier Round
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The third and final leg of the IFSA Freeskiing European Tour kicked off in style today. Blue skies and bright sun greeted the 46 elite male & female freeskiers, as they gathered at the foot of Mont Gele for the Verbier Ride 2003.
As the crowds sunned themselves on the Attelas restaurant sundeck or at the North Face Ice Bar, the riders performed freeskiing heroics on the slopes in very tough snow conditions.
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Watching through binoculars from just below the Attelas 2 restaurant, the heavyweight panel of judges were certainly impressed. With Francine Moreillon overseeing, Dominic Daher, Dino Raffault, Francis Kelsey, Geraldine Fassnacht and Jörg Johannes assessed the riders on line, control, fluidity, technique and aggression.
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The girls ran first, with Steffi Frank (Germany) setting the early pace. But in the end, there was only one girl in it. Fresh from a stunning performance in the RipCurl Freeride, Marte Lise Karlsen (Norway) simply blew the other girls off the mountain, recording both the highest 'line' score and the highest total score. She will be tough to beat tomorrow.
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It was all about first and last in the men's competition. First competitor down, Jason Schutt (UK) set the marker. Popping a sweet double early on and then wowing the crowd with a 25-foot drop into a perilous straightline, he powered through the lower section and into an overall 5th for the day.
Sixth to go, Romain Raisson (France) raised the bar still further. Technical and exposed early on, smooth and powerful in the later stage, Romain skied the toughest line of the day with fluidity and commitment. His run earned him a tie for first.
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Romain
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Thomas
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Joining him in top spot, was fellow countryman and freeskiing sensation 21-year old Thomas Diet. Last run of the day, Diet showed aggression, control and incredible balance as he ripped up the skier's left flank of Mont Gele.
So the qualifying round of the Verbier Ride 2003 lived up to expectation. There were a few bumps and bruises as a result of some spectacular falls, but the riders all made it safely through the finish.
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As Head Judge and Technical Director, Francine Moreillon put it: "The face is particularly difficult to ski at the moment with lots of snow changes, so despite some crashes, the top guys showed some great skiing."
Francine added "Conditions will be tough again tomorrow, but with only the leading 16 men and 4 women riding, we can expect a great show!"
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[The final will take place on Mont Gele from 11:30am, Monday, 10th, March]
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© Phil Martin
Writer, Freeskier, Wintersports Media Consultant
email: philmartin@skijournalism.com
mob: +41 79 450 9683
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