“It’s awesome to a be part of this event. Receiving this WildCard was crazy ! Being able to ride amongst the best riders in the world, even the ones that I’ve idealized while growing up sounds incredible. I can’t wait to show everyone what the Pyrenees have to offer." — Pau Riba, Snowboarder (ESP)

Castan made waves in 2021 with strong performances in women’s snowboard, and will return in 2022 to represent Spain as the Freeride World Tour makes its historic debut there. 

“Having this opportunity to be back on the Freeride World Tour and compete in the Pyrenees Mountains in Baqueira Beret feels very special to me. I wasn’t satisfied with my performance last season, and this Wildcard gives me another chance to show what I can do.” — Nuria Castan, Snowboarder (ESP)

At only 18 years of age, Palm will be the youngest skier on tour, but the young Swede has already made a name for himself in the global Freeride scene, winning the overall Freeride Junior Tour two years in the row (2020 and 2021) and the Junior World Champion title in 2021. 

“Since I was a kid I have dreamt about being on the Freeride World Tour and to compete against the legends of the sport. I’m very honored and grateful to get this Wildcard, it means the world to me. I will try to show my best skiing, and to make my big brother Hugo Hoff proud.” — Max Palm, Skier (SWE) 

Injured athletes update

Due to injuries, the following athletes will not be able to participate to the FWT22: 

• Arianna Tricomi (ski women – ITA)
• Yu Sasaki (ski men – JPN) 
• Hank Bilous (ski men – NZL)

 The Freeride World Tour wish them a good recovery and hope to see them on the Tour next year. 

New format for the FWT22

The new stop of Baqueira Beret is the first of the 2022 season, which means it is also the start of FWT22 Leg 1. Leg 1 includes the tour’s first three events—Baqueira Beret, Spain (22 – 28 January), Ordino Arcalis, Andorra (30 January – 5 February) and Kicking Horse Golden BC, Canada (12 – 17 February). The top-ranked riders after Stage 1 will be qualified to the FWT Finals, the last two events of the year, in Fieberbrunn, Austria (15 – 20 March) and Verbier, Switzerland (26 March – 3 April).

New podcast 

Building on their existing content offerings, FWT just launched The Freeride World Tour Podcast, hosted by Derek Foose and Mark Warner, which will give the public a fresh new way to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings from the tour. 

With just 10 days until the first riders drop in, be sure to save the dates, bookmark www.freerideworldtour.com and follow @freerideworldtour. With live broadcasts (plus full replays) from every stop, up-to-the-minute competition updates and exclusive behind-the-scenes coverage, you won’t want to miss a moment of the greatest Freeride show on earth.