Men's Podium | Photo: © freerideworldtour.com / Marc Weiler

The second stop showed that seemingly-invincible Xavier de Le Rue (FRA) can, in fact, be beaten as the three-time Freeride World Champion seemed to have an off day. Rather, the day belonged to Matt Annetts (USA) who launched his run with a nice jump followed by a good four-meter drop that had taken out the skier just before him. He then hit the middle of the course with fast smooth style before finishing with another clean air at the bottom.

Filling the remaining podium spots were Mitch Toelderer (AUT) who took the lead early with a fast, fluid run that included several drops. His run was just enough to push him past third place finisher Flo Örley (AUT) who is returning to competition after taking a year off.

Matt Annetts | Photo: © freerideworldtour.com / Marc Weiler

Matt Annetts (USA): “I really like this face. Its long and there are lots of things to do on the way down. For not having been snowing in the region for quite some time the snow was amazing. I had a fairly safe run. I wanted to stay on my feet. I knew there were a lot of flat landings. If you would go too fast on that face today you would hit the landings too hard. I’ve had a few podiums on the tour but it feels good to finally be on the top!”

Photo: © freerideworldtour.com / C. Margot

Xavier de Le Rue (FRA): "I am happy with my run. It went well with a big jump and good speed up until the tight couloir where I got caught by the sluff. This was an error from my side. The snow was really fast and it was difficult to control speed today."