FREERIDE WORLD TOUR ANNOUNCES WILDCARDS & PODCAST

In just 10 days, the 2022 Freeride World Tour (FWT) kicks off with the season’s first event in Baqueira Beret, Spain.

EVENT WILDCARDS
Joining the tour’s qualified riders and season wildcards in Baqueira Beret will be event wildcards Max Palm (Ski Men - SWE), Nuria Castan (Snowboard Women - ESP) and Pau Riba (Snowboard Men - ESP), who has left his mark with strong performances over the last three years on the Freeride Junior Tour and Junior World Championships.

“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 ideolized while growing up sounds incredible. I can't wait to show everyone what the Pyrenees have to offer." -Pau Riba

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

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 & 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 honoured 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

INJURED ATHLETES UPDATE
Due to injuries, the following athletes will not be able to participate on this winter’s Freeride World Tour, and the FWT wishes them a good recovery and hopes to see them on the tour next year…

• Arianna Tricomi (Ski Women - ITA)
• Yu Sasaki (Ski Men - JPN)
• Hank Bilous (Ski Men – NZL)

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

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

With podcasts, fresh behind-the-scenes content, live event broadcasts and much more, there are more options than ever to let you experience the Freeride World Tour. With only 10 days until launch, be sure to bookmark freerideworldtour.com for all of the action and follow @freerideworldtour on social media for up-to-the-minute updates and content.