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2002. Verbier Extreme |  |
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Verbier, Switzerland |
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The Verbier Xtreme, on terrain alone,
is the perfect competition - 24 of the worlds best free-riders taking
on a 500 metre vertical slope angled between 45 & 55 degrees.
I felt the fear. We were already ahead in the rating stakes. I also
felt incredibly sick as I had just endured a 15-minute ride in a snow
cat with the smelliest dog alive that mistook me for a mate. I blame
the mountain beer oozing from my pores - proof that rating criteria
2 was high. Released from the Cat we were perched on the natural viewing
platform of Col des Gentianes facing the daunting site of the competition
- Bec des Rosses, sitting at 3222metres. Invited competitors had spent
the week studying the face - picking lines which they believed would
best show their Extreme riding style. Starting with the ladies, Geraldine Fasnacht picked a fluid line down the rider's right hand side of the course. Having ridden with her earlier in the season I knew she was strong, but hell, her trousers had concealed the size of her balls incredibly well. With a solid top half under her belt she really opened it up on the bottom with a succession of drops that were stuck cleanly, and even saw a three thrown in for good measure on the last drop. A convincing run which won her the ladies title deservedly. In between the qualifiers & the finals I'd watched Chamoniard local and hairdressing salon owner Eva Sandlegard play with her baby. In complete contradiction to these roles she chose an incredibly exposed and terrifying route. Unfortunately her line choice was ultimately her down fall. Despite the technicality of her descent it lacked flow and it gave Fasnacht the chance to scoop the title. Still, a worthy opponent, improving like a fine wine over the years. Onto the men's finals I wandered whether my hangover had resurfaced. I felt more & more nauseous watching Marco Siffredi from France. Easily the most heart-stopping fall of the day went to him as he pinned himself into further and further into a seemingly impossible line. With no where left to turn Marco launched from a cliff above massively exposed rocks and cliff lines. Reaching about forty K's per hour as he landed he managed to drag his tail across the face before dropping another ten feet onto a short pitch. His heel edge skittered and caught for a second which saved him from entering a rock garden at what must have been around sixty five K's. Ten feet later, on his new slightly safer trajectory, he took off what should have been a six-foot drop. The lethal combination of his speed and the gradient meant he flew about thirty meters before catapulting into twelve unstoppable flick flacks, coming to a halt meters from the next rock band. With four riders left to run, this set the mood for the rest of the final. Steve Classan from the States was unlucky not to place higher than 3rd, with what was easily one of the fastest and most aggressive lines of the day. Cliffs were all stomped and a couple of hearts swallowed as he dug his turns in at atrociously fast speeds on narrow spines. In the end it was cliff size and the level of exposure that seperated Klassen from the top two. Winner Alex Coudray from Switzerland was the first man to take "The" cliff. An incredibly exposed line saw Alex weave down the falline over the most exposed areas. After one huge heart-stopping cliff he expertly picked his way back through a seemingly unnavigable rock garden to the lip of the first of three cliff lines. On the first and most famous of the cliffs (where Axel Pauportes broke his binding attempting three years ago) Alex stalled for a second, long enough for the crowd to cheer before stomping the solid forty five footer and moving on to the next. The three lines were nailed with a three sixty thrown in for good measure. With heartbeats pounding start to finish Alex Coudray elevated the accepted level of Extreme riding. Unlike a lot of other competitions, there is penalty for pushing boundaries too far. Safety comes first. There are no extra points for speed, although obviously the more fluid the run, the higher the points. Riders are marked on choice and difficulty of the line, control and fluidity. Slams are penalised. Two helicopters monitor the descent, hovering surreally with full medical equipment , specialised doctors ready for action. Truly the most spectacular event thus far, the Verbier Extreme uses nothing but the overwhelming environment to entertain fellow mountain lovers. Sian Hughes. / boarderzone team |
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| REACTION |
| RELATED STUFF |
US Open 2002 Nippon Open 2002
Snow Fear Sound Battle Italy
Season opener from Geneva |
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