Finn Bilous (Wānaka, 24) has finished in third place at the final stop of the 2024 Freeride World Tour, held on the formidable Bec des Rosses in Verbier overnight NZT.
Bilous put down an incredible run, including a gnarly 360 over the Hollywood cliff and a huge cross-court 360 on the super exposed face, impressing the judges and delighting the huge crowd gathered at the bottom.
When asked about throwing the 360 off the Hollywood cliff, Bilous explained; “We came here last year, looked at this face for a whole week and never got to ski it, so it has been percolating away in the back of my brain. Conditions lined up this year and I had to do it. I am glad it worked out, it was pretty scary with the flat light in there and punchy snow but I am stoked with how it turned out.”
The men’s categories dropped in from the very top of the Bec des Rosses for the first time since 2018, providing some of the most technical and exposed terrain in any freeride competition on the planet.
The conditions on the face over the last five years have been challenging, rendering the top of the mountain unsafe for freeride competition so lower start positions have been used instead. Today the snow and weather conditions aligned, making for an incredible display of riding from all the athletes.
Bilous explained, “The Bec des Rosses is scary, straight up. I had the opportunity to ski it a few years ago but skied it four or five times slower than I did just then. I am really glad to be at the bottom and to see the whole field get down safe and sound is a big win today!”
Bilous was joined on the podium by Marcus Goguen of Canada, who took the win and Germany’s Max Hitzig who finished in second place.
Fellow Kiwi and winner of last week’s Freeride World Tour stop in Fieberbrunn Ben Richards (Wānaka, 24) finished in fifth place tonight with a trademark high speed run.
As today’s competition was the final event of the 2024 Freeride World Tour the overall champions were crowned with Hitzig taking the title in the Men’s Ski category. Richards finished in third overall, with Bilous just behind him in fourth.
