Lausanne, Switzerland - September 17, 2014 – The countdown has begun for SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR 2015 BY THE NORTH FACE® (FWT). All of the world class athletes who will be battling the lines of the prestigious tour have been confirmed and have now stepped into preparation mode. All of the four defending champions in skiing and snowboarding are back in the game on the FWT 2015! Right now they are preparing to take up the fight with fellow riders from no less than four continents. Besides the defending champions the riders list features Olympians, Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) champions, wild cards and injury come-backs. Snowboard – Men The riders list for snowboarding includes the top 2 men from the FWQ 2014 region 1 and 2 where the winners were Camille Armand (FRA) and Colin Boyd (USA). The wild cards have been given to 2013 FWT champion Ralph Backstrom (USA) and 2012 FWT champion Jonathan Charlet (FRA) who is back from injury (injury wild card). The top 8 riders from last year's FWT are automatically qualified and all of them are present again with current FWT champion Emilien Badoux (SUI) at the top. Ludovic Guillot-Diat (FRA) is excited about the new destinations. He already knows Andorra, having won an FWQ there in 2011 before making his spot on the FWT: “I'm excited to return to Andorra – this time for the FWT! The organization there was awesome last time and they took excellent care of us.” As for Alaska, this would be totally new territory and “the realization of a dream for me”, the experienced French rider reveals. Snowboard – Women Top 4 women from last season are back, with champion Shannan Yates (USA) at the top. The newcomers from the two FWQ regions are the winners of the women's FWQ, Anouck Mouthon (FRA) and Mary Celia Boddington (USA). Margot Rozies (FRA) decided to end her career as a professional athlete. A wild card has been awarded to Anne-Flore Marxer (FRA/SUI) who won the FWT title back in 2011. Defending world champion in women's snowboarding, Shannan Yates from the US, is impatient to be back and of course to go for the title again. “I look forward to being a part of this community of amazing athletes. I feel that the female athletes continue to raise the bar and push harder, they are adding freestyle, big airs and speed! I hope to ride strong and finish well.” Prize money Besides the pleasure of riding well and being part of the FWT community, the riders can look forward to a total FWT prize money pool of more than 400,000 USD. Nicolas Hale-Woods, General Manager of the FWT, is impressed with how the sport is evolving: “On the athletic side, we can look forward to an intense battle between a very dense field of excellent riders. It will be nothing less than spectacular! There has been a continuous and solid progression of the sport, and we see more airs featuring freestyle tricks and big amplitude. The mix of the classic FWT stops and the new destinations will make it possible for all riders to re-interpret and be creative and put on a great show for the fans.” This year again, it will be possible to follow all of the runs of the riders on live broadcasts from all of the events, starting with Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France, on January 24, 2015. ------------------------- SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR 2015 BY THE NORTH FACE® Event calendar and Cut 1. SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR CHAMONIX-MONT-BLANC BY THE NORTH FACE® Date: Jan. 24, 2015; Location: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, FRA Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard 2. SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR FIEBERBRUNN KITZBÜHELER ALPEN BY THE NORTH FACE® Date: Jan. 31, 2015; Location: Fieberbrunn Kitzbüheler Alpen, AUT Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard 3. SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR VALLNORD ARCALIS - ANDORRA BY THE NORTH FACE® Date: Feb 14, 2015; Location: Vallnord Arcalis, AND Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard The following cut takes place after event NO. 3: - Top 16 Men Ski (from 28) - Top 8 Men Snowboard (from 14) - Top 7 Women Ski (from 13) - Top 4 Women Snowboard (from 7) are qualified for FWT Alaska 4. SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR - ALASKA BY THE NORTH FACE® Date: March 14, 2015; Location: tbc Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard 5. SWATCH XTREME VERBIER BY THE NORTH FACE® Date: March 28, 2015; Location: Verbier, SUI Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard Stay tuned to freerideworldtour.com to stay up on the latest news, and follow along as the riders train for next winter’s historic campaign.