Team Roxy’s Aline Bock of Germany took second place in the snowboarding category at the Nissan Xtreme in Verbier, Switzerland. In doing so, she secured top spot in the final rankings of the Freeride World Tour and the title of World Freeride Champion for 2010.
Having finished second in the final rankings of the 2009 Freeride World Tour, the 27-year old blond from Munich had already established herself among the top freeriders around. Her performances from Chamonix to Verbier have now propelled her to her first World Championship and a place among the greats.
The German snowboarder launched herself this morning from the Petit Bec and produced an exceptionally smooth run, peppered with beautifully controlled jumps performed on an original line.
Originally from Giessen, Aline has been snowboarding since the age of 13. She took to the half pipe for the first time at 15, before devoting herself to slopestyle for several years. Even back then, she could never resist a day on the powder, at home in Innsbruck where she moved in order to practise her sport full time. She made her freeride debut in qualifying for the Freeride World Tour in Austria (Montafon) in 2008 and proved to be a revelation. Riding pristine slopes in perfect conditions, expressing herself and displaying her freestyle repertoire while always looking for the best line… she found her vocation and her motto: Go big and come home.
Her rise has been nothing short of meteoric. By 2009, she had already clinched second spot on the Freeride World Tour, and this winter, Aline has been unstoppable. After pocketing a third place finish at the first stage of the Tour in Chamonix in tricky conditions (50 cm of fresh powder snow on the Face des Pentes de l’Hôtel slopes at Le Brevent), Aline followed that up with victory at Fieberbrunn, on the Wildseeloder in Austria.
Starting in pole position, she maintained her superb form at the Silverado in Squaw Valley (USA), the third leg of the FWT, where she took second place. She completed her 2010 campaign in style with yet another podium finish in Verbier, confirming that this winter, Aline reigns supreme.