By: Ethan Stone November 20, 2023

Four additional men and Four women have been given wildcards to complete the PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED ATHLETE ROSTER for the upcoming season of the Freeride World Tour. Among the eight are Returning stars as well as new faces to spice up the already stacked lineup.

The roster of 18 ski men is complemented by the two-time FWT champ Kristofer Turdell from Sweden, who is returning after a less-than-stellar season last year that saw him miss the cut for requalification. There's also the young Spaniard Abel Moga, seemingly filling the hole left by his role model Aymar Navarro, who’s sadly not participating in the tour this year.

Kristofer Turdell sends a drop during the 2021 Freeride World Tour finals in Verbier, Switzerland.

It just wouldn´t be the same FWT without Kristofer Turdell going full send. Photo: FWT/Jeremy Bernard

Last year did not go my way: I started badly and then got sick and missed out. I did not expect to get a wildcard since there are so many incredible skiers that I know have worked hard to get a chance, making me thankful and excited for the upcoming season! - Kristofer Turdell

Joining the eight male rookies already announced, two new faces earned themselves a wildcard this year: skier and mountain biker Dillon Flinders from Utah and Spanish freestyler Thibault Magnin. We’re excited to see what another park-rat-turned-big-mountain-skier will bring to the table, with guys like Finn Bilous recently shaking things up on the tour. He's already practicing his pow landings on the side hits in the Stubai Prime Park.

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Downdays (@downdays_eu)

On the women's side of things, we’ll see the return of three competitors who missed the tour last year, as well as one rookie. The veterans are Hedvig Wessel, a FWT legend who’s taken a year off tour to focus on filming, the Polish star living in Switzerland Zuzanna Witych, who finished third in the FWT Challengers last year, and Lily Bradley, who had a great FWT debut with a 4th-place finish in 2022 but battled with an injury last year. The rookie wildcard is up-and-coming French skier Manon Loschi, who is finally joining the tour after dominating the 2022 qualifiers, but got injured while filming for her project "Double Trouble" and missed what was supposed to be her big FWT debut. Now after a year in waiting, she'll get her chance.

The first stop of the Freeride World tour presented by Peak Performance kicks off on 27 January 2024, as 22 men and 12 women drop into the contest face in Baquiera Beret, Spain. We’re hoping for the best conditions in the heart of the Pyrenees, and can't wait to see if the lineup of rookies can hold their own against the established names.