James Stentiford gears up for the Freeride World Tour
UK freeride legend and experienced big mountain rider, James Stentiford, gears up for this seasons Freeride World Tour, with his eye on the podium.
After last years wild card invite and surprise third place finish at the Nissan Freeride de Chamonix, Stentiford has been invited to attend the full tour this season. An invitation he can’t refuse:
‘To get on the podium is pretty exhilarating for a UK snowboarder and that sort of spurred me on a little bit. I thought why not have a crack at it? I’m not getting any younger. I thought before I turn 40 I should give it a go. That’s why I’m here.’
The 39-year old snowboarder finds his place amongst the top freerider’s in the world and faces tough competition from other international big mountain legends such as Xavier de la Rue. But with experience rivaling the best of them and Chamonix as his training ground (a freerider’s dream) he is determined for success:
‘I’d like to win one to be perfectly honest and on the right day if I get the right line I think I can win, so that’s my motivation. And also I want to get to Verbier. Every freerider’s dream is to ride that mountain in perfect conditions so that’s my motivation behind it.’
The invitation makes James the only British rider on the roster and is good news for the UK scene. Some of you MINT students out there may even have had the privilege of riding with James who frequently joins us for a day or two on the Just Snowboard Camps.
The Freeride Tour is 100% natural, 100% clean. The event is all about celebrating the god-given terrain features found on any mountainside in the most exciting and elemental format possible. There‘s a start gate at the summit and a finish gate at the bottom. That’s it. Best run down wins. With contests all over the world during the 2011 season, the first stop is the Nissan Freeride de Chamonix which is due to take place on the 22nd of January.
Follow his progress with updates on the quiksilver blog (www.quiksilver.co.uk/england/news) and for more information on the Freeride tour check out their website (www.freerideworldtour.com).
Good luck James!!!
James’ line last year.