Counting down to the first FIS Freeride World Championships

Less than 50 days from now, the inaugural FIS Freeride World Championships will be held in Ordino Arcalís (AND). The best Freeride athletes from across the planet will battle it out for the first global titles in the discipline from February 1-6.

Ordino Arcalís has been a regular stop on the Freeride World Tour (FWT), although it was not part of last year’s schedule. However, many of the riders have experience of competing there and are looking forward to taking part in this first Freeride event of its kind, and vying for the title of world champion.

New format, less pressure

In most sports, a World Championship would result in greater pressure to perform for the athletes. But Freeride is not most sports.

On the 2026 FWT, there are six events with the last two classified as Finals. Only the top 60% of competitors will make the cut for those two Finals, with their rankings determined by their best three results from the four previous competitions.

In contrast, the Freeride World Championships - scheduled for the week after the second FWT round at Val Thorens (FRA) - stand alone, with the best performer on the day crowned champion. This is a new concept for Freeride athletes, and one they are happy to embrace.

“I would think that it's probably the least stressful event of the year for me,” reveals FWT Ski Men holder Marcus Goguen. “It’s pretty straightforward. I’m always trying to push the limits no matter what but, for that event, it's not like you have to make the cut or gain points for the overall. It’s a one and done.

“So you really just put down your best skills, bring it, and see who's able to put a run down, and the winner of the day wins the championship. I think that's what's going to make it really fun.”

Four-time FWT Snowboard Men champion Victor de Le Rue agrees. “This is very exciting because it's going to be just one competition, one run,” he says. “And so the state of mind is going to be so different from the normal tour where if you send it a bit too hard and you fall, then you can’t fall for the rest of the season and you have to put the brakes on.

“In a way, you can’t really express yourself fully and it's a bit frustrating. But in the World Championships, you just try to go to your full potential and you'll see if you succeed or not. At least you can try.”

For some for the less experienced competitors, the overriding feelings are anticipation and excitement. “We’re all super stoked for the event, and we love to be able to make Freeride a bit bigger and push the sport,” says skier Lena Kohler.

“I think this event is the first step towards that. It’s also that it’s only one event because you can put aside that mental aspect of not making the cut. It’s a day where maybe we can push the boundaries and show off our best skiing.”

For reigning FWT Snowboard Women champion Noémie Equy, there is the added incentive of coming up against four-time FWT champion Marion Haerty who has been a pivotal figure in her development.

“I’m super happy that Marion is going to be in this competition,” she says. “She’s really an inspiration for me so it’s going to be great to compete again with her.

“It’s going to be my first World Championships and I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s going to remind me a bit of when I competed in Slopestyle and Big Air, but at a higher level because I was in European Cup and never World Cup or World Championships. It’s really a new goal.”

American skier Toby Rafford admits, “It means a lot and I’m honored to do it. I think it took me a while to think about how I felt about it, just because it's a bit more structured than maybe it used to be, but I think it's a really good direction and it looks like it's going to be really fun.

“It’s the coolest thing to be part of the first one ever, so I think everyone is really excited. Win or lose, it doesn’t really matter. And to have someone be world champion for the first time in Freeride is crazy.”

Athletes assess Ordino Arcalís challenge

Ordino Arcalís will be a new venue for many of the competitors despite it being a regular stop on the FWT down the years. The athletes last raced there in 2023 with a lack of snow forcing the 2024 event to be cancelled.

Goguen made his FWT debut at Ordino Arcalís in 2023, but things did not go according to plan. “I didn’t really have any expectations or pressure,” he recalls. “I just wanted to have some fun and enjoy the experience, but I went a little short, clipped a rock, and my first appearance to the world was face-planting on a 360.

“I was pretty disappointed, so for the remainder of the run I went balls to the wall. From that face plant, my goggles were falling down. I hit a Cork 720 and then my goggles were fully around my neck. And then I went to do a big back flip with no goggles on, just blindly through the air. But I had to show the world what Marcus Goguen was about.”

The Canadian went on to take ninth, and a second place at Kicking Horse (CAN) crucially saw him make the cut for the Finals that year. The rest is history with Goguen runner-up on the 2024 tour, and victorious in 2025.

Andorra itself is one of the most popular places on the FWT with Rafford calling it “really special”. For the fifth consecutive year, the season-opener is scheduled for Baqueira Beret although it also suffered a cancellation in 2024.

“I really love the vibe over there,” says de Le Rue. “The people are so happy, so nice, and I love the Pyrenees because that’s my home mountain range where I grew up.”

Moguls Olympic champion Justine Dufour-Lapointe scored her first FWT victory at Ordino Arcalís in 2023. The conditions will almost certainly suit the two-time Ski Women series winner, but she says she will treat it like any other contest.

“You just have to show up and prepare as normal and be aware that there will be more noise and more people watching you,” says Dufour-Lapointe. “But you need to focus on what you need to focus on, and it’s just another day skiing.”

Goguen says of Andorra, “When there's snow and the competitions are on, there's definitely opportunity. There's plenty of good competition venues so we're praying for snow.

“With that will come a really good competition with lots of good drops, lots of good line options. And the culture in Andorra is great - a super-supportive community with small town vibes - so it'll be fun.”

Rafford has not competed in Ordino Arcalís before and admits it will be “totally new” for him. “A lot of the guys have competed there before and it always looks pretty variable so we’ll see,” he adds. “Hopefully, it’s good.”

The first FIS Freeride World Championships are scheduled for Ordino Arcalís from February 1-6 2026.