Where to Ski And Snowboard - Londoner finishes second on FWT

Londoner finishes second on FWT

23rd January 2014, by Abi Butcher

Property consultant Sascha Hamm (left) finished second in the FWT in Courmayeur

A British snowboarder who works in central London during the week and commutes to the Alps at the weekend has come second in the first stage of the Swatch Freeride World Tour (FWT).

Sascha Hamm, 37, is a property consultant during the week, and a gnarly freeriding boarder at weekends — and is competing for the first time on the Freeride World Tour.

Yesterday, he took second place at the first event in Courmayeur on the Cresta Youla, where challenging visibility caused lengthy delays in the competition. Conditions in the Alps have been very difficult in the first part of the winter with high avalanche risks and thin snow in many places. Last year’s FWT winner Drew Tabke told WTSS over the weekend how challenging it was for competitors when weather conditions cause lengthy delays.

US rider Sammy Luebke finished first among the snowboarders, on 80.50, with Sascha Hamm in second on 72.75 and France’s Ludovic Guillot-Diat in third on 70.25.

Among the skiers, Loïc Collomb-Patton from France finished in first place on 88.5, followed by Josh Daiek of the US with 87.5 and Jeremie Heitz of Switzerland in 82.25.

Courmayeur was the first time Sacha competed in a FWT event. He qualified for the FWT 2014 via the Freeride World Tour Qualifier (FWQ) system. In 2011, he took part in the FWQ in Morgin then did several events in 2012. In 2013 he came in the top 3 and qualified for the Freeride World Tour 2014.

He said: “I am glad that I got to take my run before the skiers. The snow conditions were amazing! I had a blast doing rocks, and riding fluffy snow. I ended up taking a completely different line than I had planned, and everything went well until a light slam at the finish line. At the next event I will concentrate more on the finish line.”

The next stop on the Swatch Freeride Tour by The North Face is Chamonix, this weekend.

To watch Sascha’s line, click here